• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

*SIGH*Will my bunny ever love me enough :(?

rianne23

Mama Doe
Ah i am so concerned Daisy doo will never love me :( As many of you will remmeber i rescued daisy a year ago next week, from a local pet shop. She was 6mths old and had a litter of 4 kits and was kept in a fish tank on the floor of a pet shop:
phonepiccies202.jpg

phonepiccies200.jpg


The week i had first got her i spent a lot of time with her...and it was clear she wasn't used to humans, nor did she trust us..but she did let me near her after a little while
Photo09221946.jpg

Photo09221941_3.jpg

Photo09221946_2-1.jpg


Anyway...a year on and we are a little better but...she struggles when i pick her up, she won't relax with me, she can't stand the kids :cry: though i have tried to introduce them, when she is running around the garden she comes up to the kids and runs round them until they chase her, then she runs off a bit, binkies, and sits and waits for them to catch her up..:shock:

She is a nightmare to get back into her house and will only come in after at least 8hrs play time in her garden, if i try when it has only been 6hrs, to get her in..she won't let me:roll:

Daisy has her dislikes about humans and i respect that. I know she will never be a family bun, well...maybe she will one day but she still has reservations at the moment.
I just wondered what i can do to help her?
I do keep thinking if the kindest thing to do would be to find her a new home because i often wonder if she is happy.
I cant get her a companion as i cant afford a new hutch/run big enough for 2 plus the vaccinations etc..
oh i don't know what to do :( when she is in season she wants me to cuddle her...other than that she doesnt like me :(
it doesnt help i am allergic to her!:roll:
 
I'm sure she loves you really - I think some bunnies are just naturally friendlier with humans than others. I have two rabbits, one never looks that happy and likes to do her own thing, the other one is the complete opposite and loves attention. It does worry me sometimes, but I just feel there's not a lot you can do to change the way they naturally are. If you are having trouble getting her back in her hutch after a run around the garden, could you attach a big run to her hutch and let her out a bit less or fence off part of the garden to make the area she has to escape from you smaller? I manage to get mine back by shaking a container of pellets, they know its dinner time and rush back in!
 
I sometimes have problems with my bun going back to bed, I give him a treat for coming to me and then another once he's back in his cage so that he sees it as positive. If she's running about the garden doing a chasey game it sounds like she is having fun and happy, so you'll be doing a good job there :D And I think most buns struggle a bit when you pick them up. But to get her to relax with you try sitting with her and let her be around you and give her the odd treat, it makes them trust you so much more :D
 
I think rather than her not liking you, you're just interpreting her behaviour wrong :) Bunnies can be quite hard to understand as their behaviours a bit more subtle than dogs/cats.

For example:
she can't stand the kids though i have tried to introduce them, when she is running around the garden she comes up to the kids and runs round them until they chase her, then she runs off a bit, binkies, and sits and waits for them to catch her up..

This has been a favourite game of many of my rabbits. Scamp enjoys it particularly and he will dart around the room at flat out speed, dodging back and forth but if you stop he'll turn around to see where you are. Binkies and big jumps are all part of the routine. It sounds like you rabbit is having fun :D

She is a nightmare to get back into her house and will only come in after at least 8hrs play time in her garden, if i try when it has only been 6hrs, to get her in..she won't let me

Rabbits like to have a set routine. If you distrupt it eg try to bring her in early, she'll get confused and possibly upset or may just think you've come outside to play the chasing game! I'd suggest you organise a routine so that dinnertime is directly after exercise time and always at the same time each day. Rather than catching her, and ending up playing the chase game, open the door and rattle the her food and encourage her to walk in on her own. You can call her too. Make sure you use the same 'come inside' call/sounds at the same time each day. It will take awhile to become routine but it makes things easier.

when she is in season she wants me to cuddle her...other than that she doesnt like me
it doesnt help i am allergic to her!

Rabbits don't have seasons. They are induced ovulators so release eggs when a male is about not at a set time. I imagine it's just her mood and possibly the location. For example Scamp will be quite cuddly whilst in the kitchen (his usual home) but not at all when he's out in the rest of the house or outside for exercise - he's much too busy exploring to have nose rubs then.

I'd suggest if she doesn't like being carried (which most rabbits don't) and it sets off your allergies, you try interacting with the both of you sat on the floor. Rabbits are generally much happier being stroked on the floor than 'cuddled'.

Likewise interacting on the floor is the best way to get you and the children socializing with her. I suggest you set aside part of her pellet ration to hand feed as treats. Have a call or signal to indicate you have a treat - I call my rabbits like you would a cat but you can use her name. Start doing it when she's in the hutch/cage so she's near by then call and hold out the treat. Eventually she'll learn to come to you when you make the noise to get her treat.

