How often do y’all hold and “pet” your breeding rabbits?

[Grizzlyhackle]

I have used ACV as a fly spray for my horses and gotten it in their eyes (not much reaction) and in mine when the wind shifted so it really isn't that bad. But, to each their own. I would say having pee shot at me would be much more unpleasant for me than having vinegar sprayed at my face and also being sprayed with vinegar would be less unpleasant for the buck than being invited to dinner.

And we could argue this back and forth endlessly, so you have a nice day.

 

[Niele da Kine]

There's a white doe who is giving me the whole gamut of bunny reactions this week. She hasn't been handled as much as they usually are since we had a whole lot of litters at one time and she's part of that group. She's the last of last year's bunnies and has sort of been the tag end and not gotten a lot of special treatment.

Earlier this week she was groomed, these are English angora they get combed and sheared fairly frequently, and she was really appreciative with purring tooth grinding and licking fingers. A couple days after grooming, she had a litter, this is her first litter. Now, there is grunting at me when I'm inspecting her kits. I've not been handling her directly since she's had the litter, she's upset enough just with having her babies messed with. If she keeps grunting, though, she may get picked up and petted just to remind her that grunting can have consequences.

A lot of animal training is to get them to recognize that actions have consequences. Bunnies that approach people get ti leaves and other tasty treats. Really friendly bunnies get ear scritches. Every bunny gets groomed whether they like it or not, although they soon learn there's treats and back rubs after grooming so after their first session they're pretty mellow about it.

 

[CarnivalOfTheAnimals]

I'm new to rabbits, so it's interesting to read all the replies. We've had ours for about 10 days now and it's fascinating to see the difference in their personalities. The two does were scared at first. One reacted by attacking me while the other just hid in a corner and ran from me. the first quickly realized I was just bringing her food and water and has become very interested and inquisitive and seems to like being petted.
The buck was quicker to warm up than either of the two does and he now comes running and stretches up on his hind legs when I come, seeing to want both food and a pet or scratch.