Independa-bunny? :)

[Quartz]

My bun’s been with me just over a month.  He was about 2 years old at the time of his adoption from a shelter.  He came to the shelter with 4 of his children(!), as the previous owner had not neutered him and his female mate.  He has been neutered since.  He lived with his son for a while, but the son began to be quite territorial and bossed my bun around too much, so the shelter had separated them.

He is my only bun at home and my only pet at the moment.  He’s settled in very well, I think, and is pretty confident around people.  Doesn’t really care for petting too much–will tolerate it periodically but only actually enjoys it when he’s in the mood for it (i.e. already flopped or “loafed” somewhere for a rest, in which case he’ll stretch a bit and chatter-purr). When he’s not in the mood for it, he’ll get up and relocate a foot or two, sometimes turning away from me demonstratively (but he’s not afraid at all).

But here’s what I’m curious about.  He gets a complete free-roam of our apartment at all times while we’re at home–everything’s rabbit-proofed (quite a lot of work!)  He seems to be very content to be completely on his own for much of the day.  Sometimes he’ll follow us around to see what we’re doing, but usually a large percent of that seems to be checking if any food will appear in front of him from us.  We only feed him in his pen and rarely give him treats outside (to be keep up with his good litter training), though he does like to scavenge the floor of the apartment for food, and of course finding none as I vacuum and clean regularly.  Otherwise he’s either munching on his hay or sitting somewhere on his own, “meditating” on his bunny life  Or sleeping.

It can be all day with him doing his own thing, and he’ll barely come into the bedroom to my computer desk to see what I’m up to.  I actually go and visit him myself regularly instead, if only just to look in and see what he’s up to, since offering to hang out doesn’t seem to produce much constructive interest with him.  He seems to not be very interested in company nor needs any company.  He does come to sleep by our bed in the evening, but I suspect it’s only because he likes a tunnel that the bed frame and a long loose blanket make together.  And he’s off back to the living room sometime toward early morning.  For the first 3 weeks I tried more diligently to hang out with him and get him to like me, but now I wonder if I just bother him.

He’s a single rabbit, and I thought we’d become his family, so to speak, in terms of bonding.  But he doesn’t seem to show much affection or disposition toward that idea.

Is that completely normal with rabbits?  He’s my first rabbit ever, for reference.

[tobyluv]

Some rabbits are people oriented and affectionate and others are not people oriented, and will be more aloof. I have had both kinds and have learned to accept however the rabbit wants to be. You have not had your rabbit for very long, and things could change as time goes on. If you read through some of the forums here, you will see that in some cases, it took months for a rabbit to be comfortable around people and to want to interact with them. And as I said, some rabbits will interact with people a lot more than others.

[Quartz]

I guess I wonder about him mostly because he’s already 2 years old and is clearly not afraid of people. Right away he wasn’t, at the shelter. That seems to say that he’s not going to grow much more comfortable–he already does what he wants most of the time and appears quite comfortable doing it. It’s clear that he hasn’t learned to be afraid of people, whatever his previous life was like. But whether he will actually develop any signs of affection is what I do worry about. The person who surrendered him to the shelter wrote “diffident” on my bun’s profile, which I got during the adoption process.

[Timber]

This sounds a lot like my bunny. We got him from the shelter a month ago. He’s ever so slowly letting us pet a little more. Mostly if he’s eating, but also other times. Not for very long though. His personality is still developing for sure. I still try to spend a lot of time on the floor around him. It’s my first bunny, too. I thought the adjustment process would go more quickly. He’s teaching us otherwise

[Quartz]

Yep, definitely a learning experience for us! I try to never push it with my bun, and if he’s acting like he wants his space, I quickly stop petting him or even move away and give him his freedom to continue doing what he was doing (even if it’s just sitting and staring into a random direction 30 minutes  )

[Q8bunny]

Your relationship with your bun will develop a lot during the first year or so. While it may be true that your two-yo has an established personality, not enough time has passed for a unique dynamic to be established between your bun and yourself and partner.

My little one’s adoption was unplanned – he chose me quite forcefully. And then about six months went by before he even licked my hand for the first time. Now, a year later, he grooms me for hours every day if I let him, follows me around (he even sits on top of the toilet lid while I shower), lets me rub and kiss his tummy, and pops up on the couch or the bed to cuddle or just snooze beside me.

I’m not saying your bun will do this. I’m saying that a year ago, I would NEVER have guessed that my playful and independent boy would become so overwhelmingly affectionate with me.

[Quartz]

That sounds wonderful!  I dream of such a relationship.  I will persevere at keeping a comfortable home for my bun.

[Q8bunny]

I’m pretty sure that at this point, that’s all your bun asks of you.
Just love him unconditionally, and time will bring new and lovely firsts.

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