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New bunny, clueless owner (need help)

R

Rabbitlover828

Young Bun
I have recently bought a 8 week old miniature rex. I have done months of research on taking care of rabbits. Unfortunately, my family didn't listen to my advice about leaving him alone for at least 24 hours to get used to his new home and calm down from the long, bumpy car ride. They picked him up, stroked him and took pictures of him. I now fear that he is petrified of us as he is only a baby.

He is showing all signs of sadness, fear and some aggression, such as sitting in a corner, ears flat on his back, nipping us, running away as soon as we enter the room and he only ever comes out of his room for a quick drink or snack. I understand that he will be scared for a couple of weeks, and get accustomed to his new life, but is there anything I can do to help my poor little bunny?

I really love him and don't want him to fear me. What should I do? Any advice?
 
I understand your family are excited, but you are right in thinking that you should leave him alone for a bit, to settle down. He needs to get used to the new sounds, smells, lights etc. Try sitting talking to him, so he gets to recognise your voice.

I guess he just left his mum? How about a soft toy for him to snuggle into, so he doesn't feel so lonely? Does he have plenty of hay to be nibbling on? He might be a bit unsettled at first, but should be eating at least hay within a few hours.

Also, welcome to the forum! I found this forum the first day I bought my rabbits home too :) What is his name?
 
:wave: Hello, welcome to the forum. I'm guessing your bun has been taken away from the rest of his litter? I assume he is missing his friends. :( Rabbits are sociable creatures and should be kept in pairs. I think he needs a friend but you should be able to find him a perfect match from a rescue once he is neutered. :thumb:

Does he have a place to hide with lots of hay? He just needs to learn your trust. xx
 
SamanthaJane said:
I understand your family are excited, but you are right in thinking that you should leave him alone for a bit, to settle down. He needs to get used to the new sounds, smells, lights etc. Try sitting talking to him, so he gets to recognise your voice.

I guess he just left his mum? How about a soft toy for him to snuggle into, so he doesn't feel so lonely? Does he have plenty of hay to be nibbling on? He might be a bit unsettled at first, but should be eating at least hay within a few hours.

Also, welcome to the forum! I found this forum the first day I bought my rabbits home too :) What is his name?
Click to expand...

His name is Igneous (grey like the rock). Thank you, I have been talking to him, but my family took him out of his hutch today for about four hours. We have had him for a day, but they insisted that he would be fine and didn't put him back. He does have lots of hay, and we will get him a toy to make him feel more comfortable. Thank you very much, but is there anything else i can do as i really don't want him to be scared and shy.

Again, thank you. :D
 
Mischief and Tinker's Mum said:
:wave: Hello, welcome to the forum. I'm guessing your bun has been taken away from the rest of his litter? I assume he is missing his friends. :( Rabbits are sociable creatures and should be kept in pairs. I think he needs a friend but you should be able to find him a perfect match from a rescue once he is neutered. :thumb:

Does he have a place to hide with lots of hay? He just needs to learn your trust. xx
Click to expand...

Yes, once he is neutered we are going to get a female lop for him, who will be spayed. I hope he just needs to adjust. Is there anything i can do in the meantime?

Thank you! :D
 
Rabbitlover828 said:
Yes, once he is neutered we are going to get a female lop for him, who will be spayed. I hope he just needs to adjust. Is there anything i can do in the meantime?

Thank you! :D
Click to expand...

Great news! :) I would give him a few days but then you could temp him to come up to you by offering bits of veg or dandelion leaves. When he knows you're just there to be nice to him then he should hopefully come round. :love:
 
happybun said:
bring him food and offer him treats from your hand. don't try to pick him up. give him time.
Click to expand...

Should we give him a toy? And would it be a good idea to move him out of my garage (although safe and in a hutch) and into my room where he could play on the floor, as it is bigger, and he would be warmer, and get used to us as we could see him more often.

What do you think?
 
