Hello everybun! I took Harry along to a rescue centre (about a 45 minute drive) yesterday to matchmake him, but he behaved very oddly all day and I'm wondering if anyone can shed any light as to what may have been going on in his little bunny mind.
His partner passed over the bridge about a month ago, and he has been obviously lonely, not quite as active etc, but generally pretty much the same - nosey, mischievous, confident etc, ever since then.
When we arrived at the rescue centre, we put him and Heather in the same pen (nice big pen, not as if we were shutting him up somewhere) and he ran to the back corner and looked as if he was trying to size up escaping over the back! Then, after being chased by her for a couple of minutes, he squeezed himself by the side of the shed with the whites of his eyes showing, and refused to move. Eventually he came out but went straight into the hutch in the shed and stayed there all day. She went in and out and he ignored her completely and just sat frozen in the corner.
The idea was to leave them there for a few days before bringing them home, but he was obviously so distressed that we decided I should bring them back home - I was worried about him not eating, and also it was so unlike him to be like that, that the stress can't have been good for him.
So, we pack them into baskets and bring them back to mine. We let Harry out for a little run in the garden to calm down. He ate some grass, which was a relief, and then retired to a shady place at the far corner of the garden. We let Heather out and he completely ignored her.
The woman from the rescue probably stayed for about 45 minutes and Harry stayed exactly where he was, refusing to come out. But here's the funny thing - the moment she left, he came out and started acting completely normally. Today he is acting completely normally and after some scuffles this morning, now the two bunnies are running round playing together (no grooming yet, but it's all ears forward and playfully investigating things together).
Anyone got any ideas what could have been going on in his little bunny head? The only thing that we could think was that perhaps (having been a rescue bun himself), he picked up on the scent/rescue centre vibes/scent on her? Is this feasible? It's really odd - the woman said she has never seen a bun behave like that before, and she has lots of buns come for pairing or boarding. He seems fine today so I'm not particularly worried about him, more confused than anything and wondered what people think.
I'll try and get some more photos later (they both have tufts of fur half pulled out at the moment so they won't exactly be looking their best!).
Alison x
His partner passed over the bridge about a month ago, and he has been obviously lonely, not quite as active etc, but generally pretty much the same - nosey, mischievous, confident etc, ever since then.
When we arrived at the rescue centre, we put him and Heather in the same pen (nice big pen, not as if we were shutting him up somewhere) and he ran to the back corner and looked as if he was trying to size up escaping over the back! Then, after being chased by her for a couple of minutes, he squeezed himself by the side of the shed with the whites of his eyes showing, and refused to move. Eventually he came out but went straight into the hutch in the shed and stayed there all day. She went in and out and he ignored her completely and just sat frozen in the corner.
The idea was to leave them there for a few days before bringing them home, but he was obviously so distressed that we decided I should bring them back home - I was worried about him not eating, and also it was so unlike him to be like that, that the stress can't have been good for him.
So, we pack them into baskets and bring them back to mine. We let Harry out for a little run in the garden to calm down. He ate some grass, which was a relief, and then retired to a shady place at the far corner of the garden. We let Heather out and he completely ignored her.
The woman from the rescue probably stayed for about 45 minutes and Harry stayed exactly where he was, refusing to come out. But here's the funny thing - the moment she left, he came out and started acting completely normally. Today he is acting completely normally and after some scuffles this morning, now the two bunnies are running round playing together (no grooming yet, but it's all ears forward and playfully investigating things together).
Anyone got any ideas what could have been going on in his little bunny head? The only thing that we could think was that perhaps (having been a rescue bun himself), he picked up on the scent/rescue centre vibes/scent on her? Is this feasible? It's really odd - the woman said she has never seen a bun behave like that before, and she has lots of buns come for pairing or boarding. He seems fine today so I'm not particularly worried about him, more confused than anything and wondered what people think.
I'll try and get some more photos later (they both have tufts of fur half pulled out at the moment so they won't exactly be looking their best!).
Alison x
