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How do you tame a baby bunny????

I have just got a baby french lop 12 weeks old and he was supposed to be well socialized etc and he really isnt, we have him in the house and sit on the floor as all the books say and talk to him, but he runs away from us all the time and goes in the farest corner of his hutch so we can not touch him, we give him treats which he takes from us but doesnt let us stroke him, are you supposed to pick him up? we have only picked him up once and he didnt like it so we didnt do this again, but what if he needs his teeth checking etc?
how do we tame him and get his trust? this is our first rabbit and we waited a long time to get him but feel a bit of a failure please help.:?
 
It can take some time, Pringle is two past May and he was very timid for his first year and a bit. He hated being picked up, never really liked being touched. It takes time and ALOT of patience, he doesnt mind being handled now and loves his strokes and nose rubs. It took me a while to get him like that but it will work, your bun is still very young and by just sitting and speaking to her, storking, even when you feed her her pellets just sit on the floor and have the bowl on your knee, she might lean on you to get them and you can stroke her then, give her a nose rub etc. Dont get frustrated just be patent with her.. bunnies dont really like being handled if you get her confidence with touching her etc she then will get better being handled. xx
 
Oops, im saying her.... i mean him :oops:
:oops:
Also when his 'bits' drop you could get him neutered, that should calm him down a bit to xx
 
You are doing all the right things by sitting with him, offering treats etc. You could try offering him the treat with two hands together, holding onto the treat for a second and giving the end of his nose a quick rub, then letting go of the treat. He might stick around for the treat and this would also show him that you aren't trying to hurt him when you touch him. Do this until he doesn't mind, then increase the stroking. Sudden movements scared mine when I first had him. Buns often don't like being picked up, but once he is more used to you, he might let you do it. I know mine don't like it, but I want them to tolerate it, at least for short amounts of time incase they need checking for any reason, like you said :) My bun didn't like being picked up or touched when I got him as a baby, and his new friend absolutely hates being picked up, the scratches on my arm prove it! It can take a while to build up trust, but its worth the effort, my boy is such a soppy thing now! Good luck with everything and welcome to the forum :wave:
 
I agree with the posts above :) I didn't realise how incredibly tame and loving Splott had become until I got my new bun, (she's timid too) My best advice is to find something they really love (for my buns it seems to be cabbage or "greens") and sit on the floor feeding them a little bit at a time, even new bun climbs onto my lap now to get at it (even though she won't stay there or be stroked yet ;) ) Last night I fell asleep with Splott stretched out on the floor next to me having his nose rubbed :love: they do learn to trust you eventually :D
 
how to tame new bunny

Thank you for all your replies I will certainly try all the advice given and I am glad you all think I am doing the right things I needed the encouragement:) I am just aware what a big rabbit these french lops grow into and if he dosent like us when he is fully grown then we may have big problems! I will stick with him no matter what, it would be just nice if he knew we are his friends:bunny:
ps is it better for him to have a friend and if so boy or girl or will he bond with us better if kept as an only bunny?

Thank you all again please keep the advice coming.
 
is it better for him to have a friend and if so boy or girl or will he bond with us better if kept as an only bunny?

I have just got my bunny a friend, because I thought he would be lonely when I went out and left him all day when I go to work. I think most people on here would prefer not to keep bunnies on their own. It does depend on the individual rabbit though, as a few will not accept any other as a friend, although I think this is quite rare. My boy didn't seem unhappy on his own though, he always had so much fuss off me :lol: It is easier to bond a boy-girl or girl-girl pair than a boy-boy, although it can be done. It would be easier if both rabbits were neutered/spayed before attempting bonding (obviously the boy needs doing to prevent babies and to stop him hasselling the female too), their hormones can take a while to settle down after neutering too. As an example, I got my boy when he was 8 weeks old and had him neutered at about 7 months (although they can be done from about 5 months, to stop hormonal behaviour starting!). 6 days ago I went to a rescue center to adopt an already spayed female bunny as his friend (he has been neutered for 2 months now). This is a good way to get a second bunny as firstly, the rescue will introduce them on neutral territory, and secondly, you will be giving an unwanted bunny a new home!
Does he live indoors permanently? If he does then I would have thought he will bond to you just as well alone as with a friend, it might be different if he was outside a lot of the time, but if you had them in to play a lot then I'm sure he would bond to you too :)
Anyway, sorry for the loooong post, hope it helps! :wave:
 
