Rabbit bother, plz help!!!! urgent!

i have had my rabbits for about (harvey)6 months and (esme) seven month and when they 1st came, esme was extreamly shy, but came out her shell after a few months and was a lovley rabbit ( a little skitish but ok) and harvey was always bonnkers....but now (the past month or so) they are becoming extreamly "thumpy" when ever anyone goes near them, they run away from me and have even bit me twice now.....im so unhappy i dunno what 2 do.....help ...plz anyone!
p.s they are both neauterd!

jenny

Hiya do you stand over the buns when you try to pick them up? you could try sitting or lying on the floor near them and wait for them to come to you.

well most the time i do.....but im now (the past few weeks) been sitting down, but as soon as i touch them they run :*( my rabbits are both rescue rabbit so i expect them 2 be timmid,.....but its getting me so down

i dont mean 2 scair them (if thats what i do )

It sounds like something's made them nervous - not necessarily you. Do you have problems with cats or foxes getting into your garden? If that's happened recently it would make them a lot more wary.

Mmmmmm Difficult, i would tend to think along the same lines as nix, something may have scared them. Can you think of anything that would have?

Hi Jenny - I'm sorry to hear about your little thumpy bunsters.

As the other good folk on here have already mentioned - do you have any other animals which might have spooked the bunnies :?:

How much time do you spend with them. Bunnies can be very timid and shy animals until they get to know you and this can literally take months and even though they came from a Rescue Centre changes in environment can unsettle bunnies and it might take some gentle patience to allow them to settle and gain your trust.

Have you tried giving them a very small treat such as a small piece of carrot so they associate seeing you with something great happening - then gradually as they get to feel more comfortable praps they will let you stroke their back. Try not to be too hesitant (I know its hard when you think you may get a nip :shock: ) but animals can sense this.

Good luck and hope this helps.

hi

If it's possible I would avoid picking them up or handling them for a few weeks, so that they stop seeing you as a threat...Can they get out of their house for a run or do they need to be carried to a run and back? If so can you make it possible for them to get in and out without being carried? Alternatively let them climb into a cat carrier for some pellets or grass to get them in while you transport them?

Do you smell different now it's summer? - perfume or sunscreen or whatever? They don't see very well and so smell is important to them.
If something has been terrorising them while they're shut in a hutch, can you put the hutch (if that's what they're in) nearer the house with a floodlight on it - maybe peg a sheet over the front at night, or staple a net curtain to the front of the wire so they can't get spooked so easily? My 2 are scared rigid before I can even see a cat though - they can smell it.

My Nala is very nervous and will thump if i try to catch her. We have an understanding now that when its bedtime and i put food in her cage she hops in so i can close the door.. and will come running out when i open the cage which means i dont have to pick her up regularly. I usually catch her once a week for a good groom and check over. She has become alot happier in the last month (ive only had her about 4months) and will come up to me. I have also been sitting on the floor feeding them pellets from my hand so that she sees me as a good thing not a scarey thing. She is still very nervous but much better than she was 3months ago.