Struggling to bond with my rabbits :(

I feel really bad putting this but I wanted to see if anyone else had felt the same.
I've had aurora and ariel for almost a year and love them to bits but I just don't seem to have a bond with them. I spend time with them sitting with them, feeding them but they just seem so distant and ignore me.
I know rabbits aren't exactly cuddly pets but they just don't seem to want anything to do with me. It's just something that's been getting me down recently even to the point my mum noticed and said you've just not bonded with them rabbits have you ? Which set me off crying because I feel like its my fault and I'm letting them down.
I know it can take years for rabbits to get used to you and I'm probably just being stupid but my bridge bun Oscar was so loving and I think a lot of this is to do with me missing him

awww ... that's sad

I have a very close bond with my housebun Nemo ... but hardly a bond at all with his wifebun Cookie ..

I had a very close bond with my bridge buns , Thumper , flopsey , Hope and Blue .... but although I love Franc and Truffle its realy not the same .. :?

I don't let it get me down though ... if I want to get near them I use food bribes ...

the rest of the time I let them be bunnies and enjoy watching them do just that .

Have you tried being in an enclosed space with them ... and hiding fod in your pockets etc ... I sit in the run with new rescues like that to gain their trust ... curiosity usualy wins

bunnymadhouse said:

awww ... that's sad

I have a very close bond with my housebun Nemo ... but hardly a bond at all with his wifebun Cookie ..

I had a very close bond with my bridge buns , Thumper , flopsey , Hope and Blue .... but although I love Franc and Truffle its realy not the same .. :?

I don't let it get me down though ... if I want to get near them I use food bribes ...

the rest of the time I let them be bunnies and enjoy watching them do just that .

Have you tried being in an enclosed space with them ... and hiding fod in your pockets etc ... I sit in the run with new rescues like that to gain their trust ... curiosity usualy wins

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Thanks for the advice, I sit in the aviary with them quite a lot and sometimes give them dried forage and fenugreek crunchies.

I love watching them play with each other and groom and flop. I just miss the cuddles and close relationship I had with Oscar. I do think its just down to missing him so much.
Thanks again

Over the years I have had a very different relationship with each of my bunnies.

Estelle one of my current bunnies has only just started to trust me to stroke her while she is eating. This has taken four years for her to trust me to do this.

Patience is paying off.....but always on Estelle's terms. And it always has been and will be on the terms of the bunny.....never me.

Just appreciate the fact that I am sure your bunnies love you for all that you do for them.:thumb::thumb:

I do know what you mean. I miss Benji so much, I feel like I don't have much of a bond with Cupcake or Nahla. Cupcake was very cuddly and affectionate but not really anymore, and Nahla never has been. I love them both to death and wouldn't be without them, but I have much more of a bond with Pud, who loves to be cuddled and stroked, and actually seeks out my company (he follows me around etc). It's not your fault and don't let it upset you, you're a brilliant owner xx

I know what you mean. My lot are all gorgeous but none of them want my company. They are so beautiful and rabbity and I enjoy watching them and being with them but its not the same as my childhood rabbits, Lady Alice and her son Daniel they would litterally fall in to a flat furry lake of rabbitness when I stroked their noses. I am sure you are still grieving for your bridge bun (naturally) as you say. Give it time. :wave:

When you get human hating bunnies its really hard to see how happily bonded others are with thier bunnies but believe me you are bonded, if they ignore you then you have been accepted. I was happy enough to be ignored because when they are scared they hide and panic. Some bunnies will never be cuddle buns, took alvin pretty much 4 years to accept fuss and it does hurt a little, but bring a stranger to meet them and you will tell the difference in how they treat you compared to someone they havent bonded with.

