Bonding with Chappy!

[Ambrer]

Hi there guys! I wanted to make a kind of online diary here for bonding with my rabbit, Chappy - as well as ask you for advice, if that's okay! Chappy is my first rabbit and to be honest, I'm really struggling with her - I got until September when I leave for University (I'm moving to Manchester to study Zoology) to make her...tameable. My parents have agreed to look after her while I'm away, but here's the catch - she's got to be less wild before then; so they're able to handle her as well as take her out for hutch cleaning, etc.

Okay, so Chappy is a female (It's an Anime related name...I'm considering changing how it's written to "Chappie" to make things seem more girly, as everyone thinks she's a boy...) and she has just been neutered, today marks the week after she's been neutered. She's pretty much almost healed up and everything went great! Chappy is 6 months old, currently.

When I first brought her home at 8 weeks...she was the most tamest, sweetest, little rabbit I could ever ask for. Always wanting attention and demanding me to pick her up! She was handled daily; so I'm really unsure if I've gone wrong somewhere.

She hit 4 months old...and literally, in the space of a week, she became an unhandable demon who would bite everyone, including me, when I went to try and stroke, handle or even feed her! I took her to be spayed but the vet insisted we wait until she was 6 months...so I struggled with her for 2 months, trying to bond with her. By the time she was spayed, she was able to be stroked (mostly, she was still snarling at me) and was willingly taking treats from me. I actually got her breeder in to have a look and she decided to tell me only NOW that Chappy's mother is also like Chappy (very wild, she can't be handled) so I feel sorry for the school that got the other two from the litter!

That's all gone out the window now, which, I can really understand why. I keep trying to get her out for bonding, but she's having none of it - I've been taking her out to give her medicine and to change the bedding, but she's only got half the space she usually has (she lives in a two-story hutch; she's confided to the bottom floor currently while she heals; but I'm getting ready to re-open the top floor for her today so that she's got more room!). As well as no veggies currently, as the Metacam dose she's on messed up her tummy... Anyway, ever since her spay, she's been completely unhandable. I've had to use a method of throwing a towel over her head to lift her - and she knows that game now and likes to swipe the towel away. I've tried getting her to go into her carry-case, too, for easier removal without having to pick her up, but she's having none of it. I've also tried leaving the door open so she can come and go and she pleases, but she's not having any of that, either.

Anyway, since Chappy is my first rabbit...I guess I just need some advice on how to re-build the bond I had with her, and how I should correctly go about it. I've tried hand-feeding her treats to trust me again, but quite rightly so, she's having none of me at the moment. Been researching into the matter but...not really helped out that much.

I guess I really need to start from Square 1 with Chappy, and hopefully her hormones should start to die down within the next couple of weeks, I really hope it makes things easier. But..have you got any advice? She's just...I can't even go near her at the moment, and I feel so guilty - I can't get her out to go in the run, she's just stuck in her hutch. Which I know is probably not helping the matter, either.

If you guys have any tips, even small ones, which I could use as a starting point - any easy way of picking her up, or getting her back to being able to at least feed her treats and petting...I really would be grateful. I don't want to fail her as an owner - I want to be able to keep her, not rehome her because I wasn't able to get her properly handled. I just...I really need help.

 

[HouseOfRabbit]

Thought I'd bump this up for you but regarding picking her up and putting her in the run, have you thought about a permanent connection either with Runaround or putting the hutch inside the run itself?

 

[Ambrer]

I'm currently looking into getting Chappy a bigger hutch in order for her to Coke and go as she pleases, as well as a run attached. I just need to make sure there's a way she can't get to the outside at night and so that its secure.

Vet signed her off today as being completely healthy! No problems at all.

She's letting me pet her and give her treats, but nothing else as of yet. Picking up is still a nightmare, more so as she's figured out the towel method. I usually give her a treat and then throw the towel over her while she's distracted.

I guess the first thing I need to work on is getting her to let me stroke her with minimal growling, hopefully the spay will come into affect soon and she'll calm down. Maybe. I don't know. I hope so. I feel horrible.

 

[daphnephoebe]

The spay will definitely help your situation and its lovely you want to do best by her. It can take around 6 weeks for her hormones to settle so progress may be a little slow until they fully settle down.

Its worth looking into a set up where she can access the run any time she wants. RAWF recommends a 6ft x 2ft hutch with a 6ft x 8ft run permanently attached. With something like this you may be able to clean the cage with her still in the run which would mean you don't need to pick her up.

Some rabbits will never accept being picked up and I had to teach my girls to get into their carry case to be transported outside.
We just put it in a room they often use & left it open with hay inside it and they got given their treats/favourite veg in the cases too. It soon became a hide hole & they love using it now. Maybe when you have a run attached permanently it'll be easier to train her.

You could house her hutch/run on paving slabs and add a smaller run on the grass which she can access via a 'run around' system - this grass area can then be shut off at night to help prevent her digging out.
These two links show you the minimum requirements in hutch/run so you could maybe find something similar at a cheaper price.

http://www.libertauk.info/liberta-rabbit/exmoor-ftrh1930b
http://www.libertauk.info/liberta-rabbit/sedgemoor-ftrh1830

I know a lot of people use a playhouse/shed combo with a cat flap attaching to the run.

You could try just sitting with her an reading a book aloud - I know a lot of people who this and have good success. It allows her to approach you in her own time which will make her more comfortable. You could gradually increase this to a stroke after some time as she starts feeling more comfortable with you.

 

[willow and squiggles]

when i got my first two rabbits they were like wild rabbits. i think ive come to terms that they will never like being picked up. I tried the book reading with my back to them and it took over an hour but they did come over to have a nosy. I still didnt touch them, just smiled at them and put my head back down. they stayed next to me until i moved then ran away. i did this with no touching for 3 days then i lay on my stomach and one of them put two paws on my back. i can now stroke them but it took over a week and even now if i have to pick them up they go back to being in a mood with me for a day or two to punish me i think lol.. its like im back to square one but doesnt take as long. we are getting there though. i have had them 8 months but they have been through things inbetween which has halted progress. keep at it its well worth the patience when they jump on your knee and sniff your face. xx