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Those with cuddle bunnies

Kirotea

Mama Doe
Those of you with cuddle bunnies how long did it take for them to become cuddle bunnies? I know this is a childish question but I'm ok with it! :lol:

I've had Millie and Maddie for a month. They are nearly 6 months old now. They weren't well handled when I got them. They are house bunnies. Millie is the more timid one. She will let me stroke her for a couple of seconds but then backs away. She usually binkies imnediately afterwards so she must enjoy the attention but won't allow it for longer than a few seconds!

Maddie is the more confident one and she will let me stroke her, although I find it difficult to know if she is enjoying it or just allowing it! They both will happily come up to me if I put a hand out although don't hang around for long.

They've both learned how to get on the sofa recently and both will jump up quite often in the evening, say hello and then jump down again. Maddie has recently started tugging at the bottom of my trousers and I assume this is for attention?

I guess I'm just wondering if they have reached their acceptable fuss limit or if they will become cuddle bunnies over more time? :lol:
 
Mine have always been cuddle bunnies but I bought them from a breeder, they were used to being handled from being small and they have never had any bad experiences. They will both sit with me for literally hours. And they both have their favourite positions. Levi likes to sit on the chair next to me while I stroke his head or he likes to lick my hand. Daisy likes to sit on my lap (always facing right) she'll go to sleep on me. :)
 
You lucky thing....I want cuddle bunnies too!! I guess we just have to be patient....Bramble is more of a cuddle bun now, as he is so used to being handled, but it's taken years!....sigh...
 
I'm very lucky that they've got this far really as they didn't want to be touched at all when I first got them. They have me in stitches laughing most nights too. But I'd love for them to come and lie on the sofa and watch telly with me :lol:
 
Out of our 6 buns - only one is a cuddle bun - Cheyenne. But she has always been like that - right from the first moment I lifted her out of the carrier she just flopped in my arms and will happily stay there having strokes and kisses. She is a real ying and yang bun though - one minute trying to nip me and the next wanting cuddles...naughty child :love:

But as for the other 5 - they like strokes when it suits them - and Harley hates human contact and Bobo turns into a demon if we try to pick him up (which is such a shame as he LOOKS so cuddly :(). I think cuddle buns are just born that way maybe? We love them all just the same though - it's just the way they are.
 
It took a while, a year or two I think. And even then they prefer to be cuddled on the floor.
 
took me about 3 years of patient, gentle handling for my shy bun (Lady) to become fairly cuddly :roll: Minnie on the other hand was always very cuddly.
 
Personally I think it's in the bun's nature or it's not, although I do think having rabbits as house rabbits means you're more likely to bring out their affectionate side, just because they're more likely to accept you as part of their group.

My girl's (who I had as babies) used to quite enjoy head rubs but rarely tolerate them now. They used to hate strokes not involving the head but will tolerate that a little more now before running off.
Eli (who was very roughly handled and unloved before coming here) was never mad keen on stroking or head rubs but being touched didn't bother him at all and he'd constantly be jumping in my lap or on my back and putting his paws on my for attention.
 
I'm more than happy with the way they are because there was a chance they would never tolerate being stroked, although they weren't badly treated just not well handled. They're very happy bunnies, very funny and very cute. If they one day they decide to be cuddle bunnies too then even better :love: I think the fact that they often seek me out to say hello or follow me round is a good sign, although they may do this in case I give them some food! :lol:
 
Mine have always been cuddle bunnies but I bought them from a breeder, they were used to being handled from being small and they have never had any bad experiences. They will both sit with me for literally hours. And they both have their favourite positions. Levi likes to sit on the chair next to me while I stroke his head or he likes to lick my hand. Daisy likes to sit on my lap (always facing right) she'll go to sleep on me. :)

Not that I am stalking you :wave:, but I know where you got your bunnies from as I got my Hershel from the same place and I saw your photos on their website. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Anyway you have just described him as well, as he loves to sit in my arms and cuddle, he will fall asleep and he loves his head to be rubbed/stroked. If you put your hand out in front of him, he will nudge you and position himself under your hand. He will also jumped onto the chair next to you to get attention. But then again he has been handled since he was very young and is still handled daily.

