Scared rabbit, bonding... Help!

[Carley]

Hello all! I have so many questions and hope I have this post in the right category.
Ok, I will start from the beginning... Me and my family (husband and two children) moved home and decided that we were now in the position to have a family pet. We thought long and hard about it and decided on a rabbit. We got Matilda who was 9 weeks old and she became the love of our lives. She is a house bun and very affectionate.
So to my first problem... I have always struggled picking her up. The first time I tried she scratched me quite deep which terrified me. So my husband does the picking up that is required, which is not much actually as she will happily go in to her carrier for vet visits. The vet has showed me numerous times how to pick Matilda up but I just don't seem to be able to manage it and I know that Matilda hates it. What can I do to get over this?

Moving on we got Matilda spayed 4 weeks ago and round about the same time we adopted a rescue bun with the intention of bonding them. Kyle, the boy bun is about one year old and has been neutered. He is the complete opposite to Matilda. He stamps his foot if you stroke him and runs to hide if you even attempt to pick him up which is necessary for grooming as he is a lionhead. I open the door to the enclosure he is in all the time but he never comes out even with temptation like mint and apple twigs. He actually moves his litter tray and toys to barricade the opening up! I know it has only been just over a month and that he is still settling in but it upsets me that he never wants to explore. He never hops on to any of his look outs and only stands tall occasionally despite being in a large pen with no roof so it is not a space issue.

I know that I need to start bonding soon, and I am just feeling like a complete failure. My lounge is full of Matilda and my dining room of Kyle and I just want them to be together as I know they will be happier then. I am just so worried about the process especially as I have this handling fear and Kyle is terrified of me.

When I was cleaning out Kyles enclosure today I noticed a small matt of fur on the back of his neck which he would not let me near so I am taking him to the vets tonight so they can clip it off
I am sure that this is the tip of the iceberg in making feel like such a failure.

I just want these two incredible animals to have as happy a life as possible and I need your advice as to how to achieve this please.
Thanks for reading and go easy on me as I am feeling delicate enough as it is!

 

[Fellie]

Hey there. I'm new here but I hope I can help a little with your lion head.

We have a lion head too - and as a breed they are more prone to being more nervous than other breeds. We've had our boy from when he was 13 weeks (got him in February) and there are still days now when he is gets silly frights about things and runs off and stamps his feet - and as for picking him up, not a chance! He just will NOT have it (scratches, kicks, wiggles) so we work around all that. It's just the way Lion heads are - and as such they require a huge amounts of patience and time. Also - as a rescue bunny - you don't know his back ground. He may well have been over-handled by his previous owners, thinking what a cute, fluffy bunny - before they realised that he is just not. So now he just doesn't even want to risk come out? I am just guessing at his background here of course. When we got Boris the only time we could stroke him is when he was eating - and then gradually over time he got used to is, and now submitts to it when he is in the mood (and does enjoy it to, not that the little tike would admit to that of course). The same with brushing him - we started off by brushing him when he was eating and then worked up to doing it when he is all flopped down and relaxed. Give him time - he will come round.

I have no experience of bonding - but I have heard that nervous rabbits can become alot calmer once bonded with a rabbit that is more relaxed. Have you tried bonding them yet? What has happened if so?

And as we cannot pick Boris up (not even the vets try anymore!) I can't really help there either...but I will be getting a baby girl lion head at the end of the month and as nervous as I am, I will be picking her up right from the start so that we both get used to it. Maybe you should just keep on trying - you need to build up your own confidence as much as anything and as you start getting it right - she will learn to trust you more.

You are not a failure at all - all rabbits are different and it's just a matter of finding out what is the best way of handing your babies so that you and they are happy - it's pure trial and error sometimes. Poor old Boris went through the mill at first because we fed him too much of the wrong food - but we've learnt and now (touch wood) he's a happy boy.

Good luck (and sorry I couldn't be of much help )

 

[Carley]

Hey there. I'm new here but I hope I can help a little with your lion head.

We have a lion head too - and as a breed they are more prone to being more nervous than other breeds. We've had our boy from when he was 13 weeks (got him in February) and there are still days now when he is gets silly frights about things and runs off and stamps his feet - and as for picking him up, not a chance! He just will NOT have it (scratches, kicks, wiggles) so we work around all that. It's just the way Lion heads are - and as such they require a huge amounts of patience and time. Also - as a rescue bunny - you don't know his back ground. He may well have been over-handled by his previous owners, thinking what a cute, fluffy bunny - before they realised that he is just not. So now he just doesn't even want to risk come out? I am just guessing at his background here of course. When we got Boris the only time we could stroke him is when he was eating - and then gradually over time he got used to is, and now submitts to it when he is in the mood (and does enjoy it to, not that the little tike would admit to that of course). The same with brushing him - we started off by brushing him when he was eating and then worked up to doing it when he is all flopped down and relaxed. Give him time - he will come round.

I have no experience of bonding - but I have heard that nervous rabbits can become alot calmer once bonded with a rabbit that is more relaxed. Have you tried bonding them yet? What has happened if so?

And as we cannot pick Boris up (not even the vets try anymore!) I can't really help there either...but I will be getting a baby girl lion head at the end of the month and as nervous as I am, I will be picking her up right from the start so that we both get used to it. Maybe you should just keep on trying - you need to build up your own confidence as much as anything and as you start getting it right - she will learn to trust you more.

You are not a failure at all - all rabbits are different and it's just a matter of finding out what is the best way of handing your babies so that you and they are happy - it's pure trial and error sometimes. Poor old Boris went through the mill at first because we fed him too much of the wrong food - but we've learnt and now (touch wood) he's a happy boy.

Good luck (and sorry I couldn't be of much help )

Thank you so much for your reply and you have been a great help. I am taking your advice and just stroking Kyle as he eats. I am feeding him less more often so I have more contact time and he seems to manage a few seconds before darting off! (although he just ran and hid as I offered him herbs so a long way to go yet...)

With regards to handling Matilda, our girl lion head, it is never really that necessary. She can be tricked in to her carrier etc so we can get around picking her up unless necessary. I feel that I have a really positive relationship with her but I think that Kyle hates me.

We have not attempted bonding yet. I am waiting on Matilda to recover from her spay and just seeing if any rescues can help me
I just know that both bunnies will be happier with a friend of their own kind.

I wish you all the luck in the world with Boris and your new bun. And with regards to getting things wrong to begin with, I think we all do. We learn and move on.