My rabbits hate me

[Jordi]

I have two lionhead rabbits about 14 weeks old and they hate me. I’ve feed them, water them, give them treats and love them so much. I made a larger enclosure for them so they have more room to run around. I used to let them out to roam around but they would get under the couch and wouldn’t come out. They chewed on wires under the couch and many other wires in the apartment.

So… on to the issue… they hate me. Effie, my larger one, thumps any time I move. If I walk around, she gets so mad. Yuffie, my smaller one, isn’t as bad and is a little more timid. They love my cats and aren’t afraid of them at all. I don’t want to pick up the rabbits and know they hate it, so I try to sit in their enclosure and let them come around. I give them little treats and try to make them love me.

Since they are lionheads, they have longer hair, so they need to be brushed. I was able to get Effie out of the cage and closed the doors so I could brush her. She lost it. Kept thumping, running away and trying to hide. Her hair is pretty matted because she won’t let me brush it, so I tried to do as much as possible. She tore me apart with her claws when I would try to move her so I could brush her. I have scratches all up and down my arms. She really needs brushes out because the matting cannot be comfortable. I tried about 5 mins of brushing her before I gave up. I even tried to lay her on my back on my legs because I read it calms the rabbit. She calmed down a bit but her heartbeat was insane. When I try to move her or pick her up she jumps and flails around so much I’m afraid she will break her neck.

At this point, I am wondering if rabbits aren’t for me. I don’t want animals that hate me and would rather them be happy and left alone than with someone like me who wants to love them more than anything and give them the best life possible. My arms are so scratched up and my hand was scratched so bad it drew blood.

What do I do? I want to cry because I want to bond with these little girls so much. They are already so bonded to each other.

Currently Yuffie is out in the extension and Effie seems to be calming down. I just really need help. I’m on the verge of tears because I feel like I’ve already messed up.

[Mikey]

Theyre very young, so it is unlikely youve had them for very long. What have you done to bond with them? To me, it sounds more like they are terrified and less that they hate you. Its rabbit nature to be afraid of humans and new spaces.

“They are already so bonded to each other” No theyre not. Theyre babies. Baby bunnies can make friends, but they cannot bond. When hormones start to show, youll need to separate them or they might try to kill one another. Hormonal rabbits have two needs: breed and fight.

[Jordi]

Even if they’re sisters and have always been together?

When they were able to move around the apartment, I would lay on the floor and sometimes they would crawl on me. I was on vacation for about two weeks so they were at my dad’s. I’m sure that caused a lot issues with our bonding.

When do I need to separate them? I don’t have a lot of room in my apartment so I’m going to have to figure something out. How long do they need to be separated?

[Azerane]

I’m sorry you are having trouble bonding with your buns. Some take much longer to get comfortable with new people than others. It really depends on the bunny. It probably isn’t help by the need to brush them but I think there’s some things you can do to help. Continue to lay on the floor with them. Ignore them and just read a book or something, bunnies are curious but can be shy if they think you’re watching. When they approach you or climb on you just continue to ignore them, it may help to sprinkle treats or pellets over your stomach to entice them In terms of brushing, being held often triggers a fearful prey response in rabbits. So if you can, sit down on the floor, feed them a meal right next to you, and then while they are eating, sneak in a gentle brush or two of their fur. It only has to be one or two strokes at first until they become more tolerant and you can build it up to allowing more contact and brushing in different areas. In the meantime if need be, you could get buns shaved down a bit by someone who is experienced in trimming rabbits. It will help get the mats under control and allow you to start building up that trust for brushing without having to be too worried that mats are building in the meantime. Another option for brushing is to put bunny on a table or bench. That way they can’t get away but you don’t have to hold them so it’s not as scary. Put some yummy treats up on the table with them to distract them.

Sometimes you get lucky and sisters from a same litter will continue to get along. However that is generally the exception, not the common occurrence. So yes, even if they are sisters they will most likely need to be separated. Hormones can play a huge role in a bunny’s behaviour and vying for dominance can lead to fighting and serious injury. Usually it’s recommended to separate from 12 weeks, so anytime from now and it’s recommended to separate them until after they have both been spayed and then bond them afterwards. You may get lucky however it’s also possible that all may seem well and then one day you could come home to tufts of fur everywhere and two injured buns with deep bites and scratches.

[sarahthegemini]

They don’t hate you, or at least if they do, it won’t be forever. To me, they sound very scared. They’re very young and they’ve been taken from their mother and placed in a new environment with a potentially scary human, new smells and new sounds. It doesn’t help that you’ve had to try and brush them. Of course we know you need to brush them, but they don’t understand yet. This all adds up to being a very scary experience for them. Please don’t feel like rabbits aren’t right for you just yet. They require a different type of care than say, a dog for example but they are such wonderful creatures and once they have become comfortable around you – my goodness it’s worth it.

Azerane gave great advice so I don’t have much to add! All I will say is, I have two buns – Buttercup who has always been a confident little monster and Peanut who took months to gain confidence. Buttercup enjoyed being pet quite early on but Peanut didn’t really tolerate it until probably 5 months ago? He seeks out attention now

With rabbits, you really need patience which can be tricky (I’m not a patient person) but keep persevering.

[Mikey]

Rabbits dont see family relations. To one another, theyre just stranger rabbits. As babies, they might see one another as friends. But when hormones arrive (around four to six months), if they start to act hormonally their friendship could end in a bloody mess (literally). Youll want to separate them around the four month old mark. Its so much easier to bond rabbits who have never fought that to bond rabbits that have had a scuffle, even if minor. Theyll need to be separated until two months after the both of them are spayed. In this two months, have their cages close to one another so they can see and sniff but cannot reach. In this two months, theyll be draining their own hormones and being next to one another will allow them to get used to being close together before you start bonding them.

To bond with them, I think the others covered it well

[Luna]

I agree with everyone’s advice. Bonding with your bun can take awhile (sometimes weeks or months). Luna was previously owned and when I adopted her it took 3 months for her to not hop away from me, then another 5+ months to fully bond with me. Until then, I know that sometimes their reactions will feel hurtful (ie. thumping at you or running away), but its really caution/instinctive fear rather than hate. Be patient and it will be more than worth it in the end .

[Jordi]

I found a place about an hour away that will spay the girls for $55 a piece!! I was so worried because the closest place to me is $250. The place an hour away is huge for 4H (my cousins showed rabbits there) so that is why I am guessing it is so cheap. A lot of people having too many rabbits. I will be redoing the whole set up and create another set up for Yuffie. It will be smaller, but that is because I have a tiny apartment and not a lot of room for two cages.

I got Yuffie out and was able to brush her tonight on the couch. It was much easier. Of course, she’s my easier bun. I am going to try my best not to get my feelings hurt by them not being used to me. I will continue to try and bond with them.

My female cat that I’ve had for 5 years took 3 months to love me, so I need to remember that.

[Mikey]

Definitely be calm and patient My Bombur took about a year to fully learn to trust me and my partner. He is naturally very scared and timid. The wait was well worth it, though. Hes a cuddle bun when he wants to be, and falls asleep being groomed.

[Deleted User]

I’ve recently found that my girl trixie will let me cut her nails and brush her when she is on the sofa. I’m not sure if it’s because when I try to do it on the floor she knows that if she struggles free and jumps on the floor that she won’t be hurt because she can see where she will land. But when on the sofa she isnt quite sure so ends up being more still. I’ve also started transporting her in a large tub rather than picking her up. Trixie will just get in the tub voluntarily meaning I don’t have to stress her out trying to hold her before I’ve even got to the brushing

[Author]

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