Desperate for help!

Hi, I have 3 house buns. They all live separately. One is 9 the other 2 are just over a year old.

I've only ever had boys and never really found them to be as much of a problem as my 1st ever female, Poppy.
I had her since she was 8 weeks old from a shelter who handled her daily. She was ok at first, a little nervous, but I could pick her up and cuddle her which was lovely!
As soon as she hit 'teenager' age she changed dramatically.

I can't touch her or even go near her! Every noise terrifies her! I can't walk past her without her eyes going so wide you can see the whites and she cowers in the corner of her hutch. This makes me so sad to see her like this!

I decided to have her spayed as I hoped it would improve her mood... It made her worse if that was possible! (It worked for all my boys)
Her claws have now got so long I really need to get her to the vet to have them clipped, but she won't let me near her!

I'm sorry this is such a long post, but I really am struggling. I know she will never be a cuddly rabbit but seeing her looking so scared all the time Is making me feel like I am cruel and maybe she would be better off with someone else as I am obviously not making her happy... Please help me

sorry you're upset has she become worse recently? could she be in pain for some reason and is becoming agitated because of that? it must be upsetting to see her so scared. x

She got much worse after I took her to be spayed. She has never really got over it. I couldn't even take her for her check up after the operation. Luckily they know I've had buns before so were happy enough to let me keep an eye on her and only take her back if she didn't seem well. That was 6 months ago.

She seems fine, except (and this is going to sound odd) but her head is pretty small in proportion to the rest of her body... The nurse mentioned it when I took her in to be spayed, but just chuckled about it, so I don't know if it's anything to worry about... She seems well otherwise.

The only other issue I've ever had is she sometimes pulls out her fur but I think it's because she's stressed all the time.... I hate seeing her so sad

Hiya!

I'm sorry I cant offer any advice except pain which was mentioned already. I hope you get to the bottom of it soon.

Fee x

Sammyp said:

She got much worse after I took her to be spayed. She has never really got over it. I couldn't even take her for her check up after the operation. Luckily they know I've had buns before so were happy enough to let me keep an eye on her and only take her back if she didn't seem well. That was 6 months ago.

She seems fine, except (and this is going to sound odd) but her head is pretty small in proportion to the rest of her body... The nurse mentioned it when I took her in to be spayed, but just chuckled about it, so I don't know if it's anything to worry about... She seems well otherwise.

The only other issue I've ever had is she sometimes pulls out her fur but I think it's because she's stressed all the time.... I hate seeing her so sad

Click to expand...

poor girl has she ever been bonded and do you think this might help her? i'm sorry i don't have any other advice but i hope you can figure something out. hopefully others will be along to answer soon. :wave: x

Hello, I have a very scaredy house rabbit, Caireann. We have come to an agreement her and I, that I leave her alone and let her get on with it except when the essentials are needed such as nail clipping. She is bonded to Cory who is the complete opposite to her but seems to give her comfort. She can hide behind him when she needs to and gets all get social interaction from him such as grooming and snuggling. When I have to trim her nails I try to be quick and efficient but firm. I remove her from her area, do the needful and give her a little treat to signify the end of it when I put her back in her den. The odd time she will reward me by taking a piece of food from my hand but on the whole, I leave her to her own devices and she seems happy enough with that. Could you bond your little lady?


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Thank you for all the replies
You've all been really kind.

It honestly makes me feel like I must be doing something wrong with her, but to hear I'm not the only one makes me feel a lot better.

I'm not sure about bonding...

Initially I got Alfie (my 1 year old lion head) then decided I really wanted to try bonding, so I got Poppy from our rescue centre 4 weeks later.
Alfie's really good, not really bothered by her, but when poppy used to venture out (she's too scared to come out very often now) she always makes a bee-line for him, and is always quite aggressive with him.
He comes to the cage to see her and once she even bit his nose! (Poor boy) it scared me a bit, and I thought that wasn't a great sign?
I know bonding is often a bit of a traumatic time, but I'm worried it will upset Alfie. (He was very nervous at first, but came round to me pretty quickly).

I've had buns before, but never bonded any of them, so I don't really know if this would be a good idea or not?

I think she's probably feeling territorial, you have to do the bonding in a completely neutral place that neither bun has claimed before, there are some great threads about it. But honestly you're not alone, some bunnies are just scaredy that way! I think my Caireann is happy, she just doesn't meet the preconception of how a bunny should be, she's just her own wee person. Rabbits seem to have their own ideas about who they will bond to, I gather it can be a bit hit or miss. I'm taking my single rabbit to the local sanctuary on Wednesday where I will leave for the the day see if he shows love at first sight with anybun. You could try that too!


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I will have a look at some of the threads :thumb: thank you

I wish I could, but I live in Guernsey and we haven't got anywhere over here that does that kind of thing... I wish they did, it would be nice for her to be able to choose her own friend.

Thank you for your help :wave: x

There's a gap in their market there


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Aww, poor you and poor her, it sounds like neither of you is very happy at the moment. I think it can change though, but it's probably going to be a slow process rather than one thing you do that fixes it instantly.

I think the first thing is to take care of the immediate concern - her nails. She's not going going to enjoy it but it needs doing. So I would try and encourage her to go in the carrier herself rather than attempting to pick her up - have you got one with a side opening? Pop it in her space so she can get used to it, add a treat to encourage her to explore inside, then a couple of times a day add a new treat. That should make her more comfortable with going in/out and hopefully you can get her in for the vet appointment.

Whilst you are there, I would discuss what's going on and get a really thorough health check - including her vision and hearing.

Do you have a photo of your setup?

The next thing is to give her as much confidence as possible when she's just hanging about in her own environment. Rabbit's like cover so I'd suggest, for example, cover the top of a pen/cage with cardboard. Part enclosing the sides (with gaps to look though), boxes and tunnels to provide lots of hiding places.