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The best way to go about building confidence?

littlespoon

Young Bun
This is my first post, I’ve been looking around for a while but I need a bit of advice so thought maybe I should go ahead and join. If I’ve posted in the wrong place, please move my post.

We adopted two lovely but nervous rabbits a little over three weeks ago and while we are making excellent progress with regards to their confidence I’m worried that we are undoing all our good work by grooming. They both need to be groomed regularly; Duke is not particularly long haired but his fur is very fine and tangles easily but Tiki is the real problem. The shelter weren’t sure which breed she is but there’s some cashmere or similar in there as she has very long fur which tangles easily and gets all sorts of things caught in it. At the moment we’re grooming every other day as this seems to keep on top of the coats but it’s not endearing me to the buns at all. Is there anything I can do to help repair the damage to our trust the grooming seems to be doing? Otherwise I’m giving them their own space, encouraging them back into their run rather than picking them up, not forcing contact and sitting with them regularly.

This is all a little new to me, my last rabbit was a very confident lop with short hair and while I have absolutely no regrets about the about of hands on care they need I would appreciate some advice on how to make it less stressful for them.
 
Hi there and welcome to the forum :wave:

Have you thought about giving them something to eat whilst grooming? The only way we could originally get our very grumpy bun to sit still was by giving a chunk of carrot whilst on our lap - it takes a bit of chewing so kept her occupied.

Alternatively, if they're indoor rabbits you could clip the fur short which would save on grooming - I know Jack's Jane did this with one of her buns during the summer. If they're outside obviously don't as they need their coats in this weather.
 
Tiki wont take food from me, she's really shy and will not eat until my hand is well out of the way. Duke's a little better and he's happy enough to take food as long as there's no touching.

Unfortunately they are outdoor bunnies but I had considered cutting her fur short in the summer, the only problem is Duke likes to hide is face in her fur and I think he's miss that.

I suppose I'm just going to have to be patient but I thought it was worth asking. Thank you for replying.
 
I'm afraid you're right and the only thing I can think of is time :( You could try favourite foods to tempt Tiki, I've found that once they've taken food once they come on very quickly. A favourite on here is fenugreek crunchies which tend to go down well, also dried pineapple, basil, and parsley have been successful in my house.

Three weeks is really a short space of time, I've had rabbits which have gone 6 months with daily work and no progress, I'm talking about badly abused buns here so your two won't take anywhere near as long. The fact that Duke is taking food from you is a big plus :thumb:

I've never had a bun who enjoyed being groomed, some put up with it and others hate it. In some cases I've used a soft baby brush which helps but you can't really do that with long-haired buns. Some just don't like being touched!

Hopefully someone will come along with an alternative for you :wave:
 
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