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Why has my rabbit become mean? What am I doing wrong? dad may get rid of them help!

zayna1

Warren Scout
:( Last july I bought a little lionhead bunny from a petshop because i went there for cat toys, and I saw him and he was all alone in the cage, and when i picked him up and held him he was so affectionate and sweet. However, ever since that day I brought him home, he has been mean/scared of me. I never man-handle him at all. He was an outdoor bun with daytime access to a fenced area of the garden and I would spend as much time as I could with him after school and he would (and still does) take food from my hand. However he will never approach me, he will run at every strange sound, and will never EVER let me stroke him and he never has since we got him home! :'( (he has been living indoors since october) I tried my best, I tried the softly softly approach just sitting in his area quietly etc, and the furthest we got was taking food from me. Then my dad told me to just grab him, and hold him on my lap for a while to get used to me. He panics to death, and he has even grunted at me and thumps alot. He is terrified of his carrier after being neutered, so when I have to move him like when cleaning his cage, he gets really scared and I end up getting scratched even if i'm wearing long sleeves/gloves.

Now my new bunny, is a baby still, at 9 and a half weeks old. I have had her since 7 weeks of age. When I got her she was really friendly, the people I got her from had obviously tamed her well. She loved to be stroked, and wouldn't panic when being picked up. I spend from around 4:30 until around 9:30 each day (obviously longer on weekends) playing with the bunnies. For some reason she has stopped liking being stroked, when I put my hand near her, she wont run like my other bunny, she just thinks I have food and she doesnt want to be stroked at all! I really don't know what i'm doing wrong here. I dont want her to be scared of me, and I want them to both be happy. For some reason my dad is annoyed, because I promised I would look after them (I love animals, and my cat is spoilt rotten, i would never neglect one!), and that if a bunny was bought from a home/shelter rather than a petshop it would be tamer from the start as they have been handled more etc. I really need some advice here. My dad is threatening to get rid of them. I will get her neutered when old enough, but my dad isnt too keen on the thought it will calm them down, as it hasnt made any difference with my older bun. She will come over to me for a sniff, doesn't run away from me, jump up on my lap to eat a treat. But she doesn't want me to touch her like before, wheather it be stroking her, of lifting her up when neccisary to move her. She is now starting to scratch and panic like my older bun does! I know rabbits dont like being picked up, but I only do it when I have to. Argh! What am I doing wrong?! How can I turn two rabbits mean :( :( :( am i really that bad an owner? :(
 
Im sorry i dont have the answers you need but i couldnt read and run, dont blame yourself really you sound like you love your bunnies and will give them everything. hope some one has some answer for you soon
 
You need to understand that rabbits are prey animals and their instinct when being picked up is to panic because they equate that with being caught by a predator. She doesn't know that you don't want to hurt her, she is acting instinctively.

You haven't said how old your girl bun is, but when rabbits get to be about 12 weeks old, they become sexually mature. Girl rabbits often get very attached to their territory and will defend their hutch and often lunge and grunt when you try to clean it or even feed them. Getting her neutered would be the best thing to do although you will have to wait until she is 5 - 6 months old.

Some rabbits never like being touched or handled and you need to do things their way. It is cruel to grab a rabbit and hold it against its will on your lap. It doesn't train them, all it does is scare them and make them avoid you even more.

What you should do is just sit and watch them without touching them. Let them come to you. You can sit with some pellets or a bit of veg and let them approach you. If you don't make an attempt to touch them, eventually they will learn to trust you. You have to be patient.

This is exactly why rabbits make very poor pets for small children because although they have this fluffy, cuddly image, they are not animals that like to be handled unless THEY want it.
 
It is cruel to grab a rabbit and hold it against its will on your lap. It doesn't train them, all it does is scare them and make them avoid you even more.