George and Harry are from unplanned litters at a Bird Of Prey centre , that a friend owns and they also were handled from very young. They are also very confident bunnies who love cuddles, nose rubs, etc. Now that they are bonded, they don't sit for as long as Hershel anymore as they prefer each others company but they still enjoy the attention and will jump on you when they come in the house.
 
Scrabble, who I bought at 8 weeks old was always desperate for any attention and very, very cuddly from the moment I got her home.

Artie, who I bought at 11 weeks, I really don't remember as being cuddly in the first few years. He was confident and cheeky but definitely not as attention seeking as Scrabble, thought he was a licker and snuggler. At around four years old he became very, very cuddly and was my soulmate for the next 4.5 years.:love:

I adopted Eloise at 11 months old and having read she was a 'lunger' was a bit wary but she was a cuddly, snuggly bunny from day one.

I adopted Dinky from P@H aged five years and had been told she had been 'well looked after' in her previous home. I initially put her outdoors in a hutch for quarantine and gave her space to settle and just didn't realise what she was like until one day I was giving her clean water and she shoved her head under my hand and clearly didn't want me to leave her. I moved her indoors as she clearly wasn't happy outdoors and she is just the cuddliest of bunnies - I'm sure she had hours and hours of cuddles from her previous owner, she seems to expect it! She will even let out a squeak and thump in an evening if I appear to be passing without offering a snuggle. She gives constant licks and nudges too.
 
Not that I am stalking you :wave:, but I know where you got your bunnies from as I got my Hershel from the same place and I saw your photos on their website. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Anyway you have just described him as well, as he loves to sit in my arms and cuddle, he will fall asleep and he loves his head to be rubbed/stroked. If you put your hand out in front of him, he will nudge you and position himself under your hand. He will also jumped onto the chair next to you to get attention. But then again he has been handled since he was very young and is still handled daily.

George and Harry are from unplanned litters at a Bird Of Prey centre , that a friend owns and they also were handled from very young. They are also very confident bunnies who love cuddles, nose rubs, etc. Now that they are bonded, they don't sit for as long as Hershel anymore as they prefer each others company but they still enjoy the attention and will jump on you when they come in the house.

Haha! Really? Small world! Hershel and George are very cute! :) how old are they? I think we are lucky to have such cuddle bunnies! Levi in particular is a right lazy pant, he loves just flopping out and having strokes. Daisy will snuggle and fall asleep but the second there is a hint of a noise her ear is up and she's looking around her, I don't know what Levi would do without her keeping a lookout!!
 
Awwww what lovely cuddle stories. My Frosty and Snowflake who I had from babies and handled a lot when they were little do NOT like being stroked. Frosty tolerates head strokes and body strokes but Snowfers just hops away!

Tessie and Daisy (born in rescue and less than a year old when I got them) loathe being touched but are happy enough to be around me.

Mottle and Peaches (rescue from a lady who also breeds mini lops ... ) are very well bonded. Mottle will allow me to stroke him when he is eating but Peaches is just like Snowflake and hops away.

They all look so cuddly and strokable. I havent given up hope. I spend time with fenugreek crunchies bribing them to come over to me but they are clever and know how to avoid cuddles!!!
 
Paige and Joshua are my cuddle bunnies, both of them came from bad homes. Paige was never let out of her tiny cage that was cleaned once a month and fed so poorly she had a severe calcium defiency that actually killed her sister in the end :( Joshua was surrendered after his owner went away to college, he was very aggressive and the shelter staff always assumed he wasn't handled well, he ended up sitting in the shelter for almost a year before I got him. Both of them love to be cuddled and will sit on my lap for a hour, Joshy even sleeps next to me at night as he is free range in my bedroom :love:

Toshi on the other hand.... He was surrendered at six months old just a month or so after he was purchased from the breeder. I adopted him about a month later and he was instantly bonded to Snowy. He hates all contact except on his own terms, if I have to pick him up he bites and kicks and if I try to pet him he runs away. Toshi is friendly though in his own odd way, he follows me around begging for treats and will hop up besides me to nosebonk. I'm pretty sure he only likes me for the treats though :roll:
 
I honestly think that if they're cuddle bunnies they're always cuddle bunnies and if they're not, they're not. I've never had a rabbit grow to be a cuddle bunny though perhaps grow to tolerate being handled. That's just my experience though.

