Are rabbits friendly?

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GracieHill

GracieHill

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Hi everyone. I am interested in obtaining a rabbit as a companion pet, and I would like to know if a normal, well-socialized rabbit is a friendly pet. I am aware that rabbits are prey animals and most do not enjoy being handled; what I am really wondering is how your rabbit reacts when you or a friend or family member walks into the room. Does your rabbit tolerate being petted? Thanks, and I hope you and your bunny have a great rest of the day.
 
Some are more friendly than others. Most do not like to be picked up, but there are ones that enjoy it. I have only had one that liked to be picked up and would sit in my lap.
Others may have better experiences.
 
My rabbits run to the door when we get home and my female runs to the door when someone comes over. Any time you are in the room, the rabbits (and cat) are right there with you. Brandy (the female) get so excited when you sit on the floor with her, she will literally climb into your lap to kiss you (she learned kisses make me happy, so now it's her go-to move) and would literally cuddle for hours if you would let her. Whiskey (my male) is definitely not as cuddly and is still learning we aren't going to hurt him or burn him (he had a rough past and is still learning we are ok people) but he loves to be by us and follows us everywhere. And also loves to learn new tricks. Rabbits are WONDERFUL companions, so long as you are willing to work with them and learn their behaviors.
 
Depends on the individual rabbit. I have had all kinds. I've had one that was unusually outgoing and friendly, easy to pick up. I've had others that liked being pet, by anyone, but wouldn't be picked up. I've had just as many that only rarely sought out attention and would hide away when approached (unless there was anticipation of a treat).

Each rabbit is unique and has its own temperament. The term "well-socialized" for a rabbit is, I believe, a bit inaccurate. Unlike other animals, getting a young rabbit and then "socializing" that rabbit does not work -- not the way it may for dogs, for instance. A rabbit's individual temperament is innate and isn't going to be changed by early handling.

In fact, an article in the 2014 Rabbits USA magazine discusses this. The article repeated what another member here on RO has stated (I wish I could remember who that was). But basically, they both said that from experience with handling multiple litters of multiple rabbits and giving each baby the same attention, the results always varied. Some rabbits grew to accept handling. Some hated it. And some were indifferent. Meaning--- early handling doesn't make a rabbit like to be handled.

I don't like to tell anyone that rabbits make wonderful pets or that they are almost always fine with attention. This just isn't true. They make great pets for those that understand that they have vastly varying personalities- regardless of "socializing."

As for 'being fine with petting,' that depends not only on the rabbit's personality, but also its mood at any particular moment. Even the friendliest rabbit will have times they don't want to be bothered.

I do like to suggest that for those looking for a particular personality in a rabbit, that they meet individual rabbits that are past hormones and already fixed. Rabbits from rescues are usually already fixed. These ones have more evident personalities if you are looking for a particular temperament. Getting a young rabbit is just luck-of-the-draw as to what type of rabbit you'll end up with. Meeting individual fixed rabbits and interacting with them is the best way to find the right match for you.
 
Our rabbit Harvey has her moods. Some days she prefers to be mostly on her own and do her own thing. She still tolerates being petted and will interact and is a nice pet. There are other days when she is really in a snuggly mood. She follows us around, licks our legs and given the opportunity, will lay as close to one of us as possible and take a snooze, or smother us with bunny kisses. When she is in this mood she likes having my arms around her and will fall asleep in my arms like a teddy bear. She also has days where she has extra energy and likes to race around the room. Harvey treats John differently than she does me. She only sees him once a day but races to see him, runs circles around his feet and will sit near his head licking his forehead! She sees me all the time it still usually races to see me and will press her nose to my nose and hold it there for several minutes breathing on me. Rabbits are very affectionate and loving.
 
I depends on the rabbit, as the others said - it's also really hard to tell how it's gonna turn out because most babies are friendly and tolerate being handled but their personality can completely change when hormones kick in. It also depends a lot on the way you keep them. If you spay / neuter your rabbit and let them free-range in the house (or part of it) at least during the day you have better chances of having a friendly rabbit than if you let them stew in their hormones and cage 24H-24. Just make sure you have the money (neutering cost a bit) and are willing to bunny-proof at least a room... and be prepared to get some of your possessions damaged anyway.
With rabbits establishing trust necessitates patience. It can take years for them to trust you completely. I think I got a really hard case with Aki, who was born in a warren in a garden and definitely acts like a wild rabbit (she is really skittish and has crazy accurate survival instincts - she escaped a cat, a dog and would never eat anything she doesn't know). When she feels alright, she's pretty distant but she trusts me enough to let her pet her and she relies on me when she feels bad (when her previous husbunny died, she stayed glued to me for weeks and I thought it was just awful and sad, and when she's ill, she let me handle her easily). I know that wouldn't be an ideal pet for most people but I feel honored for her trust and value it even more considering it took years for her to stop getting up when I came close to her and conquering her fleeing instinct. She's the most difficult pet I've had and she's my favorite.
I've had 3 rabbits, currently have two. You can pet all of them when they feel like it.
But you definitely can tell when it's someone they know going into the room - you won't see an ear or tail if there is someone they don't know into the house. Rabbits don't like strangers much in my experience.
Just, please, make sure you have the money to take care of the rabbit before adopting one. I can't even say how many times I've seen threads beginning with "My X month old rabbit has seizures / is peeing blood / is losing his balance / bites... but I don't have the money to take him to the vet" on this forum. Pets get ill and rabbits aren't cheap to keep (just fresh vegetables, hay and pellets is a budget). Also, rabbits can live 10+ years old so it's a long term commitement.
If nothing here scares you, go see the house rabbit society website to know the basics :

