Still grunting and thumping

[lala007]

hi everyone,

So we have two bunnies: Grendel, a spayed female bunny about 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 years old who has lived with us about 1 year; and Shin Shin, a neutered male bunny around 1 year old who has lived with us for about 4 months. they are happily bonded with each other, but not with us. Gren is open to some petting, and bumps us a lot.

However, Shin Shin HATES to be touched no matter what. I let him come to me over the course of several months, let him crawl on me and just hang out, but once i try to move now to him allowing me to touch him, he grunts, thumps, pins his ears down, and leaves. (and then returns for more if food is involved). it doesn't matter if it's his head or his back. and when he does this, it makes Gren get panicky, too, and she's all keyed up for a while. The moment he's touched, everyone freaks out. I just don't know what to do. Like i said, it's been 4 months. We don't know his background because he was left in the night drop box at the animal shelter. Does he sound like a poorly socialized bun or a bun that was teased or otherwise ill-treated? What are others' experiences with shelter buns?

He is otherwise sweet and we would never give him away because of this, i am just not sure what to expect and whether it makes any sense to take a different approach with him. He never bites; he mostly makes a lot of noise and is quite dramatic about it. Help?

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Lot's more time. All of ours are rescues, so it's taken quite a bit of time with some of them to come around and not every bunny will accept being handled.

 

[lala007]

thank you for your prompt input. we will keep being patient with him. he is willing to be petted in a new environment (like a room he isn't in very often) -- maybe because he's freaked by a new place? do you think that helps/hurts/ or is neutral? just a little while ago I was laying on the floor and he was sniffing my face and head for a while. (in his usual territory)

 

[Imbrium]

when you're trying to bond bunnies, one tip is to take them on a car ride together because the unusual setting + mild stress of it can help them bond with each other - I wouldn't be surprised if new territory works the same way with trying to bond a bunny to humans.