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How to get your nervous rabbits to trust you?

BigBunnyBenji

Mama Doe
Hello. :wave:

Just wanted to hear from other people on this, because I've never had a nervous rabbit up until now. Benji was from P@H, and as terrible as they can be with advice, I can't complain because he is perfect, absolutely gorgeous and healthy, and very friendly too. I had him from six months old, and since he was living in a store, I think he has always been used to people being around him, so he is never and has never been nervous with people.

April is the complete opposite and it's understandable. She is 2 years old, and was living in a tiny hutch with no run. She hates to be picked up and often thumps when you try to. She doesn't like being stroked, or touched, but she is never aggressive, just very nervy. She will just about come and sniff you and your hand, but if you move, she will run off.

I just wondered, do people think this will improve, and how long before their nervous rabbits began to accept them? I mean, I've only had her for a week, so I can't expect any change yet, but I am really hoping that she becomes a bit better over time. If anyone has any advice, that would be great. :D
 
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Awww bless her :love: Are they bonded, or is the plan to bond them? My Mavis was always a terrified bunny, she was dumped at a rescue so they don't know her background, but she just sat head in the corner quivering whenever anyone went near her or when she was allowed open spaces or heights. She was there for a long time with some (but fairly minimal) progress, she really only made progress when she was bonded. Within a few weeks of being bonded with Dudley, she was a different bunny, much more relaxed and contented, would eat from my hand and happy to enjoy some space. She seems to get most of her confidence from him - if he's ok, she seems to think that all is ok.

It's now nearly 3 years on, and while she is a lot better, she has never become a cuddle bun. She will come over if she thinks I've got food, but mostly she will still run away if anyone comes near her and will freeze to the spot if someone she doesn't recognise tries to get near her. She will let me rub her nose while she's eating but really she's just tolerating it rather than liking it like some of my others do. I think patience is really the key - everything on their terms, just sit near her holding some food and ignore her completely. Over time she will learn that you're not going to grab at her and that you bring tasty food. She may never be as cuddly as Benji, but all bunnies have different personalities anyway just like humans, sometimes regardless of whether or not they have had a good start in life.

It's still very early days, but hopefully you can make good progress with her :D
 
Awww bless her :love: Are they bonded, or is the plan to bond them? My Mavis was always a terrified bunny, she was dumped at a rescue so they don't know her background, but she just sat head in the corner quivering whenever anyone went near her or when she was allowed open spaces or heights. She was there for a long time with some (but fairly minimal) progress, she really only made progress when she was bonded. Within a few weeks of being bonded with Dudley, she was a different bunny, much more relaxed and contented, would eat from my hand and happy to enjoy some space. She seems to get most of her confidence from him - if he's ok, she seems to think that all is ok.

It's now nearly 3 years on, and while she is a lot better, she has never become a cuddle bun. She will come over if she thinks I've got food, but mostly she will still run away if anyone comes near her and will freeze to the spot if someone she doesn't recognise tries to get near her. She will let me rub her nose while she's eating but really she's just tolerating it rather than liking it like some of my others do. I think patience is really the key - everything on their terms, just sit near her holding some food and ignore her completely. Over time she will learn that you're not going to grab at her and that you bring tasty food. She may never be as cuddly as Benji, but all bunnies have different personalities anyway just like humans, sometimes regardless of whether or not they have had a good start in life.

It's still very early days, but hopefully you can make good progress with her :D

Well when I introduced the pair of them, I realised that April is actually more confident with Benji around, so I have tried to bond them quite quickly. They have been together everyday since I got her. Only for 10 minutes at first, then for a couple of hours and then full days. Today they have been in the garden for a few hours and April has just been following Benji around everywhere. I wouldn't say they were fully bonded, but they lie together, and April grooms Benji, so they are well on the way of being bonded.

April does run around outside, but she tries to stay close to Benji. She doesn't just sit still though, she is still quite curious.

Thank you, I hope she comes to love me too. :love:
 
Estelle has lived here for four years and has only just started trusting me to stroke her whilst she is eating!!!

She is a rescue bun and was found wandering the streets so who knows what happened to her beforehand.


