Have you ever not bonded with a bun?

As in you to the bunny, not bunny to bunny.

I feel so bad, I feel absolutely nothing towards Lewis. I don't like him a great deal, and I definitely don't love him. Don't get me wrong, I take care of him, and do everything with him as I do the other bunnies, but he's just there. He hates me with a passion, I just feel like I'm not making any progress with him.

Rabbits aren't capable of hate. You have not had him long and he probably just needs more time to settle and to develop his own personality.

To answer your question, no I have never not bonded with a Rabbit xx

Aww that's must be upsetting for you! Not for him though, I'm sure he isn't that bothered! :roll:

I have a much better bond with my rabbit Foxie than I do with Bella, so I know where you are coming from. Foxie is a cheeky character and I've had him for the longest, whilst Bella is shy and timid. I do love her, but I don't think we have a particularly strong bond. I am working on it though, spending time every day focusing on her away from Foxie and we are definitely progressing.

I think the thing is though I don't put any pressure on it. I chose Bella as I thought her personality would go well with Foxie's, and the reason for getting her was to give Foxie the companionship he needed at the same time as rescuing a shelter bun that needed a good home. And that's what I've done! Foxie and Bella love each other, Bella has more space, toys and attention than she has ever had, and if she isn't that bothered about me than it's all good... I have one confident bunny I can get joy from playing with, and another that I can take joy from watching be happy and safe thanks to me. Even if she doesn't want my attention, I can take joy from her in other ways.

I've never felt indifferent to them - I love their little personalities - but I've not bonded with plenty. In all honesty, I find it harder to bond with buns now- I've had a few I've loved fiercely and rushed home to be around, but I find that rare.

I do like learning their behavior and watching them though. Even if we don't connect

I have never not bonded with any bun.... ive bonded with them for different reasons, but have loved them all

I really struggled the first couple of weeks we had walter. I didnt want another bunny and was devastated by iggys death. I felt awful and disloyal to iggy. I never wanted rabbits, i wanted iggy and walter was a new friend for his second wife betty.
I love betty dearly and hated to see her lonely.

Over the last month i have really started to warm to him. He has started to show his personality and is very sweet and funny. He is currently investigating my handbag :lol::roll:

Perhaps spend some time just near him so he can get used to you and you him?

Perdy hated people and would never let you fuss her but wanted to be near to you and would follow me about. That was her way. I adored her even if she was anti-social :lol:

I think sometimes its just about bonding with a bunny in a way thats right for you both. Every bunny and i have a different dynamic and interact in different ways.

Hope that helps

Oh gosh, I am sorry. Is he aggressive towards you? What are his favourite treats - could you maybe spend time training him to come to your call each day?

I do know how you feel. I'm still really struggling to bond with Skye. I love her, but after Floss, well, it's just not the same. I know you loved Harris to bits, which I guess is making things harder.

How long have you had him? I have sometimes felt this at first - particularly as we have so many and nowadays most end up here not because we have chosen them but because someone has asked us to take them - but even if its taken a year, I can honestly say that in the end I have loved them all.

I feel a bit resentful for getting my trio as they hate coming near me and will only come to if I have food :evil: If I don't have food they start thumping and hide under their hutch :lol: As bad as it sounds, I wish I waited before rescuing anymore bunnies as I keep comparing these to Noisette, as she was the most perfect rabbit anyone could have ever asked for and these guys are not.

I am going to keep persevering though, I am determined to give them my love, patience and care so that they love and trust me.

Hoppit! said:

Oh gosh, I am sorry. Is he aggressive towards you? What are his favourite treats - could you maybe spend time training him to come to your call each day?

I do know how you feel. I'm still really struggling to bond with Skye. I love her, but after Floss, well, it's just not the same. I know you loved Harris to bits, which I guess is making things harder.

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He's very aggressive yes, and he won't eat anything but muesli.

I feel bad now, you all seem so good to yours!

Lewis is aggressive to the point I can't touch him, or pick him up. I have to wrap him in a towel to put him in the run. He lunges, grunts and stamps when anyone goes in the shed, or when he's fed, and he's turned Ailsa against me too, she was the softest bun imaginable before, now she does all that too. I can't even feed them without getting bitten every single day.

He's digging holes all over the garden, because the rescue let them dig in their enclosure. He digs the contents of his litter tray out all over the shed floor every single night. He won't eat pellets or hay. He will only eat Tesco Value muesli and carrots, and I've spent £25 ish on different hays to try and get him to eat some, and he won't touch it. Ailsa won't eat hay now either. He doesn't even eat chocolate drops or weetabix!!

I've spent hours and hours with him, time every single day. I'm just not getting anywhere with him and wondering if there's any point. I know I won't be the only one with a rabbit like this, but its just like throwing myself at a brick wall constantly. I'm certain he's been allowed to live wild by the rescue, he's just not really the kind of bunny to be a pet.

The relationship i have with each of my rabbits is totally different.I love them all but am closer to both my boys than both my girls-just a personality thing. I think that even if you dont bond well with a bun,after awhile you do find affection for them as they settle in.Took me awhile to bond with Harriet and although she still doesnt really"do humans"she knows me well now and having been a rescue likes her happier home and adores her husbun!

