Shy rabbits

Hello everyone,

I was just thinking that my netherland dwarfs Plusle and Minun have always been so shy. They wont let me near them and I have to chase them for ages to get them home at night. They're not scared of me when I'm ignoring them. They're both about 1 year+ old now and they're not getting less shy. Is there anything I can do to make them less scared of me?

I should also say that Plusle is very territorial about his house and wont let me put my hand in there without trying to scratch or bite (Minun doesn't do anything like this). Is it normal? Can I stop him?

Thanks,
Amy

Is Plusle neutered?

Have you tried hand feeding them?

Their behaviour sounds quite normal. Alfie and Bubbles are quite confident when I'm sitting back and observing them, but the minute I try to pick them up or herd them back into their kennel they run away. :lol:

Have you tried associating food with home time? I started by shaking their bag of pellets at feed time, then progressed to feeding them as soon as they went back home. It took a few weeks in all but now all I need to do is shake the pellet bag and they run straight into the kennel & sit waiting for food. It's a lot less stressful than trying to catch them. :lol: You could also try clicker training.

Rabbits can be quite territorial. If Plusle isn't already neutered then that will help but there is also some useful info about aggression here:
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/aggression.html

I don't know if you've already seen it, but there are also some links to old threads here, some of which may also be of use - there are some on aggression, bonding with your rabbits and also the clicker training I mentioned.

Yes, all my buns are neutered.

Thanks for all the advice, I'm going to think about clicker training. Unfortunately I wont be able to try this on my other bun (Pixel) as he's completely deaf.

Thanks again,
Amy

Have you tried sitting on the floor ignoring them and letting them explore you? Maybe while reading? When I'm reading I usually sit on the floor with the rabbits.

Elena said:

Have you tried sitting on the floor ignoring them and letting them explore you? Maybe while reading? When I'm reading I usually sit on the floor with the rabbits.

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Yes, I often do my art on the floor whilst they wonder around me. They make their mark on it too, tearing and putting footprints all over everything.
But as soon as I move towards them they run off..