Help!!!! I'm at my wits end.

[Queenz]

I keep poultry and rabbits and a way I use to try and get them tamer is to make them want to come to you because you have food. If you don't feed them him in the morning, at midday (no later for health reasons) approach him with a tasty treat like kale or something fresh, and he will associate you with food, the more you do it. After he has fed out of your hand, you can then give his food bowl. He may not eat the treat out of your hand straight away, so just leave it on the ground in between you and him and slowly back away. However, he will hopefully soon start to eat out of your hands...

If he grinds his teeth he may be in pain though..have Fun!

 

[Scarly]

Im so sorry to hear you are having a hard time with your Bun.

For the bonding my rescue was exactly the same. What worked for me was laying down on the floor and putting all of her food, hay, pellets, veggies etc around me and on me over the course of a month or so starting with a few feet away and getting a little closer each time. She was much more confidant approaching my feet than my face or hands. Eventually she hopped on my back to get a treat and stayed there eating it. The key was to not move at all. As soon as I moved she would freak out and hide, no matter how close she was to me at the time.

Now about 6 months later she comes for pets but if I reach toward her she still freaks out so it’s more me sitting on with my hands st my sides and she’ll come nudge me and then I can pet her.

As for the chewing the only thing that worked for us is this edible straw hut. It took her about a month to become interested in it at all. Then she pulled all the straw off the roof and then started chewing the base, since then she stopped chewing everything else. I also got wood from my local lumberyard and lay it around all my baseboards and window sills (just be sure to check that the wood is safe for bunnies) as soon as I did she wasn’t interested lol

 

[Blue eyes]

^Maybe our health moderator can comment re: the "snack shack" above. I recall hearing that those are not safe for rabbits.
The "ingredients" listed are:
pine wood shavings, cassava starch, glycerin, alfalfa, fescue straw, cotton thread, bamboo, paper cord, sodium alginate, honey, propionic acid, peanut butter flavoring, potassium sorbate and a number of color dyes

 

[mizunodaddy]

I am at a complete loss with my rabbit.

Dear distressed mama
i don't know whether it can help, but i underwent several periods of destructive behaviour of my bunny and not sure these are over; for certain reasons he is not and will be not neutered and needs an area to be marked; we are renting apartments, so those destructive activities are interfering with my highly trained ability to be a good tenant! My rabbit is still quite wild and any expressions of his affection and love were negligent at the beginning, they are still quite rare (he is 2+ years old) but once they happen they make me really happy and i understand i am on the right track. I don't know, whether this method can work with anyone else except for my bun, but whenever he does anything that i strongly oppose to, i immediately pick him up and put him into the cage with detailed explanations like with a child (as regards explanations, not the cage, usually for a prolonged period, several hours. This is may sound stupid, but i strongly believe that somehow, a pet can understand his/her owner, maybe not the words themselves, but general emotion associated with these words. And of course i never get angry. I always treat him with respect that every, even reckless, angel deserves.

 

[ChrissieK]

I am at a complete loss with my rabbit.
He's a large 2 year old rabbit that I rescued about 5 or so weeks ago. I adored him when I saw him, and I still do, but I don't know if I can carry on caring for him. He had no history of abuse, and was healthy when put in a shelter, so I don't understand where these issues are arising from.
I do understand that all bunnies have different personalities, so he could just be more of a hermit, and he is most definitely still scared of me (as I would be if a big creature took me in) but he is acting in a way that makes it impossible to bond with him.
I've laid in a room with him, just talking to him once for 3 hours. I have done it for at least an hour every day to try to bond with him. He hasn't come up to sniff me once. I bunny proofed the house, especially the baseboards, by putting silicone baby proof protectors BEHIND metal grids, and he somehow knocks the entire wall of grids down and has chewed through the silicone to get to the baseboards in the 3 hours that i'm away from home everyday, despite having 18 different types of wood, hay and cardboard chews. (That bitter apple spray stuff is a complete joke, it almost seems like bunny likes it

