I haven't really said much about Scooby's potential new friend, but Baby Rachel (from Acomb Rabbit Rescue) has been with us for 2 weeks now. Rachel is a half-wildie and has definitely retained a wild rabbit's natural fear of humans, despite being in captivity since a baby.
She does seem to have settled with us though, providing that she has the minimum of human attention. She will always hide from me, even when she sees me approaching from a distance she will bolt and hide. The photos were taken from an upstairs window with a zoom lens, it is the nearest I can get to her to take a photo. She likes to spend her afternoons relaxing on top of the hideout in her run. She has the confidence to explore and behave like a normal pet rabbit as long as she is sure there are no humans around. I have to watch her from the house using binoculars!
I think only another bunny can make a rabbit like Rachel truly happy and I am hoping that Scooby will be that bunny. For Rachel to stay with us permanently, the bond between her and Scooby has to be successful as she must have a partner, so I am keeping everything crossed. I really want to help her and make her happy.
Bonding is going to be tricky. The traditional method of using a pen won't work as she has already demonstrated that when panicked she can do a vertical take off and reach a height of around 4 feet or more. I need to be there to monitor them, but me being close by is going to stress Rachel even more. My plan is to start by using the bathroom as it is a fairly small room and see how we go from there. It may be that my OH will have to build a special pen/enclosure to provide a safe environment for Rachel and Scooby while we are bonding them. I'm planning to start bonding next weekend. Any ideas/tips on bonding a rabbit who is fearful of humans would be very much appreciated.
Baby Rachel is most certainly a very complicated little girl.
She does seem to have settled with us though, providing that she has the minimum of human attention. She will always hide from me, even when she sees me approaching from a distance she will bolt and hide. The photos were taken from an upstairs window with a zoom lens, it is the nearest I can get to her to take a photo. She likes to spend her afternoons relaxing on top of the hideout in her run. She has the confidence to explore and behave like a normal pet rabbit as long as she is sure there are no humans around. I have to watch her from the house using binoculars!
I think only another bunny can make a rabbit like Rachel truly happy and I am hoping that Scooby will be that bunny. For Rachel to stay with us permanently, the bond between her and Scooby has to be successful as she must have a partner, so I am keeping everything crossed. I really want to help her and make her happy.
Bonding is going to be tricky. The traditional method of using a pen won't work as she has already demonstrated that when panicked she can do a vertical take off and reach a height of around 4 feet or more. I need to be there to monitor them, but me being close by is going to stress Rachel even more. My plan is to start by using the bathroom as it is a fairly small room and see how we go from there. It may be that my OH will have to build a special pen/enclosure to provide a safe environment for Rachel and Scooby while we are bonding them. I'm planning to start bonding next weekend. Any ideas/tips on bonding a rabbit who is fearful of humans would be very much appreciated.
Baby Rachel is most certainly a very complicated little girl.