On the flipside though, although it is nice having a cuddle bun they can also be very demanding...! Marbles can never have enough cuddles and I literally feel guilty the second I put her down :lol:
 
I honestly think that if they're cuddle bunnies they're always cuddle bunnies and if they're not, they're not. I've never had a rabbit grow to be a cuddle bunny though perhaps grow to tolerate being handled. That's just my experience though.

On the flipside though, although it is nice having a cuddle bun they can also be very demanding...! Marbles can never have enough cuddles and I literally feel guilty the second I put her down :lol:

Haha yes! I brought Levi and Daisy in for their cuddles the other night and we had just had someone come round to visit so I left them in their carrier for a few minutes while I was saying hi, and then all of a sudden we heard this loud banging sound. Little miss impatient pants was thumping at me wasn't she? It was as if she was saying 'errr excuse me, this isn't the way this is meant to work, I want cuddles NOW! Pay attention Hoomin!' It made me laugh!
 
Haha! Really? Small world! Hershel and George are very cute! :) how old are they? I think we are lucky to have such cuddle bunnies! Levi in particular is a right lazy pant, he loves just flopping out and having strokes. Daisy will snuggle and fall asleep but the second there is a hint of a noise her ear is up and she's looking around her, I don't know what Levi would do without her keeping a lookout!!

Yep. It really is a small world! That's what I thought when I recognised Daisy & Levi in the pictures. I keep meaning to send her some of Hershel but have never got round too it.

George is 2 in July and Hershel will be 2 in September. George was suppose to be a girl and we got Hershel to go with him. We tried to bond them but they fought unfortunately. So we ended up with George's little sister Harry (she looks just like him but in black & white), she is 1 today. :love::love: We then tried to bond them all as a trio but Hershel just kept lunging at the others. So at the moment he is a single bun. We plan on building a big run in the summer, so will try and find him a girlfriend (but from a rescue this time).


I honestly think that if they're cuddle bunnies they're always cuddle bunnies and if they're not, they're not. I've never had a rabbit grow to be a cuddle bunny though perhaps grow to tolerate being handled. That's just my experience though.

On the flipside though, although it is nice having a cuddle bun they can also be very demanding...! Marbles can never have enough cuddles and I literally feel guilty the second I put her down :lol:

I generally agree with that and I don't necessarily think you need to be able to pick up your bunny for a cuddle. Hershel will practically crawl under my hand for strokes and nose rubs if I hold it up in front of him.

But I do think handling is very important, especially if you get them as babies. As you say they will learn to tolerate it as they learn to trust you. I understand some bunnies just don't like being handled, but you need to adjust how you handle them, whether you can fully lift them up standing or if you have to keep feet on the floor, etc. All 3 of our bunnies are really confident, chilled out and inquistive, so I think this helps as well.
 
Yep. It really is a small world! That's what I thought when I recognised Daisy & Levi in the pictures. I keep meaning to send her some of Hershel but have never got round too it.

George is 2 in July and Hershel will be 2 in September. George was suppose to be a girl and we got Hershel to go with him. We tried to bond them but they fought unfortunately. So we ended up with George's little sister Harry (she looks just like him but in black & white), she is 1 today. :love::love: We then tried to bond them all as a trio but Hershel just kept lunging at the others. So at the moment he is a single bun. We plan on building a big run in the summer, so will try and find him a girlfriend (but from a rescue this time.

Aww :) Levi and Daisy are going to be one in April. I literally cannot believe how fast the time as gone! Mine are such snuggle buns that for a while I was really tempted to get another bun and make a trio, because I can't imagine them fighting anyone, but I managed to talk myself out of it, mainly for space reasons but also because I was worried about damaging their existing bond. :)
 
My rabbit is 5 and only for the past few months has she been a cuddle bunny. Before she tolerate me but I felt terrible because I felt I was stressing her out.
 
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