I love her though!!!!!:love::love::love::love:
 
I've had Angel for 8 years this summer and she still refuses to let me go near her, she HATES being stroked and will glare at you for days after you dare to pick her up for any reason!
In the last couple of years she has started to run over to people if they have food and you can get a quick nose run in but that's it.

She is happily bonded to her husbun though and as long as she's happy and confident with him then that's ok with me :)
 
I got Sonic from Paws 4 Thought when he was about 9 weeks old. The day I got him I sat with him in his hutch for hours just talking to him, with the occasional cuddle. He's always beeen confident around me and other people, for that matter. Maybe it just depends on the bun :)
 
I got Buttercup, Blackberry, Dandelion & Clover all at the same time - they were dumped where I worked. Buttercup was older - probably about 6 - 7 months, and we assume the father of the other 3 who were approx 8 weeks. The other 3 were all very trusting from day 1. Buttercup was very gentle, but never quite so trusting. It took a good year before he would come up to me of his own accord. I've had him 3 and a half years now, and in the past few months he has allowed me to give him bum rumples without running away :D It's been a slow process, but when he is in the mood I can fuss him :love:
 
I'm sure it does depend on the bun, but I'm really asking advice on how people got their nervous buns to trust them and how long it took.
 
I'm sure it does depend on the bun, but I'm really asking advice on how people got their nervous buns to trust them and how long it took.

If you can, just sit with your bun, let them approach you in their own time and learn to trust you.

I think Butter's trusted me in one way quite soon, as he has always been good when handled (although I don't handle that often, I usually just fuss him in his own space without picking him up). But the other ways of showing he trusts me - letting me give him nose rubs,taking food from my hand etc, have been built up over years.
 
I sit quietly and calmly with my lot every day. They will come over to me, sniff me but only Frosty lets me stroke him (nose rubs) although Mottle will sometimes tolerate a few strokes whilst he eats. Hopefully she will gradually soften towards you as she sees Benjie's attitude. I have had Frosty since he was a few weeks old (he is now 5 months) and Mottle has only been here a few weeks. Good luck. Your two are lovely.
 
Thank you for the advice. :)

I try and sit with April every day and let her approach me in her own time, so hopefully over time, she will learn that I'm not so bad after all!
 
My Sugar has always been nervous of humans. She was born in a rescue centre so has never had any horrendous experiences, but there maybe just wasn't time to handle her. She will take a treat from my hand but runs away to eat it :roll: She has recently become a bit braver since getting a new friend, who is very cuddly and loves humans but she's happy with bunny company - hops around/grazes/washes etc. I've had her for 2 and a half years now so I don't think there will be any change now. Sonny on the other hand trusted me from the first time he met me :love::love:

A week isn't that long - she may still be a bit nervous of her new surroundings.
 
I've had Chloe (little nethie cross) for 4 years. She bonded herself to Bugsy straight away and seemed very inquisitive of him, but not of her surroundings or me. She was very shy, nervous and skittish and would never let me stroke her and she would never take food from my hand. She was very difficult to catch when outdoors in shed & attached run, so after a year outside, I brought her indoors with Bugsy over winter.

I must admit that I didn't spend a lot of time sitting with her on her own, though I would talk to her when cleaning out their room. I thought bonding her and Bugsy with Poppy & Pebbles, would give her more rabbit social stimulation..but unfortunately she fell out with Poppy after 16 months together, so she went back to being a pair with Bugsy.

When I put her in the kitchen, where I was almost constantly going in and out, she stopped hiding in her tunnel so much and then started to let me stroke her.

Then when I started hand feeding pellets, she would start leaning out towards me from her favourite place ( the litter box is her comfort zone). To start with i took the pellet to her, then slowly over weeks, moved my hand slightly away from her till she had to put her paws on the box, and eventually she was out of the box to come to me to eat.

Nowshe will put the front paws on my legs (I sit on the floor with them) and take pellets from me and will now let the boys hand feed her.

It has take 4 years to get to this point. She still rarely leaves the kitchen when Bugsy goes to the hall or bathroom. So next step is to start moving out of the kitchen at feed time to get her comfortable with other rooms.
 
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