Tank's_Mum
Warren Scout
Hi all,
First, let me apologise for the length of this post....it's long-winded but I wanted you all to get a good picture of what I'm asking about
We picked up our new bunny today, a French Lop who's around 4 months old. I just want to run a few things by you to get your opinion He's very different to Tank, in ways we didn't expect (and obviously in ways we did).
Today's obviously been very stressful for him, not least because our house smells of two large carnivores (dogs), another intact male rabbit (Tank) and two people he doesn't know. He was described by the rescue as being very friendly (and I don't doubt for a second he's certainly got a lot of potential for being a loving bunny), but out of everything it's us humans he's scared of. And I don't mean in the usual "I don't know you, I'm wary but I've been around people before" sort of way. When we got Tank at 8 weeks he was definitely wary, but no more of us than anything else strange in his new environment. And he very quickly decided we were great, and now chases us, kisses us like crazy (kisses almost as much as our dogs) and is more than happy to fall asleep on us.
Our new bunny, on the other hand (not decided what to call him yet so he's just called 'Bunny' for the time-being), is reacting to us as if he's been abused. What's even stranger is that he's far more scared of me than of my partner. I know the person he was rescued from was a female breeder, and I know there's some concerns he was neglected (certainly grossly underweight when rescued), but I've no evidence of physical abuse. I know at this point you're probably thinking I'm expecting too much from him on his first day, so I'll clarify a bit...
...we've obviously given him plenty of space and peace and quiet since being home. He's been allowed to run around when Tank's out of the way and has made a lot of effort to wander around marking things (not spraying, chinning). He's also decided my female bulldog (who Tank adores) is wonderful - I'd originally intended to leave him a few days before properly introducing them, but she's so well behaved I allowed her to stay in the same room. When Tank came home it took a good week before he wanted to sniff her and basically kept out of her way but Bunny went straight over, sniffed, allowed himself to be sniffed (she generally can't be bothered to get up to do this with either of them and Tank spends a lot of time climbing over her or sitting on her head), and sat next to her. He's shown zero fear of this large predator, and has accepted her far quicker than Tank did. He's climbed on much of the furniture, worked out how to get in and out of his 'observation' hutch (in the lounge with Tank's but not his sleeping hutch - only a temporary thing to get him used to being around us but keep him safe)....he's even trying to litter train himself even though he's not seen a litter tray before and, although I put it down for him, I certainly didn't expect it to see any use for a week or two.
Yet if we sit quietly and he comes hopping up, he freaks out at a slowly outstretched hand, refuses to take treats (though I just managed to get him to eat a bit of carrot from me), and generally behaves in a way that makes me think he's far more comfortable being in close proximity to a dog than an unthreatening human. My partner has done better than I have so far in that Bunny's shown more interest in hopping up to him, and has even managed to receive a sniff or two!
The other thing is he's not hiding in corners or cowering anywhere - he's happy to lie on his side, even when only a few feet away from my bulldog, he's had a roll or two in his sawdust and is generally more than happy to explore and flake out on the floor (it took Tank about 10 days before he was comfortable enough in his new home to lie on his side....or, as he's doing now, on his back ). The only thing he seems to want to do is stay away from people, and though he's hopped up a few times he shows absolutely no interest in us (but has happily sniffed my bulldog all over).
I honestly don't know what to think. I'm not assuming this is his usual behaviour and it is his first day, but on the other hand he's fine about things that Tank certainly wasn't at this stage and terrified of things he really should only be wary of (does that make sense?). I know he was kept outside with siblings by the breeder he was rescued from and I know he was underweight when rescued.....would he be able to associate a female human with negligence, or would that be a bit too much for him? Could he be projecting that onto me where he's a little better with my partner? Obviously we're both being extremely patient with him and want to help him settle in and get over this fear he has.
I'd really appreciate any thoughts you have on this. He'll be neutered as soon as the vet allows, so if it's just adolescent stroppiness that's being aimed at us in particular it should be sorted out then. But I was interested if anyone else had experienced anything similar - where a bunny seems terrified of people but totally relaxed and happy in every other way (rather than cowering in a corner and scared of everything) :?
Thanks in advance! x
Edit: just wanted to add something. He's got a ledge in his 'observation' hutch and about half an hour ago he fell asleep on it, lying on his side but far too close to the edge. He's just fallen off...literally, seemed like he poured himself off the edge. It's not that high and he's got a deep layer of sawdust. But even so.....did this panicky rabbit freak out? Did he even wake up? No! He just stretched all four legs and stayed asleep, this time lying on his back. I mean, honestly! It's hardly the behaviour of a generally nervous bunny!
Edit #2: sorry, just keep thinking of things to add....
....he's producing a ton of caecotrophs, and not eating them. I saw how much hay he had at the rescue (apparently he eats like a racehorse) and he's certainly munched a ton tonight. He's also on pellets, but has mainly just thrown them around the hutch rather than eat them. I asked about dental problems and apparently when the rescue had his myxi jab done they briefly checked teeth and all seemed fine, but obviously I'll get this properly checked when he gets the snip.
....he flinches if stroked. While we're not doing that much, I've rubbed his nose while he was eating a bit of carrot and even though slow, gentle and I didn't creep up on him he still flinched. Even the worst rescue dogs I've had haven't done this, not just from being gently touched once or twice.
D'you think I'm right in assuming he's had virtually no human contact?