​

) I've tried sitting with different types of treats in my hands, to see if one would entice him enough to come close to me, but the only treat he's 'taken from my hand' was a clump of banana he chewed off and took away to finish somewhere else. He won't eat banana slices out of my hand.
I've tried to be very understanding with him, and I've done everything I can think of to try and make him comfortable, and bond with him. He's free roam in my bedroom, and that's the largest room in the house, so it can't be the stress from being locked up all day in a cage. He has plenty of space to run around all day. He is also neutered, so I have no clue what is causing this behavior, and why he won't warm up to me, but I feel like it will never happen, and all he's ever going to do is just destroy my walls despite all the bunny proofing stuff I've tried.
I don't know how much longer me or my walls can take mr. bunny, and i'm at my wits end. Of course I want to give him time and space to warm up to the house, and me, but with how little interest he shows in me, and how much frustration he seems to be exhibiting by how aggressive he is towards the walls but never his toys, i'm very upset and confused.
Is there ANYTHING I can do to try and fix this?

thank you for reading this far!

sincerely,
a distressed bunny mama

I would cage him, take him out and gently groom him with a rubber cat brush, check his toenails, and then offer him a bit of apple. Then I would watch TV in a bunny-proofed space, sitting on the floor with bunny toys around, and let him enjoy the space. I’d have a treat available only if he came to get it. After an hour or so he goes back. Repeat daily, or twice a day , for weeks, until you two are friends. Once he is more friendly, he gets more time out, until he’s a free-range bunny.

 

[thresp]

Hi Mia. Does your bunny have a space of his own that he can retreat to/hide if he wants to be on his own? My rabbits were all free-roaming, except when I first brought them home - I figured being in a large open area in a new locale and with smells they weren't familiar with might overwhelm them, so I would set them up in a smaller space at first, in a central area.

This consisted of a long cage in my kitchen that was prepared before their arrival with all of their necessities: food, water, litterbox and a cardboard box with a hole cut in the front that they could hide in. On arrival, into the cage they went and they would usually head straight into the box and stay there for a bit. I would leave them alone in the kitchen until they "tiptoed" out of their box and started nibbling at the food and looking around. Then a bit later I would sit by the cage and talk to them. This would usually cause them to hop back into the box, and I would just sit there until they were comfortable enough to come back out again, which they usually did. When I saw they became more curious, I would remove the lid from the cage so they could jump out and explore the area around the cage. Once they realized they could jump back in the cage and hide in the box if they wanted to, they became braver and had no problems exploring their close surroundings, and would even come check me out. That was usually a day-long process. The first couple of days they would remain in the cage if I wasn't there to supervise. Afterwards they and their supplies would "move" from the cage to their own space in the house (one of the spare bedrooms). I think the trick was to get them accustomed to the larger spaces gradually so they had time to get comfortable. From then on they were free-roaming throughout the house (after much bunny-proofing!) They always went to their room to snooze in their cardboard box, or to use the litterbox - they knew that was their own space and that's where they would escape to if they even got nervous about anything. Hope this helps!

 

[Sophia]

Just sit by him and see if he will come willingly at any point and maybe try treats or food

 

[FuzzyButt]

My first rabbit was the same. Eventually he got use to us, but never affectionate. Not much for touching. Well, found out he was virtually from the wild. A large rabbit farm that raised them for ‘meat only’ would put all the young together, in a well fenced in area, and then butchered when the day came. Mine escaped that fate, but never became tame in ANY sense of the word! Rescuing is not always the answer for ‘pet bunny’.

My new bun jumps on my lap while I’m in my chair, or on the couch. Gives kisses and tries grooming me. Follows me all around the house and answers to his name. Well the name most of the time. Maybe next time you can find a reputable breeder, as I did. They handle the babies so they don’t getafraid of big people. My baby is truly my baby here...all 10 lbs of him!!

