How to make friends with new bun

Hiya,

As you know I got Elvis my 14wk old French Lop at the beginning of the week. I was just wondering what is the best way to get him to trust me and be my friend!

He is lovely and seems friendly at the moment but I would love for him to be the type of bun who comes straight up to me to get a fuss.

Cheers

Debbie

well when i first got Alfie who is now extremely tame and when i pat the floor he'll com and sit next to me, i did the following:

hardly ever picked him up.
used to sit on the floor or lie ground level.
Let him explore on his own with out interferring or keep petting him.
Give him caabbage or fav veg from my hand and then stroke his nose.
Spent lots of time with him

Alfie is an outdoor bun but was easier to tame him by brining him in the evenings.

not saying the above is right or wrong but did the job for me!

time and patience are the only things that work with most bunnies

Give him time to adjust to his new surroundings.
Keep saying his name in a low gentle voice everytime you go to feed him.
Let him come to you to sniff you out, and don't be too surprised if he pees on you or nips you (he may think you are a giant bunny), high pitch squeaking noises stop this behaviour.

I've found that the younger the bunny is and the more time they spend with you, the softer and cuddlier the bunny becomes. I have a 3 month old who follows me everywhere and showers me with kisses and licks but she's a house bunny who is around people all the time. It took longer to gain the trust of my young shed bunnies as they didn't have people contact as often as the indoor bun.

Well Quinn is starting to come round to me and ive had him nearly 5 weeks he now sometimes comes up for nose rubs and he climbs up my legs looking for food - hes an outdoor bun so hes in for a couple of hours each night - it started off as no more than an hour but he has a temper tantrum if he has to go back out (i can see him becoming a house bun but shhh dont tell the OH)

Ive found giving him veggie treats when he comes up to me is making him more interested in me and more willing to let me stroke him

Quinn said:

Well Quinn is starting to come round to me and ive had him nearly 5 weeks he now sometimes comes up for nose rubs and he climbs up my legs looking for food - hes an outdoor bun so hes in for a couple of hours each night - it started off as no more than an hour but he has a temper tantrum if he has to go back out (i can see him becoming a house bun but shhh dont tell the OH)

Ive found giving him veggie treats when he comes up to me is making him more interested in me and more willing to let me stroke him

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Ahh well you need to tell your OH that you've discovered it's really bad for Quinn to go from one extreme of temperature to the other - he could catch a chill :shock:

Still time to get a dog crate for Christmas

Time

Patience

and BRIBERY

I have 2 dog crates which belong 2 the dog which he doesnt use and 2 large rabbit cages for him lol for when he has 2 stay with people, was meant 2 be one but then i saw another that was better lol

I agree with Alfie's owner. I have a mini lop house bun who comes when I tap the floor and jumps up on my lap on the sofa for attention. I used to sit on the floor and wait for him to come and jump on my lap for strokes. He soon became freindly without keep grabbing him and picking him up. When he got the run of the garden, he always came back in the kitchen after short periods to get fussed and given parsley or special favourite foods. I have two dogs that he loves and am sure he thinks he is a dog too. He always wants to lie touching them and when they get on the sofa he has taken to jumping up next to them.Good luck with your bun, hope you get loads of fun as I do with mine.

Bella is still getting used to me (I've had her just under a month now).
I've found leaning over the side of the playpen to stroke her has helped, it did with Marlon too. I think they realised that I couldn't pick them up from there and so they feel extra safe and braver.
Marlon loves nose rubs anytime now but Bella isn't always as confident.
She generally wants some of the nose rubs if Marlon is getting some though.
It's all about the patience.

bluelop said:

I agree with Alfie's owner. I have a mini lop house bun who comes when I tap the floor and jumps up on my lap on the sofa for attention. I used to sit on the floor and wait for him to come and jump on my lap for strokes. He soon became freindly without keep grabbing him and picking him up. When he got the run of the garden, he always came back in the kitchen after short periods to get fussed and given parsley or special favourite foods. I have two dogs that he loves and am sure he thinks he is a dog too. He always wants to lie touching them and when they get on the sofa he has taken to jumping up next to them.Good luck with your bun, hope you get loads of fun as I do with mine.

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HaHa Quinn does that with Leo too - unfortunately leo is quite scared by the rabbit but the rabbit still follows him like a little sheep

OK, well I am trying all your advice, so hopefully it will work.

When I bring him into the house and let him run round on the floor I do sit on the floor and he comes and lies next to me. Does this mean he is relaxed with me or that he finds the room scary and would rather be with someone that is familiar?

It was quite sweet the other day when my OH was following him round the room trying to stroke him (which I told him not to :x ) Elvis came hopping over to me and snuggled his head in me, as if I would protect him, which of course I did!

I do worry though as he is a shed bun but because we have no lighting in there at the moment I bring him into the house for an hour every evening so that we can bond, but I don't want his health to suffer cause of it. But I'm not sure what else to do.

Cheers

Have you thought about bringing him in permanently? French lops make wonderful house rabbits. They can also suffer from loneliness.

Sounds like you are making progress with him. He sounds very affectionate and relaxed. What else can I add except Sylvia loves strokes and being brushed and bunny massage. But whatever I do, she still loves Oli more than me (unless I have food in my hand!)

PS Make o/h sit still on the floor and let Elvis go up to him. That way he will get used to him and not feel threatened.