That's what i told my dad! But i'd rather not argue with him lol :oops:

But the funniest thing, just after I posted this, I went downstairs and tried again (i posted this after i tried for a while to interact with her) , she comes bounding over and onto my lap for some pellets, and funnily enough she didnt mind me stroking her!! haha I think she must have a split personality!! :S
 
What are their living arrangements? Have they got plenty of space? Do they get freerange time?
 
yeah they're free range during the weekend from around 9am until 11 or 12 pm, and on weekdays they're out and about from around 4:30 until 9:30 or sometimes a little later :) However they both prefer to stay in the livingroom, and on the rare occasion the older bun ventures upstairs then runs back down :lol:
 
are they with each other or apart? If they are male and female then if both are neutered they can be friends with each other and that may help settle them!
 
:wave: They are not being mean or hate you as an owner, im afriad this is how most rabbits are. When they are babies they dont mind being handled so much but as they grow they will become more and more wary. As another poster said they need to gain your trust that you are not going to grab or hurt them. My rabbits hate being picked up and I have 4, I do it as little as possible but when I really have to check them then talk to them let them know you are apporaching so that you dont scare them..

I find if you lay on the floor and not move, let them run on you etc, they will soon get used to you. Its taken me almost a year to gain the trust of one of my buns.. and one still scarpers at the slightest little sound.

You are not doing anything wrong and im glad you have found this forum. How old are you? You will find out so much about your buns here, and then hopefully you can educate your dad a little ;) (not by arguing) and you can show him you are really interested in looking after and caring for your buns xx
 
Hi :) the advice youve been getting is all spot on. Just wanted to add that I find it helps to lie on the floor and read a book. They arent used to you lying down, so are curious, and as you are not paying attention to them they dont see you as a threat. Then they might come and investigate after a while, but its important not to make them jump or try to go to far with them at this stage. Be passive, and maybe offer a few treats.

Also have you tried stroking the nose of the friendlier one? Most rabbits love it. Wouldnt try it with the more unfriendly one yet though, slowly does it.
 
:( Last july I bought a little lionhead bunny from a petshop because i went there for cat toys, and I saw him and he was all alone in the cage, and when i picked him up and held him he was so affectionate and sweet. However, ever since that day I brought him home, he has been mean/scared of me. I never man-handle him at all. He was an outdoor bun with daytime access to a fenced area of the garden and I would spend as much time as I could with him after school and he would (and still does) take food from my hand. However he will never approach me, he will run at every strange sound, and will never EVER let me stroke him and he never has since we got him home! :'( (he has been living indoors since october) I tried my best, I tried the softly softly approach just sitting in his area quietly etc, and the furthest we got was taking food from me. Then my dad told me to just grab him, and hold him on my lap for a while to get used to me. He panics to death, and he has even grunted at me and thumps alot. He is terrified of his carrier after being neutered, so when I have to move him like when cleaning his cage, he gets really scared and I end up getting scratched even if i'm wearing long sleeves/gloves.

Now my new bunny, is a baby still, at 9 and a half weeks old. I have had her since 7 weeks of age. When I got her she was really friendly, the people I got her from had obviously tamed her well. She loved to be stroked, and wouldn't panic when being picked up. I spend from around 4:30 until around 9:30 each day (obviously longer on weekends) playing with the bunnies. For some reason she has stopped liking being stroked, when I put my hand near her, she wont run like my other bunny, she just thinks I have food and she doesnt want to be stroked at all! I really don't know what i'm doing wrong here. I dont want her to be scared of me, and I want them to both be happy. For some reason my dad is annoyed, because I promised I would look after them (I love animals, and my cat is spoilt rotten, i would never neglect one!), and that if a bunny was bought from a home/shelter rather than a petshop it would be tamer from the start as they have been handled more etc. I really need some advice here. My dad is threatening to get rid of them. I will get her neutered when old enough, but my dad isnt too keen on the thought it will calm them down, as it hasnt made any difference with my older bun. She will come over to me for a sniff, doesn't run away from me, jump up on my lap to eat a treat. But she doesn't want me to touch her like before, wheather it be stroking her, of lifting her up when neccisary to move her. She is now starting to scratch and panic like my older bun does! I know rabbits dont like being picked up, but I only do it when I have to. Argh! What am I doing wrong?! How can I turn two rabbits mean :( :( :( am i really that bad an owner? :(

ive got an idea this worked with scooter all the time, basically just sit in the cage and read a book or something.eventually the rabbit will come over to u when it does completey ignore them let them do watever if they decided they want to sit on them then let them, ull know when they want ur attention they probs will start attacking ur cloths are watever ur holding, or they will get between u and the book.
 