taming bunny

Hi yes he is indoors and we spend a lot of time with him but as yet he still dosent like us touching him and im getting a tad worried as number one he is going to be such a big rabbit and could inflict a lot of damage and number two when I have managed a sneaky stroke of him he feels matted around his neck (he is short haired) and I wouldnt want to stress him out by trying to groom him when he wont even let me touch him! we have tried various treats which he wont touch..Apple Banana Broccoli etc anyone know what I could temp him with that rabbits just carnt say no to?:) hes only 12 weeks but hes already a big bun, what age should I introduce another rabbit and how old should the new bun be? and would it help his skittishness if he had a friend or will he just rely on his friend and never bother with us? my goodness sooo many questions I should have been in the CID :lol: Any advice im am very grateful for as I really want him to be a happy bun and for him to even like us a little would be a start.

Thanks Again Christine:)
 
Sounds like your bunny is fussy not wanting banana, apple or broccolli :shock: I have never heard of a rabbit who doesnt like curly kale or a small, thoroughly washed dandilion leaf so perhaps you could try that.

I am lucky that my 9 week old is very friendly, she came from a breeder so is used to being handled daily wheras my older buck arnie was 7 months old, alone in a pet shop in a tiny cage when I got him. Although he was friendly didnt like being picked up or sitting on me. I now make him jump on my lap for a treat, he knows he will get it, jumps on I then make him wait while he gets a nose rub and then give him a treat, now he sits there for ages. Obviously that needs trust but its something for you to do in the future.

He will get used to you soon, just give him time, he may not of been treated too well where he came from before and may be a little wary. Keep doing what you are doing and he will love you soon.

I agree with the neutering though, it stops most bad behavior and if he hasn't settled before he is neutered I should settle alot more once the op has been done.

Good luck and keep us informed.
 
Hi there. I'm going through the same thing as you although I knew that my new bun would be timid (although good natured). I'm hand feeding her her pellets and any treats and gradually touching her more and more and she shows any sign shes had enough, I back off so as not to scare her. I also sit in her room and if she appraoches me she gets a pellet (hard to do with another bunny arround as he's generally on my lap trying to get at the pellets. Stroking the nose seems to be quite a good place to start when you do want to start touching, then cheeks and top of head.

On the subject of getting another bunny, you will proably find that they can pick up habbits from other bunnys. Sooty, my uber confident young man has now become a little skittish since honey entered our lives and he also flops about little more (she's a laid back bunny, he was a hyperactive runabout who laps our sofa all night). Honey has picked up from him litter training and is becoming bolder. If you bunny is timid, it might be better to get him an extrovert companion who loves human interaction.
 
I can understand your concerns regarding not being able to tame a frenchie as he will be harder to handle when bigger. I am speaking from first hand experience, my bun came as "well socialised", but was definitely not!! My gorgeous frenchie fleur, will take food from my hand, allow me to stroke her when she is eating and even follows me around (probably for food), but she will not be handled at the moment. The problem is she is so big and strong that I cannot hold onto her for very long. I accept that she will not like to be cuddled like some of my previous buns, but taking her to the vet is a nightmare. Last week she went for a her jab, and as Fleur poked her head out of the carrier the vet said "ohh that is a bunny with attitude!".

I would say whilst your bun is a youngster, try to get him used to being handled as much as you can. I think a lot of my problem is fear that I will hurt my bun if I am too firm, so in the end I pusseyfoot around which is not helpful at all and probably comes across to her as being unconfident.

My bun is bonded and she loves her partner, who is much easier to handle (and a lot smaller!!). It is lovely to have the pair and they do follow each other in actions, so cute.

Good luck with your frenchie, they are gorgeous buns.
 
I agree with the posts above :) I didn't realise how incredibly tame and loving Splott had become until I got my new bun, (she's timid too) My best advice is to find something they really love (for my buns it seems to be cabbage or "greens") and sit on the floor feeding them a little bit at a time, even new bun climbs onto my lap now to get at it (even though she won't stay there or be stroked yet ;) ) Last night I fell asleep with Splott stretched out on the floor next to me having his nose rubbed :love: they do learn to trust you eventually :D

Hey Splottifer - off the subject a bit but your bunny is my bunny's dopelganger!! they have the same spots and the same marks around the eyes and everything - gorgeous!!
 
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