SamanthaJane said:
I understand your family are excited, but you are right in thinking that you should leave him alone for a bit, to settle down. He needs to get used to the new sounds, smells, lights etc. Try sitting talking to him, so he gets to recognise your voice.

I guess he just left his mum? How about a soft toy for him to snuggle into, so he doesn't feel so lonely? Does he have plenty of hay to be nibbling on? He might be a bit unsettled at first, but should be eating at least hay within a few hours.

Also, welcome to the forum! I found this forum the first day I bought my rabbits home too :) What is his name?
Click to expand...

Also, he is in my garage (don't worry, it is safe, and is in hutch) but would i be a good idea to bring him into my room? It is warmer, larger and allow him to get used to me faster (i think). And what toy would be good? Fluffy? I'm worried he may eat the fur and get hair balls.

I'd appreciate your advice, and thank you.
 
My bunnies are indoors i feel its much better to bond with them if they see you a lot more if they are inside. I started with my first bun outside but felt sorry for him being alone out there. I have a 15 week old had her since 8 weeks. She still wont let me stroke her but will now jump on me for treats and will come up and sniff me when im sat on the floor with her. Think it will take a long time for her to trust me as she seems a nervous bunny so i dont know how far along i would be with her if i had kept her outside as its taken 7 weeks for me to get this far and i spend a lot of time sitting with her which i wouldnt be able to do if she was outside. :wave:
 
Jojo123 said:
My bunnies are indoors i feel its much better to bond with them if they see you a lot more if they are inside. I started with my first bun outside but felt sorry for him being alone out there. I have a 15 week old had her since 8 weeks. She still wont let me stroke her but will now jump on me for treats and will come up and sniff me when im sat on the floor with her. Think it will take a long time for her to trust me as she seems a nervous bunny so i dont know how far along i would be with her if i had kept her outside as its taken 7 weeks for me to get this far and i spend a lot of time sitting with her which i wouldnt be able to do if she was outside. :wave:
Click to expand...

Thank you for your answer, it was very helpful. As he is in the garage, i think he should move inside so i can see him more, but my parents disagree. If i have another persons view on this matter, maybe they will change their mind. I definatley think it would be beneficial for him and me as we would be able to bond more.

Could i also ask, if i were to get him a toy, is it better to get a fluffy one? I'm afraid of him getting hairballs as i know rabbits cannot vomit them up.

Thanks for the advice! :D
 
Sit quietly in his room and ensure you have tasty treats with you, take a book or something and just sit quietly and patiently. Eventually his curiosity will get the better of him and he'll come over to you! Then offer him a treat, soon he'll learn that You=Good (nice treats) and he will settle.
 
Just a nice soft teddy - keep an eye on him to see if he shows signs on nibbling it, but most rabbits won't bother too much except to cuddle up.

It is tricky with moving him about - is he permanently living in the garage? (no cars in there I hope?) - He needs to spend time getting to know his 'home' first. Rabbits make great housepets, and if that's something you are thinking about, then do some research and move him then. In and out is ok in the summer temperature wise, but in the winter, if Igneous lives outside he needs to stay there, as actually, it can do more harm than good to bring him in for a few hours / days here or there - but more about that in the winter, we are just getting sunshine!

He will be fine once he is settled I am sure - I foster rabbits and the last two who arrived were so timid and sweet and quiet when they arrived. Now, only a few weeks later, and that includes being spayed, they are crazy little things who go mental running about when they know I am bringing their food hehe!
 
Cari said:
Sit quietly in his room and ensure you have tasty treats with you, take a book or something and just sit quietly and patiently. Eventually his curiosity will get the better of him and he'll come over to you! Then offer him a treat, soon he'll learn that You=Good (nice treats) and he will settle.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this great advice, but also my bunny is in the garage (it is clean and safe) and i was wondering if it would be better to bring him into my room. Would this help in any way as i would be able to see him more often.
 
SamanthaJane said:
Just a nice soft teddy - keep an eye on him to see if he shows signs on nibbling it, but most rabbits won't bother too much except to cuddle up.