i know wat ur going throught to when scooter was younger he would let u hold him stoke him but slowly he started to stray away from every one until he would not let u hold him at all now he will fight to get away from u. i only pick him up when necessary now the rest of the time i let him come to me he lets me know when he wants attention cause he starts having ago at the cage bars.

he will let me stroke him but only on his terms, the problem with rabbits is everything has be done on there terms which can be a little of a pain but eventually it is quite rewarding. they eventually will trust. u just got give them time, and obviously u hve to put more effort into them.

Get to know them personal, i know u cant spend time with them much because they run away but sit in the cage and just watch and observe. get to know there likes and dislikes.

i cant think of anything else that u can do apart from be patient it takes quite a while for them to change, its taken my rabbit a year and even now he can be a bit unpredicable, moody and very distant. but hopefully hell change as he gets older not holding my breath like but u just gotta give them a chance to change.
 
You are not doing anything wrong and im glad you have found this forum. How old are you? You will find out so much about your buns here, and then hopefully you can educate your dad a little ;) (not by arguing) and you can show him you are really interested in looking after and caring for your buns xx

This forum has been so incredibly helpful already and I'm so pleased I found it. I am 15, lol so yeah thats why my dad was involved :lol:

Oh and they do not live together atm, and they are in a huge double hutch in the living room atm. However they do play together during free range time and they seem to enjoy one another's company. I'm gonna try the laying on the floor reading thing, when I find a decent book to read :lol:
 
I'm not an expert but I can tell you that my own rabbit doesn't like being picked up either, I think that goes for most rabbits, quite often she doesn't even like being stroked either, she'll keep hopping further away from me. It's human nature to want to pick up a pet or a baby and give them a cuddle to reassure them and to show our love for them but rabbits need a different approach. Sometimes I find it hard not to want to pick her up for a cuddle but instead I wait till she hops up onto something, put my head near hers and let her lick my face, I regard this as our cuddly intimate moment and I've accepted that this is our way of bonding/cuddling and I love it! :love: Not sure if girl buns are not that dissimilar to us girls though, we can be moody, stubborn and unsociable when we want to be :lol: same for my rabbit. I've learned that I have to let her do things on her terms, if she wants to sulk and be moody I leave her be and if she's feeling sociable and friendly I spend more time playing with her.
 
This forum has been so incredibly helpful already and I'm so pleased I found it. I am 15, lol so yeah thats why my dad was involved :lol:

Oh and they do not live together atm, and they are in a huge double hutch in the living room atm. However they do play together during free range time and they seem to enjoy one another's company. I'm gonna try the laying on the floor reading thing, when I find a decent book to read :lol:

You do that.You may find bun will trundle on over for a treat, noserub, and to be nosey.Trust and rabbits....funny sentence!!!!
My girlie bun was like yours.I thought she was ill, so took her to the vets and found she was a girl with hormones and I thought she was a little fella!!!!:lol::lol:
Enjoy her!! Youll be addicted in no time.......:roll::roll::roll:
 
Not sure if girl buns are not that dissimilar to us girls though, we can be moody, stubborn and unsociable when we want to be :lol: same for my rabbit. I've learned that I have to let her do things on her terms, if she wants to sulk and be moody I leave her be and if she's feeling sociable and friendly I spend more time playing with her.

:lol: So my boy is already a right Diva, and my girly is gonna be a hormonal freak soon enough, lucky me! :lol::lol: She will deffo be spayed when she's old enough though.
 
:lol: So my boy is already a right Diva, and my girly is gonna be a hormonal freak soon enough, lucky me! :lol::lol: She will deffo be spayed when she's old enough though.

Hmm yes, diva maybe :lol: not too dissimilar to the guy I sit next to at work! He's having one of his 'moments' right now. Think I'll go make myself a cup of tea :lol:
 
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