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Sites/books to help a neglected rabbit?

MiniC

Wise Old Thumper
Are there any good books/websites that can help me with an abused/neglected rabbit?

I'm not talking beaten/starved, but he is very scared of people, and after nearly a year, he still cowers from our hands.

I just worry whatever we're doing is the wrong thing...
 
Its been five years since I adopted Bob. He will let me stroke him if the fence is up and I reach over - he seems to think if I have to reach over then he is safe and I can't 'get' him. If I'm sitting on the floor he will come and sit on my lap but it's clearly with the understanding that I must not move and I especially can not touch him. I can only groom him by holding onto a romaine lettuce leaf then I've got as long as it takes him to eat it.

Patience and bribery - and try to do everything at floor level if you can.
 
How is he generally if you aren't trying to touch him?

Is he a single bunny? Getting him a confident companion might be something to consider.
 
Hi Tamsin, it generally depends on what we're doing. If we walk into a room, he'll usually bolt to a safe space, and if we approach he bolts for cover. A few times recently, he'll growl when he's not happy with you trying to touch him (I honestly thought it was a bit positive that he told us off, because it showed he thinks we'll listen)!

Like Brittania, I spend a lot of time at floor level. If I'm lying down, he comes to give me nose bumps, but always ready to dash off if we move. I can sit on the floor and give him a few flank rubs before he goes off, but he generally doesn't like nose rubs - if you try, he ducks, sniffs for treats, then turns away. I can manage nose rubs if he's too comfy to move, but he has to be in just the right sleepy mood!

We bonded him to a super-confident lady bun at Christmas, it has helped him no end with getting the confidence to explore new places and getting him to relax while we're in the same room, but not with getting him to be less scared of us.

What worries me is the way he still runs for cover as soon as you enter a room. His nerves are rubbing off on our confident bun too.
 
Brittania, your bun sounds as nervous as ours! I just worry that after a year, the fact he still runs from us must mean we're doing something wrong, giving off untrustworthy vibes....

I just really want to make sure we're not doing a cardinal sin or something.

Someone did suggest putting his cage up high, but he's completely free-reign, so that's not an option we have.
 
We've had Phoebe since she was 8 weeks old.
She use to be a fairly confident rabbit - if you walked into a room she'd look at you and be like 'yeah, so what?'

But after her spay she became a different rabbit. You walk into the room & she'll run to safety. She doesn't really like being stroked & forbid if you need to pick her up.

She responds well to being at ground level, but even then no nose rubs. She'll put her paws on your legs, and nose bump your feet provided you don't move.
She's never had a negative experience with us so we just assume this is her personality. (She lives with the highly confident Daphne).

I had a vet suggest using a glove stuffed with flower on the end of a stick to sit far away from bun while eating/resting & stroke from a distance, then gradually make the stick shorter until you can use your own arm/hand. Kind of like a desensitisation to your presence.
 
I'd suggest having a cue to tell him you are about to do something so he knows in advance it's you and what you are going to do. For example I always click my tongue (that noise you make at cats) before turning on the kitchen light where Scamp lives. He knows that noise means the light is about to flash on which might be a bit startling but no need to panic.

I imagine he is reacting to movement, he's not stopping around to see what's making the movement just bolting for cover. So he's not specifically scared of you just he has obviously learnt that sometimes movement results in something scary :( By giving him a signal he can learn to differentiate it out a bit so he knows when you give him the signal there is about to be movement that isn't a cause for alarm.

The signal can be anything, a particular phrases, a noise a couple of light taps on the door before you go in. Something loud enough for him to hear but not loud enough to worry him.

You can do the same thing to signal you're about to make any movement, for example you might have a noise that means 'I'm just about to get up'. I have a general 'I'm just about to do something I know is scary and weird but don't worry it's not anything to worry about' which I use for opening the dishwasher (which he hates) and when a car pulls up outside (which he stamps at and runs if he's sat in the window). I can actually stop Scamp mid bolt if I make it when something startles him - he's generally very confident and out going, but he's a wild rabbit I handreared so he's got the instinct to bolt for cover when surprised.

