Bunny scared of people! Help w/ taming

[BunnyFofo]

Hello all. I have a question. We just got our bunny two days ago. He is super fuzzy and adorable!He does not seem to want to come out of his cage at all, and when someone walks by his cage he freaks out and jumps all over. He runs from you when you try to pick him up. Once he is picked up though, he is com and gentile in your lap.

How much of this is normal, and what should I do to get him use to people? He is 7 wks old (so that lady told me!). Also,should I be giving a 7 wk old veggies? I know about the introducing them one at a time and stuff, but I have read different infoon the age to start. On site said 7 wks, one said 12 wks.I also did not see Cilantro on the veggie list. Is it ok?

I will post pics soon of bunny and his cage!

Thank you sooo much for help!

Liz

 

[bunnydude]

Hello,

Since your bunny has only been with you for two days, he is still adjusting to all the new sights, sounds, and smells. Just give him some time. And I would wait until he is about six months old to begin introducing veggies.

As a side note, the light colored fonts are harder for some members to read.

For those who need it, this is Liz's post in black:

Hello all. I have a question. We just got our bunny two days ago. He is super fuzzy and adorable!He does not seem to want to come out of his cage at all, and when someone walks by his cage he freaks out and jumps all over. He runs from you when you try to pick him up. Once he is picked up though, he is com and gentile in your lap.

How much of this is normal, and what should I do to get him use to people? He is 7 wks old (so that lady told me!). Also,should I be giving a 7 wk old veggies? I know about the introducing them one at a time and stuff, but I have read different infoon the age to start. On site said 7 wks, one said 12 wks.I also did not see Cilantro on the veggie list. Is it ok?

I will post pics soon of bunny and his cage!

Thank you sooo much for help!

Liz

 

[BunnyFofo]

Thank you for the info. I was wondering though, that you said to wait till they are 6 months old to start introducing veggies? They eat veggies before that in the wild. Also, on house rabbit society web page it reads:

What quantities of food should I feed babies and "teenagers"?

• Birth to 3 weeks--mother's milk
• 3 to 4 weeks--mother's milk, nibbles of alfalfa and pellets
• 4 to 7 weeks--mother's milk, access to alfalfa and pellets
• 7 weeks to 7 months--unlimited pellets, unlimited hay (plus see 12 weeks below)
• 12 weeks--introduce vegetables (one at a time, quantities under 1/2 oz.)

From: http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/diet.html#basics

with all the different info out there, I was just curiouse as to why you said not till 6 months of age? Thank you

 

[katt]

here is what i would do when we bred rabbits and had a rabbit enter our barn that wasn't well socialized:

first i would bring the rabbit in my room, normally on my bed (it would be covered in an old blanket so that way if an accident happened no harm was done). i would then sit down with the rabbit and start to ignore it. . .i would read, draw, knit, ect while it would explore the bed. . .sooner then later (it might take a few times of doing this) the rabbit would no see me as a threat (because i had spent all this time with it but i didn't attack it in any way or act like a preditor), soon the rabbit would binking and come up and smell me, at this point i would start to offer pets, but not force them. then after petting was okay bonding with the rabbit comes rather easily. soo the rabbit would be for my attention (because all this time i am reading or knitting, or whatever) and would start to eat my book, bite the pencile out of my hand if i was drawing, play in the yarn while knitting. . .they don't like the fact that you don't care they are there. . .

that is personally the steps i took, and it seemed to work well for us. feeding treats always worked too. . .just a sprig of parsley here and a basil leaf there. . . hungry rabbits tend to like things that feed them!

katie

 

[Pipp]

Hi Liz,

I thinkyou have a cage that he can leave on his own so you don'thave to lift him out of the cage, right? I may also be an idea to put a little 'hidey box' in there if he's a shy bunny -- best is a box with two small entrances so he'll feel safe butnever trapped.

Rabbits don't like to be confined (their instinct is that if something is holding them, it means they're about to be eaten!), and they don't like heights.

However, they love friendship and will closely bond with a human they don't view as a predator. It just takes a little patience with a shy bunny.

Best way is to be on the ground with the bunny, let him come out of the cage on his own, give him treats (and you can use tiny bits of fruits and veggies, including cilantro) as treats, they're better than craisins, seeds and breads). Let him come to you when he's ready,and only cuddle with him on your lap only when you're sitting on the floor.

And small amounts of veggies are okay as long as his main staple is 1) hay and 2) pellets.

sas

EDIT/PS: the age difference is just a matter of opinion, some people think 3 months is okay, others say 6 months. The important part is just to do it gradually.If the babies were eating bits of veggieswith their mom, then it's okay. It's just that even mildly sudden diet changes can really be problematic. And also waiting until they're older ensures thatthey'll be eating hay as the staple. You don't want them abandoning the hay for the veggies.

 

[Runestonez]

Hi Liz welcome to the Forum!:welcome1

Cilantro is great for bunns! Ours love it! It is also called Coriander!

 

[BunnyFofo]

Thank you all so much for your replies! There were some great ideas, and I will be using some of them. My bun does have a cage on the floor and he can come and go on his own. I have a hiddy box in his cage (carbord for now). I am making him a wood one (untreated wood), but it will not get done till Sunday. He really is a cute fuz ball. I think I will try the holding him on the floor thing, that way he can get out of my lap if he wants to. I will try the food as well!

Thank you!

Bunny Fufu

 

[Pipp]

katt wrote:

here is what i would do when we bred rabbits and had a rabbit enter our barn that wasn't well socialized:

first i would bring the rabbit in my room, normally on my bed (it would be covered in an old blanket so that way if an accident happened no harm was done). i would then sit down with the rabbit and start to ignore it. . .i would read, draw, knit, ect while it would explore the bed. . .sooner then later (it might take a few times of doing this) the rabbit would no see me as a threat (because i had spent all this time with it but i didn't attack it in any way or act like a preditor), soon the rabbit would binking and come up and smell me, at this point i would start to offer pets, but not force them. then after petting was okay bonding with the rabbit comes rather easily. soo the rabbit would be for my attention (because all this time i am reading or knitting, or whatever) and would start to eat my book, bite the pencile out of my hand if i was drawing, play in the yarn while knitting. . .they don't like the fact that you don't care they are there. . .

that is personally the steps i took, and it seemed to work well for us. feeding treats always worked too. . .just a sprig of parsley here and a basil leaf there. . . hungry rabbits tend to like things that feed them!

katie

:yeahthat This is excellent advice! I'd do this for awhile first.Great bonding method.

And this line: "they don't like the fact that you don't care they are there" is SO true! This way your rabbit will WANT to be with you, not just tolerate you. :biggrin


sas