I think I would speak to the Rescue you had him from.
Have you had him checked by the vet in case it is pain that is making him aggressive - he sounds a very unhappy rabbit.
Could you attach a run to the shed so he has permanent access and does not feel shut in?

I have struggled to bond with one of my buns but only because she is not a people bunny, she simply wants Charlie and after I came to terms with the fact she doesn't want cuddles or attention and simply wants her daily needs fulfilled I found it much easier to bond with her :thumb: If Lewis isn't eating hay I'd personally get his teeth checked out at the vets, some of his behavior could be pain related :wave:

I had a problem bonding with Trixie as she was very anxious, jumpy, bitey etc at first. It took quite a while of just lying in her run with food on my chest before she'd even let me near her :lol: But I really did think back then that she'd just never "like" me and I'd have to just give her what she needs and no affection and people kept telling me to just give up because she wasn't a "people bunny" Thankfully the time I spent was way worth it because now she's very friendly and actually enjoys cuddles and attention! She'll even climb all over my noisey brother :shock: basically what I'm saying is don't count out him turning out to have a friendlier personality once he gets more used to you

I honestly just sit right next to my rabbit with a treat, not looking at him, he comes right up to me a runs around! He loves me for a while unless I annoy him! Shooter is easy bribe into loving you!

With my friends bunny, I just sat on the floor with a treat and pat/scratched kinda thing and when she wanted to leave me she left but she always came back and climbed over me now she likes me and knows me

Skylar said:

I had a problem bonding with Trixie as she was very anxious, jumpy, bitey etc at first. It took quite a while of just lying in her run with food on my chest before she'd even let me near her :lol: But I really did think back then that she'd just never "like" me and I'd have to just give her what she needs and no affection and people kept telling me to just give up because she wasn't a "people bunny" Thankfully the time I spent was way worth it because now she's very friendly and actually enjoys cuddles and attention! She'll even climb all over my noisey brother :shock: basically what I'm saying is don't count out him turning out to have a friendlier personality once he gets more used to you

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Yeah, you have to spend a lot of time with them! But it's worth it

I agree with what everyone said about taking Lewis in for a checkup just to make sure there is no physical cause for his aggression. However, it sounds almost as if Lewis is not very socialized with humans and is acting accordingly.

Have you tried separating he and Ailsa? Bonded or not, I think this would be a good first step for several reasons. First, he is obviously having a negative effect upon her behavior towards you and that is not a good situation for any of you. It is clearly upsetting that Ailsa now acts this way toward you; you mentioned that he "turned her against you," which sounds like you are understandably bitter about it. That can cause you to unknowingly project negativity and frustration toward Lewis when handling him/around him that further estranges the two of you. It sounds like some "apart time" would do them good. Ailsa should revert to her old self quite quickly without Lewis influencing her behavior; mine were back to their normal loving, social selves within a day of separating the rabbit that was "disturbing" them with her flightiness. The thumping/fleeing is sort of a chain-reaction thing; once one does it they seem hardwired to respond and do the same. Since it is also a stressful, fearful response though you don't want her freaking out unnecessarily all of the time just because Lewis is a spaz around humans.

Since he is so wild with people, it would be ideal if you could bring him indoors in an enclosure by himself for some serious socialization and also to work on his diet. Each day you can work on him a little bit, maybe just sitting very close for the first few days, then sitting near and talking to him, then offering treats, etc. This is what I did with my unsocial girl and she came around. Within a few weeks you should see some progress if he isn't completely unsocialized/feral, though I assume you know his background and can confirm that this isn't the case. Once he has realized that you are a good thing and not the scariest thing he's ever seen (treats usually work wonders for this), you can gradually reintroduce he and Ailsa. Or, if he does not come around for whatever reason, you can consider what you want to do.

Hopefully you and Lewis will bond soon. I know how frustrating it is to not only have a rabbit that can't seem to tolerate you, but who also causes your other rabbits to act like you're a wicked rabbit-eating witch or something. :lol:

Aww, don't feel bad, he sounds like very hard work and you aren't getting much back from him in the way you would like so I can see why you haven't bonded with him.

I dont feel that much of a bond with Pixie, I don't know why because she is a lovely friendly bun, she's just not my Poppy. However, when I thought Pixie was ill I really panicked and worried and I realised I had bonded with her more than I thought, it was just in a different way, I am sure you are the same, it's just a different relationship to what you are used to.

Aww, I'm sorry you feel that way I always used to feel like that with Nahla because she doesn't like people, but over time I started to appreciate her for herself. I do love her, though I don't have a bond with her like I did with Benji, or like I do with Pud. It's very difficult when they're aggressive.

I see that someone's recommended splitting Lewis and Ailsa... I'm not sure that's the right idea at the moment. With time (and a vet trip in case anything's wrong) Lewis may settle and calm down and Ailsa will probably follow suit. Am I right in thinking that Ailsa pines really badly when she's on her own?