First, let me apologise for the length of this post....it's long-winded but I wanted you all to get a good picture of what I'm asking about
We picked up our new bunny today, a French Lop who's around 4 months old. I just want to run a few things by you to get your opinion
He's very different to Tank, in ways we didn't expect (and obviously in ways we did). Today's obviously been very stressful for him, not least because our house smells of two large carnivores (dogs), another intact male rabbit (Tank) and two people he doesn't know. He was described by the rescue as being very friendly (and I don't doubt for a second he's certainly got a lot of potential for being a loving bunny), but out of everything it's us humans he's scared of. And I don't mean in the usual "I don't know you, I'm wary but I've been around people before" sort of way. When we got Tank at 8 weeks he was definitely wary, but no more of us than anything else strange in his new environment. And he very quickly decided we were great, and now chases us, kisses us like crazy (kisses almost as much as our dogs) and is more than happy to fall asleep on us.
Our new bunny, on the other hand (not decided what to call him yet so he's just called 'Bunny' for the time-being), is reacting to us as if he's been abused. What's even stranger is that he's far more scared of me than of my partner. I know the person he was rescued from was a female breeder, and I know there's some concerns he was neglected (certainly grossly underweight when rescued), but I've no evidence of physical abuse. I know at this point you're probably thinking I'm expecting too much from him on his first day, so I'll clarify a bit...
...we've obviously given him plenty of space and peace and quiet since being home. He's been allowed to run around when Tank's out of the way and has made a lot of effort to wander around marking things (not spraying, chinning). He's also decided my female bulldog (who Tank adores) is wonderful - I'd originally intended to leave him a few days before properly introducing them, but she's so well behaved I allowed her to stay in the same room. When Tank came home it took a good week before he wanted to sniff her and basically kept out of her way but Bunny went straight over, sniffed, allowed himself to be sniffed (she generally can't be bothered to get up to do this with either of them and Tank spends a lot of time climbing over her or sitting on her head), and sat next to her. He's shown zero fear of this large predator, and has accepted her far quicker than Tank did. He's climbed on much of the furniture, worked out how to get in and out of his 'observation' hutch (in the lounge with Tank's but not his sleeping hutch - only a temporary thing to get him used to being around us but keep him safe)....he's even trying to litter train himself even though he's not seen a litter tray before and, although I put it down for him, I certainly didn't expect it to see any use for a week or two.
Yet if we sit quietly and he comes hopping up, he freaks out at a slowly outstretched hand, refuses to take treats (though I just managed to get him to eat a bit of carrot from me), and generally behaves in a way that makes me think he's far more comfortable being in close proximity to a dog than an unthreatening human. My partner has done better than I have so far in that Bunny's shown more interest in hopping up to him, and has even managed to receive a sniff or two!
The other thing is he's not hiding in corners or cowering anywhere - he's happy to lie on his side, even when only a few feet away from my bulldog, he's had a roll or two in his sawdust and is generally more than happy to explore and flake out on the floor (it took Tank about 10 days before he was comfortable enough in his new home to lie on his side....or, as he's doing now, on his back
). The only thing he seems to want to do is stay away from people, and though he's hopped up a few times he shows absolutely no interest in us (but has happily sniffed my bulldog all over).I honestly don't know what to think. I'm not assuming this is his usual behaviour and it is his first day, but on the other hand he's fine about things that Tank certainly wasn't at this stage and terrified of things he really should only be wary of (does that make sense?). I know he was kept outside with siblings by the breeder he was rescued from and I know he was underweight when rescued.....would he be able to associate a female human with negligence, or would that be a bit too much for him? Could he be projecting that onto me where he's a little better with my partner? Obviously we're both being extremely patient with him and want to help him settle in and get over this fear he has.
I'd really appreciate any thoughts you have on this. He'll be neutered as soon as the vet allows, so if it's just adolescent stroppiness that's being aimed at us in particular it should be sorted out then. But I was interested if anyone else had experienced anything similar - where a bunny seems terrified of people but totally relaxed and happy in every other way (rather than cowering in a corner and scared of everything) :?
Thanks in advance! x
Edit: just wanted to add something. He's got a ledge in his 'observation' hutch and about half an hour ago he fell asleep on it, lying on his side but far too close to the edge. He's just fallen off...literally, seemed like he poured himself off the edge. It's not that high and he's got a deep layer of sawdust. But even so.....did this panicky rabbit freak out? Did he even wake up? No! He just stretched all four legs and stayed asleep, this time lying on his back. I mean, honestly! It's hardly the behaviour of a generally nervous bunny!
Edit #2: sorry, just keep thinking of things to add....
....he's producing a ton of caecotrophs, and not eating them. I saw how much hay he had at the rescue (apparently he eats like a racehorse) and he's certainly munched a ton tonight. He's also on pellets, but has mainly just thrown them around the hutch rather than eat them. I asked about dental problems and apparently when the rescue had his myxi jab done they briefly checked teeth and all seemed fine, but obviously I'll get this properly checked when he gets the snip.
....he flinches if stroked. While we're not doing that much, I've rubbed his nose while he was eating a bit of carrot and even though slow, gentle and I didn't creep up on him he still flinched. Even the worst rescue dogs I've had haven't done this, not just from being gently touched once or twice.
D'you think I'm right in assuming he's had virtually no human contact?
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