Hard to forgive and doesn't forget

One of my gorgeous bunnies is a rescue, we got her about 14 months ago, she settled in with our existing bun well and they're lovely together.
She's never like being handled I think it's because she was neglected before she was rescued.
We let her settle in and limited handling her unless completely necessary. She's gradually getting better about being around us.

My other bunny broke his leg recently and they've both been in confinement together whilst it heals, despite being a nightmare on its own, it's been a great opportunity for us to bond with her whilst she was in a small space (usually they have a whole room to themselves). She's so much better with head rubs etc now it's adorable. The problem is if you do something she doesn't like (e.g. pick her up, try and groom her, herd her into a space) it takes her forever to forgive and forget. She avoids you for at least the rest of the day if not longer, she won't come near you for food or anything she just hides behind my other bunny. It upsets me and I feel like if I push her too much we'll lose all of the progress she's made with us. No doubt she'll be moulting soon but if she even senses the brush she avoids us like the plague.

Ahh poor thing, something must have really traumatised her before she was rescued.
I can't offer much advice but I have heard you can groom a bun wearing a rubber glove, the loose hair sticks to the rubber I think. Not much use if you can't get near enough to stroke her I know but just wanted to try and help.

Awww bless Some rabbits have a more highly strung temperament than others and I think it will just take time for her to feel completely comfortable and safe in her new surroundings. Especially if she didn't come from a good home previously.

One of my rabbits is very timid and would sulk for 4 or 5 days if I picked her up. She doesn't sulk that much now as we've had her for about 18 months but it did take her a long time to 'get back to normal' after picking her up until fairly recently.

My other rabbit is the complete opposite. He's so laid back it's unreal and I think he had a positive effect on my timid rabbit by boosting her confidence.

My timid rabbit hates being touched so the only time I can really stroke her is when she's eating! She seems oblivious to it then. She's also moulting badly at the moment and I've found stroking her with a damp hand while she's eating in her cage is the closest I can get to brushing the loose fur off. The dampness really gets a lot of loose fur off. You could try this

Karen, we can stroke her a bit now if she's distracted, mainly around her head she seems to enjoy the odd headrub now and we can (if we're careful) run our hands gently towards her back - the rubber glove sounds interesting we'll give it a try and see if it works - even a little would help her moulting - she's so fluffy. Thanks

Egg, your bunny sounds so very similar - sulk is exactly the word!
Her partner we've had since he was tiny so he's completely fine with us, in fact he thinks he owns the place. We were hoping he'd rub off on her but instead she's just figured she can let him be the brave one and hover behind him. She waits for him to do naughty things like escape their current confinement and then joins in
I will certainly try a wet hand with her too - I think we did do that with her partner a while ago but he was easier as we could pop him on the side of the bathroom and rinse off between rubs, I can't see that going well with her but we'll figure something out - even if it's me running between rooms
I'm glad to hear you're buns still making progress

reehsetin said:

Karen, we can stroke her a bit now if she's distracted, mainly around her head she seems to enjoy the odd headrub now and we can (if we're careful) run our hands gently towards her back - the rubber glove sounds interesting we'll give it a try and see if it works - even a little would help her moulting - she's so fluffy. Thanks

Egg, your bunny sounds so very similar - sulk is exactly the word!
Her partner we've had since he was tiny so he's completely fine with us, in fact he thinks he owns the place. We were hoping he'd rub off on her but instead she's just figured she can let him be the brave one and hover behind him. She waits for him to do naughty things like escape their current confinement and then joins in
I will certainly try a wet hand with her too - I think we did do that with her partner a while ago but he was easier as we could pop him on the side of the bathroom and rinse off between rubs, I can't see that going well with her but we'll figure something out - even if it's me running between rooms
I'm glad to hear you're buns still making progress

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Your rabbits sound exactly like my pair! The timid one waits for the braver one to do naughty things, then follows behind :lol: I think if they are of a timid, nervous disposition they will probably always be a bit like this, even when well settled. Shimmer is very comfortable around us and doesn't sulk anymore if we pick her up (not very often), we just get the back leg flick when we put her back down, but she's still too nervous to even leave the living room. She goes to the doorway as if she wants to follow Charlie, her partner, but won't go past no matter how much we try to coax her out with treats etc. I think she'll always be shy.

Good luck with your timid bunny xx