Bonding with my new bunny!

[Orrac1e]

Hi all!

Me and Binkie are new to this forum! She is my first bunny in at least 10 years so i'd appreciate any help from all you experts here I recently got Binky as a birthday gift, she's about 2 months old and I've been trying to brush up on my rabbit care. I've read through all the articles about nervous bunnies/potty training etc, So as far as Binky goes, i think she is the dream bunny! I've never been able to fully toilet train my previous bunnies, but Binky was already toilet training herself in the petstore, pooping ONLY in her food bowl (err..yea i know) And this girl is NOT shy. She's extremely curious, coming up to us on the first day and sniffing a room full of feet. She does binkies like crazy (hence the name and likes to flop (really funny plopping herself down) anywhere! So i think she is pretty social.

I'm hoping to bond more with her at the moment, This may probably sounds really needy on my part LOL, but she comes up to me less now than in the first few days Before she would put her head on my leg and sniff, but now she dashes right past!

She only 2 months which i read is too young for veggies to be part of her diet so i've been chopping up a carrot slice into 4, to use as bribes. I'm trying to get her to come when called, but i don't want it to end up being all about treats, like she wont come if there aren't any. so i'd appreciate any advice! How did you start bonding with your bunny? I know its way too early to expect instant results or anything, but i'd just like to start on the right track. Sorry for the long post >.< just thought i'd give a bit of background on Binkie... Thanks in advance

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Congrats on the new addition. You can start veggies in another 4 weeks, slowly. There's nothing wrong with using bribery for positive reinforcement of desirous behavior.

 

[Orrac1e]

Oh gosh, i must be totally blind and did not see a thread above with almost the exact same wording as my title... "Bonding with your bunny" Sorry i'm still learning to work the forums. Still i'd love to hear any personal experiences if anyone cares to share

 

[Orrac1e]

Thank you Nancy! I should probably lay off the carrots for now then. I've only given her a slice a day, but chopping it up into tiny pieces just to use as treats. I hope this wont mess up her digestive system!

 

[JBun]

It sounds to me that now that she's starting to feel comfortable being in her new place, she's just really busy exploring and checking everything out. I think that as she has had enough time to do all her exploring, she'll start coming to you more for nose rubs.

 

[Imbrium]

as long as her poops are normal, it's not upsetting her... carrots are pretty sugary though, so it's good that you're going easy on them. 12 weeks is pretty much the min to start with fresh foods, though, and then you'll want to introduce them one at a time a few days apart. http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/diet.html#babies has good diet info and links to a veggie/fruit list.

for the most part, you just need to give her time - mine were really snuggly when I got them at 2 mos, then got more comfortable and independent, then went back to really loving attention from me. the more time you spend with her, the more she'll bond with you

 

[Orrac1e]

Thanks for the replies! It has been really reassuring. Yes she has been with me for barely a week, so i guess time is the key. She is actually picking up the bribe training quickly heh! Tried it for about 10 mins last night, walking around and then calling her to me, she was way excited and dashed right over. i've been using her pellets now so as not to overfeed the carrots, doesn't have QUITE the same effect though Thanks again for the help!