It is tricky with moving him about - is he permanently living in the garage? (no cars in there I hope?) - He needs to spend time getting to know his 'home' first. Rabbits make great housepets, and if that's something you are thinking about, then do some research and move him then. In and out is ok in the summer temperature wise, but in the winter, if Igneous lives outside he needs to stay there, as actually, it can do more harm than good to bring him in for a few hours / days here or there - but more about that in the winter, we are just getting sunshine!

He will be fine once he is settled I am sure - I foster rabbits and the last two who arrived were so timid and sweet and quiet when they arrived. Now, only a few weeks later, and that includes being spayed, they are crazy little things who go mental running about when they know I am bringing their food hehe!
Click to expand...

So we shouldn't bring him inside? I don't know about you, but where i live it is cold all year round. I don't even think we have a summer... He will live in the garage (no cars) but it is dark and really cold. I would like to bring him in so he isn't so lonely. I want him to be a house rabbit, not a garage rabbit, but my parents may need some convincing. :)
Hopefully some advice from and expert like you would help us to decide what the best thing to do is.

Again, thank you! :D
 
Im not sure about the toy, but i did put a cushion in with my bunny to sit on once and he chewed through it and started on the stuffing so im not sure about how safe a toy would be :wave:
 
out of all the toys weve been through our rabbits have the most fun with........... an old plastic plant pot!! I know, dont ask why but they will literally spend ages chucking it about... :lol:
 
The key thing is spending time in the same area together. Indoors is easier for this because that's were you are anyway but you can achieve the same thing by spending time in the garage. What sort of exercise set up do you have - if you plan on the whole garage you might want to start with some sort of pen to limit the area. Then sit in the pen (get a comfy cushion) and hang out there with the hutch door open. I'd suggest bringing a book/phone/magazine/laptop. Spend a couple of hours a day and your bunny will get used to you. You'll be ignored at first, and you should ignore back. Just let your bunny get used to you being around.

You could try a cuddly toy, just remove it if your bun starts chewing. Another thing you could try is sleeping with the toy first so it picks up your scent or use an old tshirt. That way you can introduce your scent in a non threatening way.
 
Rabbitlover828 said:
So we shouldn't bring him inside? I don't know about you, but where i live it is cold all year round. I don't even think we have a summer... He will live in the garage (no cars) but it is dark and really cold. I would like to bring him in so he isn't so lonely. I want him to be a house rabbit, not a garage rabbit, but my parents may need some convincing. :)
Hopefully some advice from and expert like you would help us to decide what the best thing to do is.

Again, thank you! :D
Click to expand...

Can't you keep the hutch outside? Or is there no space? Just a thought with regards to daylight. You live in England? I live in a cold part of England, one of the highest parts but we still get bits of sunshine.

I'm not saying don't bring him in, it is fine during the summer months. But he still needs time to settle and learn where 'home' is.
House rabbits are great, but they are hard work, I won't lie. To be honest, depending on the rabbit, they aren't too bad in a house, but the hay is the problem - but it comes hand in hand with a rabbit - it just get everywhere. You could vacuum 3 times a day and still it would be there.
 
SamanthaJane said:
Can't you keep the hutch outside? Or is there no space? Just a thought with regards to daylight. You live in England? I live in a cold part of England, one of the highest parts but we still get bits of sunshine.

I'm not saying don't bring him in, it is fine during the summer months. But he still needs time to settle and learn where 'home' is.
House rabbits are great, but they are hard work, I won't lie. To be honest, depending on the rabbit, they aren't too bad in a house, but the hay is the problem - but it comes hand in hand with a rabbit - it just get everywhere. You could vacuum 3 times a day and still it would be there.
Click to expand...

We live in the north of England, and we barley get sunshine. He cannot live outside because there is a family of foxes living next to us as we live next to a forest. I will keep Igneous in the garage since that will probably be his home, but i just want him to feel safe.

Thank you for being so helpful! :D
 
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