Good advice from everyone in this thread.
Sherry is reacting in a similar fashion afterthe loss of her mate Dill. She's boxing, grunting and 'laying on teeth'.I thought she was reverting to her former ways --she was actually like that when she first arrived-- but she's getting over itnow, it's been over a week. I have to assume it was a stress reaction.
As with most ofmy rabbits,she mostly reacted to hands -- something I realized way back when Naturestee pointedit out -- so to help her get over it, I mostly 'nuzzled' her and didn't reach for her hands-first, itwas head first. And when I did use my hands,they camebearing treats or grooming perks -- all my buns react very well topettingthecorner of their eyes and inside their ears.
I should also mention that Sherry onlyhas half a lip (I assume from sticking it where it didn't belong sometime in her past) so she's particularly sensitive about that area. Ditto with Radar's half a nose. You have to be aware of sensitive body parts and concentrate on areasthat calm them down.
Darry is also a very aggressive bunny, and it takes a bit of courage, but I have her hay box and bed on top of a cabinetthat I have easy access to, and she has no problem with being nuzzled while up there, and if I approach her calmly and slowly, I can pet her with no problem after the nuzzle -- which is daunting, but never a problem. Reaching for her on the ground, though, isa different story. She's a disgruntled Mike Tyson. She's never bitten me, just npped a bit, but she sank her teeth very deeply into my roommate's hand, and all he was doing was cleaning out some old hay from her hay box. Radar has picked up the same habits -- he never used to grunt and box until Darry came along. -- although he'd never bite, he's a sweetheart.
Bottom line is to be brave,don't flinch (as noted),talk calmly and soothingly. A firm hand on the head is a good thing, but not aggressively and not timidly.
Patience is the biggest virtue you can have around rabbits.
PS: Julie? Did you notice we have a spell check?
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