Tamsin
 
Agree with what Tamsin said. And just because Daisy isn't affectionate doesn't mean she's unhappy - could be quite the opposite! My group has some buns in it who are really affectionate but others who are totally detached, and just want to spend their days running round the garden doing rabbity things. That's absolutely fine by me - in some ways I think it's healthier, as it's closer to what they'd be like in their wild state. My job is to provide the environment, the food, and the back up support if they get ill but I don't expect them to necessarily want affection too. It's great when they do and an added bonus, but it's not a natural part of a bun's character in the way it is a dog's, for example. Hence when people bond a single, previously affectionate bun, they often find the bun suddenly transfers all its affection to its bunny partner and starts being more detached towards them - which is as it should be, I guess... I'd get Daisy bonded to a neutered partner if I were you, and try to adjust your expectations of her, as none of what you're describing sounds like it's causing her any problems; sounds like she's a very happy, well-adjusted bunny enjoying her eight hours of freedom each day to the maximum!
 
My little bun poppy used to be a nightmare she was very aggresive and did not let anyone near her.

I started letting her run round the living room on a night and did not feed her pellets until I bought her in on a night where she would start taking them out of my hand. I also put some in a treat ball which she loves.

As I said in a previous post spaying her has also made her a lot happier and more relaxed.

x:D
 
Please don't worry about this, I agree entirely with what others have said. I have had Gregory as a housebunny for the last 2 years. He has never enjoyed being picked up or handled and the nearest I could get to him is stroked. After folowing some advice from this forum, about hand feeding him some of my pellets etc, we have now built up so much trust that he will come and sit on my knee for stroking - he only started doing this last week! It took a lot of time andpatience over the summer holidays to get to this stage, and I would still never pick him up. So don't give up, it can be done!
 
Many buns hate being picked up. I know Drake and Josh do! Instead I carry them in a carrier, or bucket, this way they can see where they are going and don't get scared when I have got my hands round them.

I think she will definatly love you! Its just that sometimes bunnies don't show it. If I was you I would let her have a run of a whole room and then just sit on the floor, reading or doing your thing, then eventually she will come and investigate.
Good Luck x
Jack x:D
 
Many buns hate being picked up. I know Drake and Josh do! Instead I carry them in a carrier, or bucket, this way they can see where they are going and don't get scared when I have got my hands round them.

I think she will definatly love you! Its just that sometimes bunnies don't show it. If I was you I would let her have a run of a whole room and then just sit on the floor, reading or doing your thing, then eventually she will come and investigate.
Good Luck x
Jack x:D


That's a good idea, just what room? i have wires etc that she always chews :roll: The kitchen she just hides under the table the whole time, infact it's her fave place in the whole world to sit and leave pebble poohs :lol:
 
Daisy isnt spayed yet though is she?

that will play a large part in everything, jelly used to detest me, but now she loves me. she doesnt like being taken out of her routine, and she doesnt like cuddles.

But she loves to jump on me and have me stroke her, and she loves to groom me.
 
Daisy isnt spayed yet though is she?

that will play a large part in everything, jelly used to detest me, but now she loves me. she doesnt like being taken out of her routine, and she doesnt like cuddles.

But she loves to jump on me and have me stroke her, and she loves to groom me.

No she isnt, the vet said she didn't need it and doubted it would change her personality though i believe it may, it is an expense right now i just don't have.:(
 
Regardless of the possible change in her personality, you should definitely get her spayed as soon as you can affors to otherwise she's at risk of uterine cancer - it's not a good sign that your vet didn't know this.. :(
 
I knew this would come up about the risk.
I am aware of this and will get my bunny speyed the moment i have £80 spare i promise :)
 
I knew this would come up about the risk.
I am aware of this and will get my bunny speyed the moment i have £80 spare i promise :)

I'd switch vets! I've just started going to Starlight's Vet in London, who charges way less than that. Even by normal standards £80 is expensive, and it doesn't sound like the vet is rabbit-savvy in any case if he said not to bother spaying. If you post a query on the forum I bet you'll find a much cheaper and more bunny-savvy vet that you can use instead :)

Good luck! :wave:
 
I'd switch vets! I've just started going to Starlight's Vet in London, who charges way less than that. Even by normal standards £80 is expensive, and it doesn't sound like the vet is rabbit-savvy in any case if he said not to bother spaying. If you post a query on the forum I bet you'll find a much cheaper and more bunny-savvy vet that you can use instead :)

Good luck! :wave:

Thanku :) Daisy has an appointment with a new vet in 2 weeks for her myxi jab so i will ask them then if they canrecommend a cheap but bunny savvy vet :)
 
No she isnt, the vet said she didn't need it and doubted it would change her personality though i believe it may, it is an expense right now i just don't have.:(

it will change her personality, i mean im not a rescue or anything but i have lots of boarders here and many of them get their bunnies fixed afetr they have been there and seen the diference in mine and heard about the risks etc, and in all honestly every single bunny that has beenn done and then come back has been completly different.

ask around at diff vets, Jelly cost £40 to be spayed. x
 
Back
Top