Taming my old bunny

[LadyIsabelle2011]

Alright, first off, Hi to all you rabbit people out there

I'm coming to you for advise and guidance. You see I have in my possession a small(about 7 lbs) fluffy beast. She has been living a fat well fed life outside in her well constructed weather resistance hut for about 2 years. In these 2 years she has been fed, her health kept up, and her nails kept reasonably filed down, but beyond that she hasn't had much(if any) attention. She serves no purpose it seems. She just sits out there all by her lonesome in the little 8 foot run we built her steadily getting fatter. She beats the cage with her feet everytime we come near her, growls in fear when ever we have to do anything with her, and scratches the life out of me if I don't handle her with precision of a bomb technician.
I realized quite suddenly the other day that it is not the rabbits fault that she serves no purpose, and its by no means her fault that she is so difficult to handle. Its my fault. So in frustration with my self I went and brought that little pain in the butt in-side and looked her square in the face. "You have a new purpose my friend" I told her "and it is the one we bought you for!" I cleaned out the old dog kennel(the open wire kind with the tray floor) and put her inside it. In short, I'm determined to make her into the pet rabbit she was supposed to be in the first place.
So now she's just sitting there in the living room with a slice of apple to keep her company and the door of the kennel wide open to her should she decide she wants to explore. But now I'm kinda stumped. How do you tame a rabbit? ...Well, I mean I'm pretty certain I could tame her but I mean, how do you treat a rabbit as a pet? What sorts of things do they like and enjoy best? You know how goats like treats and dogs like being scratched and cats like lounging on the couch? Well, what sorts of things do rabbits like? What extra stuff besides nail trimmings and cage cleaning can I do for my "new" pet?
...oh, and what sorts of toys can I get and make for her?

 

[Ms. Research]

It all takes time. Bunnies need LOTS of attention. They survive on it. 2 years outside in a cage, and now she inside considered a pet, will take time.

Lots of treats, spend lots of time with her. You need to gain her trust. That's why she growls and stumps her feet. She warning you because she doesn't understand.

Work with her. Toys, treats or just a nice rub down. Let her come to you.

Baby steps.

Regarding toys: I use toilet paper rolls, paper cups. They love when I hide treats in them.


Good Luck. Rabbits CAN make great Pets! But definitely not a dog or goat.

 

[reereechickens]

I have found the hard way, when you have a shy bunny to wear long sleeves! Also I found Barbi Brown's website very informative. Look on the left and click on handling and a video should come on. So far that way of picking the bun up has worked the best for me. Also when taking the bun out of the cage take them out backwards.

Last but not least ...patience and more patience.

http://www.barbibrownsbunnies.com/

 

[reereechickens]

OOOPPSS!! If you click on "Handling" it just will scroll down on the pink screen you will see "Handling" click on that and read the article and at the bottom has a link to the video.

 

[crazyturkeydesigns]

It all takes time. Bunnies need LOTS of attention. They survive on it. 2 years outside in a cage, and now she inside considered a pet, will take time.

Lots of treats, spend lots of time with her. You need to gain her trust. That's why she growls and stumps her feet. She warning you because she doesn't understand.

Work with her. Toys, treats or just a nice rub down. Let her come to you.

Baby steps.

Regarding toys: I use toilet paper rolls, paper cups. They love when I hide treats in them.


Good Luck. Rabbits CAN make great Pets! But definitely not a dog or goat.

Yup, great advice here! It's good that you've decided to work with her more...rabbits are such rewarding little creatures of fluff and love.
It will take time, lots and lots of time, especially because she's an older rabbit. I'd let her get used to her new surroundings for a little while. Shifting her environment was likely scary for her, so imo easy on the handling for about a week or so. Take into consideration things that would normally scare goats, dogs, any sort of animal...loud noises, sudden movements, etc, and try to avoid them. Also beware of electric cords if she's in the house...buns like to chew things!!
As far as the arm scratching goes...long sleeves is the way to go for awhile until she's used to being handled. Clipping nails helps (and is necessary for the rabbit), but some of my worst battle wounds were from freshly clipped nails LOL!!
One more thing...rabbits LOVE being petted on the forehead, like right between the eyes (most do, anyway). It's something they do to each other when they groom, so it's like a sign of affection from one animal to another. Sometimes if you're lucky they'll lick you on your hand when you're done, which is assumed to be a sort of thank you.
Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[LadyIsabelle2011]

Thanks for all the advise guys Sadly I had to move her back outside. She just wasn't happy in the house, there were too many sounds and too much movement, the whole time she was just sitting perfectly still in her cage or under the couch, if I held her or did anything with her she would bury up under me...I kinda felt bad taking her from her old home where she was peaceful and comfortable and tossing her into the chaos that is my household.. So, after spending a few days with her and making sure bun bun was in good health I just went ahead and let her go back outside. I've decided to just start handling her more outside of the cage and letting her out on the grass more often. That way she will be more relaxed and still more of a pet than she is now

 

[Ms. Research]

Thanks for all the advise guys Sadly I had to move her back outside. She just wasn't happy in the house, there were too many sounds and too much movement, the whole time she was just sitting perfectly still in her cage or under the couch, if I held her or did anything with her she would bury up under me...I kinda felt bad taking her from her old home where she was peaceful and comfortable and tossing her into the chaos that is my household.. So, after spending a few days with her and making sure bun bun was in good health I just went ahead and let her go back outside. I've decided to just start handling her more outside of the cage and letting her out on the grass more often. That way she will be more relaxed and still more of a pet than she is now

All I can say is you tried. It would have been neat to have her inside, but hey she's more relaxed outside. And spending more time with her outside will be just as good. Better in fact because she won't feel so stressed and can relax with you. That's what it's all about, isn't it?

But the best part is you understand it and saw the difference of "inside vs outside". And that's is the MAJOR part of a success story. Because you thought of her needs rather than what you wanted to see. Good for you.