Thanks everyone
It will take time I know, they're just not cuddly buns and it will take some adjusting to

I feel like that with my 2 girl bunnies. The boys are both so lovely and want fuss all the time but both girls act like they hate me! They ignore me (unless I have good) and only want attention from their husbuns.
My oldest girl I have had for 8 years now and she's always been like that no matter how much time I spend with her.
I've just gotten used to them being like that and I figure as long as they are happy with their bun friends then what they think about me/our bond is not important.

donnamt said:

When you get human hating bunnies its really hard to see how happily bonded others are with thier bunnies but believe me you are bonded, if they ignore you then you have been accepted. I was happy enough to be ignored because when they are scared they hide and panic. Some bunnies will never be cuddle buns, took alvin pretty much 4 years to accept fuss and it does hurt a little, but bring a stranger to meet them and you will tell the difference in how they treat you compared to someone they havent bonded with.

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Very true.

Bouncing bunnies said:

I feel really bad putting this but I wanted to see if anyone else had felt the same.
I've had aurora and ariel for almost a year and love them to bits but I just don't seem to have a bond with them. I spend time with them sitting with them, feeding them but they just seem so distant and ignore me.
I know rabbits aren't exactly cuddly pets but they just don't seem to want anything to do with me. It's just something that's been getting me down recently even to the point my mum noticed and said you've just not bonded with them rabbits have you ? Which set me off crying because I feel like its my fault and I'm letting them down.
I know it can take years for rabbits to get used to you and I'm probably just being stupid but my bridge bun Oscar was so loving and I think a lot of this is to do with me missing him

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Can I ask how old they were when you got them. I've had my two for just 4 weeks (yes I'm very impatient) And they arent cuddly buns at all. Mine are a year old from a rescue. They are already much better than they were, when they are eating they will let me stroke them, and when I get in the run with them they no longer scurry away but come and sniff round me and Poppy in particular is always licking my arms or legs, even shy boy Will licks me now sometimes. But even if I put treats on my lap they dont jump on to eat them just stretch up and pull them off:evil:

My previous rabbit experience is many many years ago and the 2 buns I have owned previously (at different times, long before I knew they should be kept in pairs) I had from when they were only a couple of months old, and they were so different. Both loved to be stroked, obviously I dont know if they liked being picked up and cuddled but they didnt struggle or run away and would happily sit on a lap and be stroked or brushed. Rosie my first bun would happily jump up on to my lap, flop and almost demand to be petted

Dont get me wrong, I love my Poppy and Willow dearly, and I know its very early days but it would be nice to have a cuddle occasionally. I will have to make the most of them licking and sniffing me.:roll:

I am sorry for the loss of your Oscar. My Rosie left us way back in the late 1980s and I still think of her and have a framed picture of her in my bedroom.

proper people friendly , human attention seeking bunnies are actualy quite rare if you think how many are like that compared to those that arnt . We have around 36 rabbits in rescue at the moment and I would say out of those there are only 4 or 5 of those that will actively seek attention from humans ...

you were obviously very very lucky with Oscar ... and I do think when you have that close bond with a bunny it is then a very hard example for other buns to live up to . ..I do understand .

It very much depends on the bunny I think.

Bobo and Harley ignore us most of the time except for food - occassionally we get to give Bobo a head scratch - Harley just avoids us. The 2 lops are very human friendly though, especially Sheldon who loves attention.

I do have a bond with Bobo and Harley - it's just a very subtle one that is not nearly as obvious as with Sheldon. As long as our buns are happy though - I don't really mind about the strength of their bond with us - they have each other and if that's enough for them - then that's enough for me:thumb:

I have four bunnies 3 male and one female and my female much prefers my company than her own husband...she prefers to sit with me than him and licks me a lot. He is a very rabbit rabbit though and prefers rabbit company. I wonder if its a little bit breed specific though because my two blue beverens love human company and my two white beverens prefer rabbit company. My blues ones are more confident as well and go up and down stairs...they are also more intelligent. My foster bunnies are mini lops and they will come up to you but much prefer their own company. Anyway I'm sure your bunnies love you they are maybe just not as bonded to humans and more to each other than your last bunny.