• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

no expectations

ridley

Warren Scout
It was one of those 3am thoughts last night that maybe I was secretly hoping and expecting for too much from Sky and Marshall. I know it will take time for them to truely trust us and the way they have responded to us so far has been amazing! But I think I realized I've been secretly hoping in time they will be lovely lap bunnies that adore being petted.

Then I realized I'm asking too much from them. I want them to be happy their whole lives and if that means we never get to pick them up and/or cuddle them then its fine! As long as they are happy and healthy!

I feel so pleased we rescued them from the shelter and just want them to live out their days now in their big run and hop about happily!

Then this morning....Marshall decided he LOVES fusses and nose rubes and almost fell sleep as my daughter and I fussed him this morning!!! Starting to understand why he was called Dippy!!! Hahahahaha!
 
that's it! you've reached that point very swiftly - well done. its how it is with rabbits. they carry on being rabbits and we carry on loving them. its not the relationship we expected before we took them on, but it grows from our respect for them as living creatures, and in the end its better for us all.
 
For me it just means I appreciate the little things so much more. Like when I have Levi and Daisy chilling with me on my bed and the flop out right next to me, they could lie anywhere so I love that they choose to be near me...or when Levi flops out and then licks me like crazy. Or when Daisy climbs all over me being a nosey madam but the minute you show any interest in her she hops off :) I just love seeing them being their little bunny selves, and I appreciate their shows of love even more when they choose to show it :)
image_zps627693d3.jpg

image_zpsaf8ff2e8.jpg
image_zpsd5922c5b.jpg
 
I've had Millie and Maddie since January and they're definitely nowhere near cuddle bunnies but I still see small improvements happening all the time.

They'll happily flop a few inches away from me now, Maddie will jump on my back if I lie on the floor and they come and climb on me on the sofa even if there's no food involved now. Millie constantly comes over and nudges me but runs away if I stroke her, then comes back 20 seconds later! Maddie has stayed flopped out while I've stroked her nose a few times recently (and I heard her doing the teeth purry noise), but she always jumps up after a few seconds and pretends she didn't like it! :lol:

They're definitely never going to love being picked up and although Maddie might learn to like a stroke on occasion, I'm not sure Millie will, but they're very happy bunnies and they constantly have me in fits of giggles with their crazy binkies! :lol:
 
Totally see where you're coming from, I had secretly hoped that our bunnies would be cuddle/lap pets but now we've had them three weeks, I can see that it's the little things that matter, like a lick here and there, and if we never get to pick them up and snuggle - well so be it. My 8 yr old daughter and I actually hd a chat about this and we concluded that "pet" was a bit of a patronising name for them, as that implied that they were there for our enjoyment, and we realised that we are happy just caring for them anyway. So we decided on "companion" rather than "pet"! - deep stuff for an 8 yr old :) !

Having said that they will hop on our laps - let's hope that lasts, and they are completely happy to flop right beside us.

Ailstar - I laughed at the pics of the two flopped bums together :) gorgeous!
 
Out of 7 buns - only one actually likes and asks to be picked up for cuddles...Cheyenne is a little cuddle monster BUT she is also very naughty and will bite you if you do something she disapproves of (like stopping her from chewing the carpet:roll:).

All the other buns like nose strokes to greater or lesser degrees - Bobo and Harley hate being touched, Holly and Sheldon only if they're really in the mood, Bug just stares at you until YOU get down on the floor with her - and Lenny enjoys it for a bit and then is off binkying like a loon.

When we first go Bobo we did have visions of long evening of cuddling on the sofa together - but to be honest, the reality is much better - it's far more fun watching a big, hairy beast binkying and running madly around the lounge table...:love:
 
I really agree with this view point. They are rabbits being rabbits and we are their carers.

I must admit that I am very very pleased that one of my new rabbits, Sunshine, is perfectly happy for me to stroke him at all times (unlike any of the others)!
 
Lovely pictures Ailstar. I think we need some pictures of your newbies Tulsi.

I'm very lucky that mine are happy climbing on me and doing nose bumps. All three enjoy strokes on their own terms. None really enjoy a cuddle although I can handle them much better than anyone else if I need too.

I too was hoping for cuddle buns but am happy that they all binky and flop around me. I feel so privileged to to have them in my life.
 
Totally see where you're coming from, I had secretly hoped that our bunnies would be cuddle/lap pets but now we've had them three weeks, I can see that it's the little things that matter, like a lick here and there, and if we never get to pick them up and snuggle - well so be it. My 8 yr old daughter and I actually hd a chat about this and we concluded that "pet" was a bit of a patronising name for them, as that implied that they were there for our enjoyment, and we realised that we are happy just caring for them anyway. So we decided on "companion" rather than "pet"! - deep stuff for an 8 yr old :) !

Having said that they will hop on our laps - let's hope that lasts, and they are completely happy to flop right beside us.

Ailstar - I laughed at the pics of the two flopped bums together :) gorgeous!

Haha! I know, they seem to like sitting like that, I must have done something to offend them :p
 
I think everybody originally has this idea in their heads of rabbits being cuddlebuns - goodness knows where that perception came from it seems to be really rare.

Sirius who sadly went to the bridge earlier this year was a grumpy so and so, but thats what made him so lovable! So fiesty and full of character!

Poppy is pretty people friendly (she bounds over like a teeny tiny excited puppy) and likes a fuss but not cuddles. When she was a baby she was a licky bun who flopped out on you, but she hasnt done that since approximately 14weeks old (when hormones started kicking in and she didnt go back to that after neutering).

Burt her new husbun didnt seem like a people bun at all when we brought him back from the rescue. Quite sad really just how frightened and flighty he was (took weeks for us to even be able to open the bolts on the hutch door without him hiding and quivering in the nearest corner - goodness knows what had been done to him in the past), but a couple of months, lots of patience and lots of hand fed tibbits later and hes the first cuddle bun ive ever had! He is very licky too!
 
Louie took ages before he became confidant with us, we didn't know at the time that he is blind.

He loves fusses now but only when he is firmly on the floor, he hates being picked up!
 
Burt her new husbun didnt seem like a people bun at all when we brought him back from the rescue. Quite sad really just how frightened and flighty he was (took weeks for us to even be able to open the bolts on the hutch door without him hiding and quivering in the nearest corner - goodness knows what had been done to him in the past), but a couple of months, lots of patience and lots of hand fed tibbits later and hes the first cuddle bun ive ever had! He is very licky too!

Awww! thats such a lovely thing to read! x x
 
We've got two. Did the the same thing with both even thou we got them 8 months apart and they are both free range house bunnies so spend a awful lot of time with us. Biscuit the boy has always been willing to climb all over us but took a couple months to let us stroke him but now just looks at you till you get on the floor to stroke him and he will settle down and let you do it for hours..... Which gets annoying because you feel guilty for stopping! Lucy however is as timid as anything unless a treat is involved. I've only managed to stroke her a couple times in 6 months even thou she's happy for my girlfriend to stroke her. I feel rather stupid for loving rabbits quite so much but it's definitely a amazing feeling when they spend 10 minutes 'cleaning' your hair when you lay on the floor with them........ Once again that's only one time with Lucy but anytime you get too close to Biscuit. Keep going and before you know it they will demanding strokes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Back
Top