 

[Joyce Guardado]

Patience patience patience some bunnies take a lot of time and a smaller place with a bunny cave in it is best at first
Many bunnies don’t like to be held and can take a while to adjust
Sweet talk every day at first with out touch and eventually your bunny will know your not a enemy

 

[A_Ponderance]

As you know, bunnies bond, as you are trying to do. The results of being torn from a bonded human is very traumatic for a rabbit and can lead to many social issues, including evasive or destructive tendencies. In Five weeks, he won't be over that. He will till be missing his bonded human friend(s) and you can not instantly replace them. Spend time with him, in a rather small space, and don't expect too much, too fast. Eventually, he will come close enough to pet, then probably run away again shortly after you touch him. Typical rabbit behavior. Unfortunately, some rabbits never do bond to their humans, or any other rabbit, so don't be too surprised if this is the case. It all depends on genetics and the amount of attention he received before being weaned.

On his destructive behavior... all rabbits like to dig and scratch. It is in their nature. Most can be broken of this habit, with some work. If he's tearing off the trimwork to chew on the back I would think the trim smells delicious and he just HAS TO INVESTIGATION it!

 

[FuzzyButt]

Sorry, I didn’t realize that I had written already. That’s me. A complete dork!!

 

[nickbun]

I am at a complete loss with my rabbit.
He's a large 2 year old rabbit that I rescued about 5 or so weeks ago. I adored him when I saw him, and I still do, but I don't know if I can carry on caring for him. He had no history of abuse, and was healthy when put in a shelter, so I don't understand where these issues are arising from.
I do understand that all bunnies have different personalities, so he could just be more of a hermit, and he is most definitely still scared of me (as I would be if a big creature took me in) but he is acting in a way that makes it impossible to bond with him.
I've laid in a room with him, just talking to him once for 3 hours. I have done it for at least an hour every day to try to bond with him. He hasn't come up to sniff me once. I bunny proofed the house, especially the baseboards, by putting silicone baby proof protectors BEHIND metal grids, and he somehow knocks the entire wall of grids down and has chewed through the silicone to get to the baseboards in the 3 hours that i'm away from home everyday, despite having 18 different types of wood, hay and cardboard chews. (That bitter apple spray stuff is a complete joke, it almost seems like bunny likes it

​

) I've tried sitting with different types of treats in my hands, to see if one would entice him enough to come close to me, but the only treat he's 'taken from my hand' was a clump of banana he chewed off and took away to finish somewhere else. He won't eat banana slices out of my hand.
I've tried to be very understanding with him, and I've done everything I can think of to try and make him comfortable, and bond with him. He's free roam in my bedroom, and that's the largest room in the house, so it can't be the stress from being locked up all day in a cage. He has plenty of space to run around all day. He is also neutered, so I have no clue what is causing this behavior, and why he won't warm up to me, but I feel like it will never happen, and all he's ever going to do is just destroy my walls despite all the bunny proofing stuff I've tried.
I don't know how much longer me or my walls can take mr. bunny, and i'm at my wits end. Of course I want to give him time and space to warm up to the house, and me, but with how little interest he shows in me, and how much frustration he seems to be exhibiting by how aggressive he is towards the walls but never his toys, i'm very upset and confused.
Is there ANYTHING I can do to try and fix this?

thank you for reading this far!

sincerely,
a distressed bunny mama

This is a little out of my league, I have never had a house bunny but I was a show rabbit breeder for over 10 years, have since retired from raising bunnies, but still like to share my experience with rabbits, and miss them dearly. As mine where all raised in wire hanging rows of cages over 200 plus rabbits, most of the time. But I gave my attention to all as I could just as if they were pets. So it's really bored for the rabbits in cages with nothing to do but eat, sleep hop around a bit, and repeat. So not being able to afford toys for 200 rabbits I came up with idea of a natural toy that I had plenty of, and that was pine cones, as I have a lot of pine trees in my yard not sure if you have any in your area but they loved them. They would play with them and chew them down to nothing eventually. Only problem I had for some reason if that cage had a water bowl instead of automatic watering nipple type, then for some reason and every rabbit would do this, the pine cones no matter how many I gave 1 or more would all end up in the water bowl saturated...Strange and don't know why they would do this...But if no water bowl they played and chewed them...Maybe this would satisfy the urge to chew these instead of your baseboards is what I was thinking?