Bolts holes are very important, it's sounds like you've got them covered but make sure he always has ready access and that will give him more confidence.

Never walk straight up to him, meander and aim to one side. Walking up head on is very rude and intimidating in rabbit speak. If you're giving nose rubs, avoid flattening him ears or blocking his sightline, he'll be using those to keep a watch for danger so if you inadvertently stop him he'll be less likely to relax and more likely to move away. You might like to try cheek rubs instead :)

If he'll come up to you when you are lying down I would use that as a teaching aid. Lie down, use a cue to say I'm going to move, move your hand slightly (not towards him) and then offer a treat. Although he'll move away at first, wait for him to come back. The idea being he gradually comes back quicker and quicker and eventually learns, the signal means you move and he gets a treat and he doesn't leave at all :) As he gains more confidence you can make the movement bigger and eventually towards him.

I'd recommend using his regularly dry food portion as treats, so you don't get a podgy bunny!
 
I had a vet suggest using a glove stuffed with flower on the end of a stick to sit far away from bun while eating/resting & stroke from a distance, then gradually make the stick shorter until you can use your own arm/hand. Kind of like a desensitisation to your presence.

That's a good idea! I might give it a go, thanks!

The impression I always formed was that he had been owned by overly handsy toddlers, who then lost interest and never socialised with him after that; hutch at the bottom of the garden neglect really.

I just really don't like to think of him being on edge 16 hours a day, whenever we're home. It can't be good for him.
 
Maybe look into getting Pet Remedy too. We use it mainly to help Daphne to chill out and not be a control freak, but it does seem to help Phoebe relax too. It might be worth getting a diffuser to use in their main room.
 
Thanks Tamsin, it has crossed my mind to try knocking when we enter the room, but clicking is also a good idea, just to let him know we're comingbtowards him in a non-threatening way...
 
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It can be a word or a random sound, or a bell just use the same thing each time. If you knock, just make sure it doesn't sound too much like a stamp as that's sending the wrong signal :) They have good hearing so it doesn't need to be super loud.
 
I wanted to update this for anyone who stumbles upon it in future.

Meandering towards Billy has made the biggest difference. We didn't intentionally walk towards him before, but I can see now how our body language came across that way. The day after Tamsins advice, I made a point to walk diagonally, and he stayed put - I was amazed. By giving him a wide berth and changing the direction our feet point when we approach him (so we side step towards him or walk to stop at his side, not directly to stop in front of him) he has calmed down no end.

Knocking wasn't as effective - we live in a flat, and have a front door straight out to the close - I think the buns have become a bit desensitised to knocking because of that - they think it's just someone outside. They do both still get spooked and dart off when we come from the bedroom sometimes.

I haven't fully developed the tongue clicking - I haven't needed to as much. When billy is panicked and running away, sometimes I'm quick enough to remember to click, and it does stop him mid-track. He looks confused, it's like a "why on EARTH is she doing that noise, what a weird lady!" look, and he forgets he was scared. He hasn't been running away as much, so I just haven't needed to use it enough to make it second instinct.

One big thing we did was to adapt a long console table to give the buns a shelter over their litter tray an food bowl - he loves that, as he's so much less exposed while doing bun stuff. This made a big difference - he just loves sitting under there. I think it was a very good gesture to the bunnies, and he suddenly realised we were trying to make life more comfortable for him, so we maybe weren't going to eat him. I can give him (begrudgingly accepted) nose rubs while he's under there! He doesn't like cheek rubs.

The change since making these little changes is amazing! Billy is acting far more rabbity these days, I even saw his first ever DBF! He comes up to us curiously looking for treats (he would never have approached us a few months ago), and he does morning binkies while we sort his food out :love:
 
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Awww, that's brilliant. I'm so glad to hear how well he's getting on, what amazing progress you've made! To get a DBF as well, that shows he's really relaxing! All that is just a few months too. He sounds like a very happy bunny now :love: Well done for sticking with it and finding out what works for him, he's very lucky to have such a dedicated carer.
 
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