Bonding with my new friend

[LittleMunchkin]

HI!

I am the happy new momma of an 8 week old mini lop boy. I’m really hoping he will be friendly and enjoy cuddling. the breeder I got him from said she breeds for temperament, and when she gave him to me, she demonstrated how he let her pick him up and hold him every which way without fussing. I’ve had him for 5 days, and we are at a point where he will come over to eat “treats” from my hand (the breeder’s blend of supplements, corn, and such that she has been feeding him and he loves!) He is beginning to let me pet him a tiny bit, but he is still very shy of being near me. I only tried to hold him once (I couldn’t help it, he’s sooo cute) but he kicked and panicked and ran to the back of his cage. since then I’ve been trying to go very slow, but I’m not sure where to go from here to get him to interact with me more and hopefully enjoy cuddling and spending time with me eventually. I’ve never had a bunny before, or knew anyone who has, and I would value any advice! Thanks

[tobyluv]

Hello and welcome to Binky Bunny! There may be some rabbits that like to be held and cuddled, but that’s not very common. I have had 9 house rabbits of my own over the years, and none of them liked to be held. They would struggle and start biting almost right away. You have to be very careful when holding a rabbit that doesn’t want to be held. They can kick out so hard that they damage their spine or their hips. It’s best to sit on the floor near your rabbit and let him come to you. It might even work better to ignore him, and he will likely get curious about you and what you are doing and come investigate. Then you can start giving him some pets and he will very likely come to enjoy them.

Corn is a food that should not be given to rabbits.

[jerseygirl]

Welcome and congratulations on your new bunny!

It can take a little time for their trust to build, being a prey species. The “floor-ignore” technique can help which is basically, hang out with them down at their level and let them approach you. Keep yourself occupied reading, watching tv, browsing the internet etc and just allow then to come over to say hi, or jump all over you. It’s not unusual for rabbits to dislike being picked up, even if they coped with it okay as babies. Often as they mature, they’ll become more independant and not want to be held. So snuggles become you lying on the floor and them keeping their 4 feet firming on the floor but they may enjoy nestling in next to you.
The House Rabbit Society site is a great resource and a site worth bookmarking! This article may interest you. http://rabbit.org/first-few-weeks-in-a-new-home-2/

It’s great that he his eating from your hand.

Regarding his food, it sounds as if the rabbits were on a pellet/seed/grain mix? These are not ideal as rabbit will tend to eat their favourite parts and not get a balanced intake, which the pellet is supposed to provide. Overindulging on the fatty seeds or high carb grains can let to their gut flora becoming unbalanced and then messy poop. A plain pellet feed is more suitable. Corn is also problematic and is thought to lead to blockages.
If there is pellets in the mix, try give only those. If you prefer, you could then slowly transition him onto a more suitable plain pellet feed.

[jerseygirl]

Sorry tobyluv! I hadn’t seen your reply. You must have posted while I was constructing mine.

[LittleMunchkin]

thank you! the article looks very helpful.
Interesting, I had assumed that since the breeder gives it to all her rabbits, not just the babies, it was ok. She scared me away from letting him play with cardboard or anything because of the possibility of blockages, so I’m surprised she’d feed him things that could lead to blockages. He does get regular pellets too though, which he has been good about eating. Thank you for telling me, maybe I’ll try to phase him off of the mix. What else could I use as a treat? I was told not to introduce veggies or anything until he was 4-5 months old

[jerseygirl]

Since he’s used to the mix, maybe you can keep some parts of that aside as occasional treats. Does it have things like sunflower seeds in it? Willow or apple tree leaves are usually a big hit with bunnies.

[LBJ10]

A seed every now and then won’t hurt anything, but they shouldn’t be fed a lot of them. Corn is definitely a no. I agree with the others, you should try to transition him to a healthy, plain pellet food.

For treats, young bunnies can be given pellets by hand if they are pellet-driven. You can start introducing fruits and veggies at 12 weeks, but go slowly. And not too much fruit. Just a tiny bit.

The others are right. Most bunnies are not fans of being picked up. Young babies will often tolerate it, but will quickly snap out of it as they mature. It’s just a normal part of being a bunny. They naturally fear being picked up because they are prey animals. If you want to “hold” your bunny, I would recommend letting him come to you and sit on your lap or sit next to you for “floor cuddles”. This will take some patience, of course. Start by sitting on the floor near him and completely ignoring him. Just read or do something on a tablet. He will eventually become curious. Then work your way up to hand feeding treats and offering pets. Over time, you may be able to work him up to sitting next to you or on your lap and asking for pets.

[sarahthegemini]

Rabbits are not by nature the cuddly animals that people think. Sure they like affection (depends on personality obviously) but most do not like being picked up. It scares them. 

You shouldn’t pick him up just because “he’s cute” A lot of bunnies will freeze when picked up, in fear.  So I wouldn’t be surprised if your bun was actually just terrified when picked up by the breeder. Don’t take it personally, my Buttercup is a very loving bunny who let’s me pet her in any way, shape or form but she will not tolerate being held!

[LittleMunchkin]

Thank you for the advice!

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