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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum BEHAVIOR Still having trouble with my shy bun!

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    • Alice in Wonderland
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        I have had Henri for close to three months now and thanks to all your wonderful advice he was doing really well beginning to bond with us. We had him sprayed and vaccinated about a month ago and he recovered well. But now he seems to be acting up! Now that he is desexed we have let him have free reign because he won’t chew our furniture (as much!) but we are having terrible trouble getting him to go back to his hutch when we need to go to bed. He is not really food motivated so any attempts to bribe him have failed. He is also starting to nudge, dig and bite my legs when I’m sitting with him. We put off trying to teach him to accept being picked up because he was so terrified of us when we first got him but now he will not tolerate it at all!!! I can pat him all over and he loves it and I have been starting to try lifting his bum up while I pat him too but he runs when I try to put my fingers under his chest. With our troubles getting him back to his hutch I thought I would have a go of picking him up and giving him a treat so I patted him and when he was happy and calm I picked him up but he kicked and scratched so I held on to him so he would learn that that behaviour won’t get him what hè wants. Once he calmed down I tried to give him a treat but he wouldn’t eat it. Since trying this he bolts every time I go near him! I’m sure he will forgive me but it’s really destressing to take such a leap backwards in our bonding! And it’s destressing to think I may never be able to pick him up without him hating me afterwards. If you have any advice about the biting, picking him up, and getting him to go back to his hutch it would be much appreciated!


      • Alice in Wonderland
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          Oops sorry that was such a long post! So many questions! Having a bunny is hard work but when he binkies or melts while I pat him I know it will be worth the trouble in the end!


        • Cottontail
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            I can’t help much with getting him to go back to bed… Peter won that fight some time ago with us.
            As far as picking him up, that is a process we’re still going through with our boy. He hates being picked up. We’ve been building trust by just letting him get attention with us on the floor, and giving him a treat for hopping up in our laps (which he has full say in when he leaves). We’ve also been getting him used to having his legs messed with a little at a time and we’ve finally gotten him to the point that I can cup my hand around his chest and under his front legs and raise him a little and check out his belly as long as I don’t lift his bottom. It’s taking time and we’re not quite there yet… but with patience is coming trust. Don’t give up on him, but don’t rush him too much.


          • Alice in Wonderland
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              Yeah I think we just rushed him too quickly! It’s worrying me that he seems to be getting more and more aggressive, last night I offered him a currant and he boxed me for the first time, I was shocked! Surely he should be getting less aggressive instead of more aggressive as his hormones settle and he gets used to us?


            • manic_muncher
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                ** Keep in mind those hormones. I’ve learned (from here!) that it can take 4-6 weeks for them to settle, sometimes a little longer. **

                This situation sounds like my Bumpy when we first got him. We brought him home Aug 8, 2013. He was neutered Oct 7, 2013. In my opinion, it’s still very soon. I think we were rushing him and it took quite awhile to get him to even want to come near us on his own terms. Reading your thread here reminds me of when I was looking for explanations and opinions. I have started about 10 threads since joining BB, so my “Topics Started” part of my profile is pretty short and it was easy for me to find what might be helpful to your expectations in terms of bonding and time.

                I invite you to read this one, from 02/13/14: https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/129005/Default.aspx (note the date! remember, we got him 08/08/13) The responses in that thread have some advice that may help you bond with your bun and you will also be able to see how some of the other members’ buns acted too.

                I ended up using food to help, and he wasn’t food oriented either -UNTIL- I took his pellet feeding away, sometime in April. He loves his pellets (don’t they all?!), so I decided to cut that from his feeding schedule and use those as treats. Basically, he would come to me several times throughout the day begging for treats (pellets). I could freely hand feed him one at a time or place tiny piles down on the chair next to me so he’s “sit with me”. I didn’t have to worry about him having too many, since it was his daily allowance. I did eventually stop doing this on a regular basis because the hubby complained that it was making him aggressive when it came to putting food/water in his cage. Which made sense, since our hands were the food source. You just had to be really careful and like trick him into thinking your hand was going in one direction. I’d lower my hand down, he’d jump up and be all excited about my hand approaching and try to get whatever it was from me, in fast and darting motions. I learned by doing a circle-motion around him, he’d spin to follow my hand, and as he was spinning, when he was facing away from my hand, I’d be able to place the bowl or whatever it was inside his pen.

                I will quote myself from another thread of mine, “in search of thoughtful opinions”, from 06/09/14. So basically 4 months after the above mentioned thread, and TEN months after Bumpy first coming to our home. It was when we were thinking about getting a rabbit companion for him. In that thread I said:
                “Bumpy loves the dogs, and me (apparently with all the licks I get) and seems happy”
                “He is happy. He hops around and follows the dogs and hops up in the chair beside me or, runs up and bumps me and sit by my feet and licks my legs. He grooms me at least an hour throughout the day. He loves head pets.”
                “I’m afraid he’ll wanna spend more time with a bunny and I would definitely miss this new bun he’s become.”

                We did end up getting 2 new buns, and not too much later the hand-feeding of pellets stopped. Now he is back to not wanting anything to do with me, unless it involves treats. He barely acknowledges our existence. None of my rabbits are bonded now, but he much more prefers laying beside Bonnie on opposite sides of the pen, than sitting next to me. But I’m willing to bet if I gave him half-ration of pellets and began hand-feeding him again, he’d start hanging around me more.

                Sorry about the long-winded post! I just wanted to convey my experience and similar feelings.


              • Alice in Wonderland
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                  Thank you that was really helpful, Bumpy sounds just like Henri! He stays in his hutch all the time and even now that he can roam around as he pleases he will hide under the couch rather than hang out in the open, but I guess that’s kind of what they do in the wild anyway? I have been starting to worry that he is lonely so I am glad to know that he is just being a bunny! And he is a total night owl which is ok because my partner gets home really late and can stay up with him while he binkies about, I’m jealous that I have to go to bed! I’m hoping that his hormones will settle down and he will be back to his old self again. He still hasn’t forgiven me for picking him up, I didn’t think it would take this long! We will start limiting his pellets soon though so I’m looking forward to being able to bribe him with them!


                • manic_muncher
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                    lol Yes! Every time I have to pick up Bumpy, I get snubbed for the rest of the day. I’ve mostly just accepted his aloofness. He did discover the newly changed room that my sister-in-law just moved in and within a WEEK of her living here, he hopped on her bed and laid beside her and accepted pets from her. Talk about jealous!!!

                    I guess the best thing I can say is by accepting that he prefers not to be around us, it made it easier to lower my expectations without even realizing I had expectations to begin with. I just finally threw my hands up and said, “whatever makes him happy, makes me happy”. So instead of the snubbed feelings I used to get, I have moments of joy when he includes me in his world.

                    However, I won’t deny that I still have those moments when I just wanna grab him up and make him snuggle with me! -grabby hand motions-


                  • Alice in Wonderland
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                      Ha ha I definitely feel like that too! So hard to resist! I enjoy him hopping over to say hi though, even if it is just cos I have treats! I am definitely learning to adapt my expectations! I think he is starting to learn “bedtime” now cos he knows once we start saying that we will bug him till he goes to bed, at least that removes the need to pick him up!

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                  Forum BEHAVIOR Still having trouble with my shy bun!