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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.

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Forum BEHAVIOR Terrified rescue bunny – any advice?

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    • Jo
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        We got another bunny a couple of months ago. He’s just over two now and has lived in rescue centres his whole life. After several failed bonding and rehoming attempts he came to us. We’ve been working really hard with him to gain some trust, but he’s absolutely petrified. He won’t let you touch him at all, even the first hint that you might will make him scrabble to get away. We got him to the point where he’ll take food from our hands and sometimes he’ll even climb up a leg to get to it, if he’s feeling brave, but most of the time he’s just terrified. Every noise, every time you enter the room, every time someone goes remotely near him. He’s a house bunny and living in quite a big space, which he seems to like exploring, but I worry that he must be quite stressed out and a lot of the time he just runs away to hide in his box. Our other rabbits were both a bit aloof when we first got them but she eventually came round, this one is proving more of a challenge! Anyone got any advice?


      • Mikey
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          It sounds like you might have to work on trust with him since hes never been out of the shelter before. Everything is so new to him, that its terrifying. For trust exercises, the best one i like to start with as it has helped me with my very, very timid bun, is just laying on the floor. Lay on the floor on your tummy or on your back. Let your bun come to you. Let your bun crawl on you if he wants to. Dont reach for him, and if you talk to him, do it in a quiet and soft voice. The longer you can lay on the floor around your bun, the better

          Once your bun is very comfortable with you and/or sees you as a safe spot(this may take days/weeks), stick your hands out while laying on the ground. Again, dont reach for him, but if you talk to him, you can start to use your normal voice. Allow him to get used to you and your hands. Try to get him to interact with your hands a bit. I would a hide a treat under one of my palms and would let my hand rest on it. The bun would have to move my hand to get to the treat. Doing it like that a few times over the course of a few days allowed my bunnies to see that my hands are not threats

          When your bun is cool exploring you and moving your hands around, sit. Sit with him and talk to him. Dont reach for him if he comes near, again. This training should go fairly fast and he should be used to you sitting in no time. When he is ok with you sitting with him, work on petting him on and off when he comes near you. If hes too nervous, you can bribe him with a treat or greens in one hand, and gently pet with the other. Next step would be standing. Stand and pet him if he comes near. Feel free to walk or move around. Do your daily chores, even. Pet him if he comes near, and bribe him with greens or treats to get him to come near you more often

          Once he is totally comfortable around you, he will start to feel more comfortable in his surroundings. The noises may always make him nervous, but he will see you as a safety so he wont be as scared when he hears something hes not used to. As he gets more comfortable living there and being around you, the noises will eventually stop effecting him as he will realize they are not threatening noises. Thats not to say he wont be scared if you drop a pan, but everyday noises wont bother him nearly as much as they do now

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      Forum BEHAVIOR Terrified rescue bunny – any advice?