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what makes rabbits shy?

They are prey animals so anything big and over powering would make them a bit iffy :) Mine don't like (but put up with, apart from Lola..) being handled, they like to keep all paws on the ground, and use their instinct to run a little too much ...especially when it's medicine time!:roll:
 
It's their nature as prey animals. The only time a rabbit in the wild gets picked up is when it's about the be killed. They've been hardwired by evolution to fear being lifted off the ground and fight for their lives if they are.
 
They are prey animals so anything big and over powering would make them a bit iffy :) Mine don't like (but put up with, apart from Lola..) being handled, they like to keep all paws on the ground, and use their instinct to run a little too much ...especially when it's medicine time!:roll:

the thing is Chris LOVES being held as i held him alot when he was a baby:love:(he even falls asleep sometimes!). Maddy was 1 year old when i got her and she is extremely shy(she hates being handled and starts biting the person holding her. I love her anyway:love:.) I dont know anything about her past except that she was given back to the petstore because her previous owner had to go to the hospital. could it be that she was mistreated before i got her?
 
Possibly, but not necessarily. While all bunnies do have a natural prey instinct, it is stronger in some animals than in others and some animals are confident enough around humans to not mind being picked up. But just like humans, some are more shy than others, it's just personality and there isn't necessarily always going to be a 'cause' for it. That's just the nature of human and animals, we are all individuals and all a bit different!
 
As others have said, it's instincts.
and ditto what santa said. I had my girls from very young, and Eli from about 3 months. Of the 3 he's the friendliest even though they were handled a lot as youngsters and he was treated reasonably badly until I got him.

I personally think it's good for them to retain a lot of their natural instincts. Eli may be more friendly but he's an idiot. He'll eat anything (the girls seem to know what's safe and what isn't), approaches dogs and cats and goes to investigate scary noises rather than bolting. He'd be dead in an instant if he ever escaped.
 
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