becki_moorcroft
Warren Scout
Hello, I thought you guys might be able to offer some helpful insight into whats best for rascal boy here...
Someone who i knew through FB had this boy left with them (his owners moved away and left him in his hutch in a neighbours garden), it wasnt a small hutch, and he was well fed (a bit too well fed really), neutered and not exactly mistreated.... however he was excessively agressive... The woman who had him (where he was left) couldn't get him out the cage (it was a large one 5/6 ft 2 story but only had a little tiny door so she was trying to chase him backwards and forwards across the hutch), he would lunge at any movement in the hutch and hang on. He even tried to lunge at her toddlers face when he came near the bars of the cage. This is where i came in, as she contacted me to find out what to do with him (his other option was ferret food
) Well needless to say I went round and picked him up (took a good 15 mins to get him out the hutch, but she was amazed i did it without getting bit lol) and brought him home. That was back at the end of Novemeber.
Well since then i've been working with him, along with the vet we've pretty much established that he has some vision problems, as he lunges at sudden movements, and 'spins' round to use his 'good eye' so to speak if he sees someone coming. But i quickly found out by housing him in a smaller hutch, at head height that fully opened, that he was as agressive as we first thought. When he didnt have to run backwards and forwards being chased, he was much calmer. And by talking to him to let him know i was there he soon started to clam down. I've been hand feeding him, which has also helped, and simple things like removing him from the hutch before changing litter trays or moving things. I did get bitten once, when i was handing round hay and just forgot about who's hutch it was and stuck my hand in to move it, so it was my own fault as he'd only been with me a couple of weeks. Anyway now he's a different bunny, he comes to the front as soon as he sees you and is easy to lift out (i always still wait for him to come to the front tho and never 'chase' him into a corner), he loves nose rubs, takes treats, gives bunny kisses and follows me around the garden, coming back to his name. (My mum can't believe how much he's changed... but i think she believed it was an impossible task.)
I've started to look for a new home for him, however I had hoped to bond him prior to rehoming and this is where my problem lies... i've tried 5 rabbits so far and he is simply terrified, even the calmest of them (a smoke pearl doe) whever she would approach him he would simply fly round the pen in a 'wall of death' type display, i've never been able to leave them for any length of time (the longest i tried was about an hour) as i was so worried he would hurt himself. I've housed him in a pen by my group and he's perfectly happy with rabbits and movement on the other side of bars, but he totally freaks if I try to introduce him to someone. I've never had this difficulty with a bond before and normally just perservere till I find a pair that get along.
So really i'm asking for help, do I keep trying to see if I can find one that works (i've already tried my singles here and a couple of 'play dates' I can't bring in any others to pair with him as I already have buns living in both my 'emergency' hutches), should I be thinking about rehoming him as a single bun, but that upsets me as he's not really that much of a people bun either he tollerates a few nose rubs but then is off to play on his own, and he's really in my opinion too nervous still to be a house rabbit. Or should I consider handing him over to someone who has more experience with difficult bondings to see if they can find him a partner. I'm just stumped with what to do...
Someone who i knew through FB had this boy left with them (his owners moved away and left him in his hutch in a neighbours garden), it wasnt a small hutch, and he was well fed (a bit too well fed really), neutered and not exactly mistreated.... however he was excessively agressive... The woman who had him (where he was left) couldn't get him out the cage (it was a large one 5/6 ft 2 story but only had a little tiny door so she was trying to chase him backwards and forwards across the hutch), he would lunge at any movement in the hutch and hang on. He even tried to lunge at her toddlers face when he came near the bars of the cage. This is where i came in, as she contacted me to find out what to do with him (his other option was ferret food
) Well needless to say I went round and picked him up (took a good 15 mins to get him out the hutch, but she was amazed i did it without getting bit lol) and brought him home. That was back at the end of Novemeber.Well since then i've been working with him, along with the vet we've pretty much established that he has some vision problems, as he lunges at sudden movements, and 'spins' round to use his 'good eye' so to speak if he sees someone coming. But i quickly found out by housing him in a smaller hutch, at head height that fully opened, that he was as agressive as we first thought. When he didnt have to run backwards and forwards being chased, he was much calmer. And by talking to him to let him know i was there he soon started to clam down. I've been hand feeding him, which has also helped, and simple things like removing him from the hutch before changing litter trays or moving things. I did get bitten once, when i was handing round hay and just forgot about who's hutch it was and stuck my hand in to move it, so it was my own fault as he'd only been with me a couple of weeks. Anyway now he's a different bunny, he comes to the front as soon as he sees you and is easy to lift out (i always still wait for him to come to the front tho and never 'chase' him into a corner), he loves nose rubs, takes treats, gives bunny kisses and follows me around the garden, coming back to his name. (My mum can't believe how much he's changed... but i think she believed it was an impossible task.)
I've started to look for a new home for him, however I had hoped to bond him prior to rehoming and this is where my problem lies... i've tried 5 rabbits so far and he is simply terrified, even the calmest of them (a smoke pearl doe) whever she would approach him he would simply fly round the pen in a 'wall of death' type display, i've never been able to leave them for any length of time (the longest i tried was about an hour) as i was so worried he would hurt himself. I've housed him in a pen by my group and he's perfectly happy with rabbits and movement on the other side of bars, but he totally freaks if I try to introduce him to someone. I've never had this difficulty with a bond before and normally just perservere till I find a pair that get along.
So really i'm asking for help, do I keep trying to see if I can find one that works (i've already tried my singles here and a couple of 'play dates'
I can't bring in any others to pair with him as I already have buns living in both my 'emergency' hutches), should I be thinking about rehoming him as a single bun, but that upsets me as he's not really that much of a people bun either he tollerates a few nose rubs but then is off to play on his own, and he's really in my opinion too nervous still to be a house rabbit. Or should I consider handing him over to someone who has more experience with difficult bondings to see if they can find him a partner. I'm just stumped with what to do...