http://rabbit.org/
 
My Lola is a very friendly rabbit she loves making new friend even the dogs in the neighborhood big or small they all know her and even play with her when I take her for her walk she isn't affaird of anything
 
Well like anything it depends entirely on the rabbit, mostly tho if you get your rabbit and socialize it and take care of it you will have a lovely rabbit friend for life tho of course there are really mean rabbits who just don't like people or rabbit who have a horrible experience like hoarder situations or rabbits who are used as treats in dog fighting these rabbits can be unpleasant to live with on the other hand they can also be the sweetest bunnies ever also rabbits who go through mean fazes, for instance my old rabbit Ivy she was a lovely rabbit but about 8 months into me having her she got vicious and tried to bite me any chance she got but she was only going through her hormones at at the end of it she was good again and this would happen everytime she got her hormones but once I got her spayed her hormones evened out and she was 100% sweet all the time.
I'd say tho socialization, time, and patience come hand in hand when dealing with bunnies as long as you have those three things you usually tame a bunny.
 
My rabbit Iris is a free range rabbit she lives loose In my room and she always comes running up to greet me when I open my room door plus she comes when she's called and she always binkyes when I'm around and has to come over and see what I'm doing.
Mable my other bunny is very shy she dose come over and to me if I open the door but if I approach her cage she runs and hides but that's not to say she's a mean rabbit she's just shy.
 
Rabbits are definitely difficult pets in terms of husbandry, behavior, and time commitment. Harder, in my opinion, than dogs or cats. And they aren't like dogs and cats in that they trust you and love you readily, but you can work with them and find that they tend to be very loving creatures, if you understand their behaviors and are willing to spend a few hours a day working with them.

Veterinary care and diet are quite pricey for these guys, and they are quite the chewers. So you have to put aside quite a bit of money for these guys. Often times they are sold or adopted out for a very low price- which is misleading. And they can live up to 17 years, so I'd be willing to dedicate that much time to an animal before getting one. Once one of my rabbits turned 10 years old, I spent more per month on his meds than his initial adoption fee- and he lived to be 12. It's also hard to find a place (at least where I am) to rent that allows rabbits, so that's another consideration. And if you truly want your rabbit to be cuddly/friendly, that individual NEEDS to be fixed (which is often VERY pricey).

However- in terms of are they friendly, yes. I would say the majority of rabbits are friendly, even if they don't like to be cuddled or handled. They may still follow you around or prefer being in the same room, etc.
 
Mine are super friendly. My one rabbit doesn't like to be picked up, but the other one could cuddle for hours. It mostly depends on the rabbit. If you spend a lot of time with your bun an socialize him or her well, they should be very friendly, even if they don't like being picked up. Mine always come running to the front of the hutch when they hear the side door to our house open.

Both of mine are very people friendly. Missy doesn't really like being petted and throws a fit if you try to pick her up, but when she is out of the cage, she will sniff my feet, jump through my legs, try to get up on the shoulders. Moon on the other hand is a huge cuddle bug. I once had both of the rabbit at school for an entire day, and the 5th grade teacher held Moon while she was teaching for nearly 4 hours. I don't think Missy would be mental capable of tolerating that. They also both really like other people (such as friends and other family member).

Overall, rabbits are very friendly animals, each in their own way. They are also fun animals to own, and make great pets!
 
It all depends on the rabbit and how it was previously treated and how well you keep their environment and how much you pay attention to them. I had 2 bunnies in the past, both dwarf rabbits. One was very calm, just hung around. When running around she was very skiddish. But she loved being held and picked up, never freaked out at that, lived massages. My other dwarf was a rescue, the family that had her before me had 2 little boys that would poke and praud at her, take away her food.. So naturally she hated being picked up and you had to trick her to a different part of her cage to change her food or she would charge and grunt at you (thinking you're taking it away) but if you picked her up with a towel so she couldn't see, she was fine. That was pretty much the only way.

Now j have a lop bunny, Binky's in her cage when she sees me and other, licks me and others, LOVES pets, but doesn't like being picked up. Once she is picked up it doesn't matter, she likes being held. But her nails are crazy I have to get them cut sometimes she cuts me worse than my cat does when my cat is being playful lol.
You have to understand that just like with any other animal (dog, cat,etc) they all have different personalities and things they like or don't like. Don't be getting a bunny if you don't want to pay attention to it all the time, get a cat then. They're solitairy animals. Bun is need a lot of attention and a lot of food and a big area to run around in. They're high maintenance animals.
 
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