Bonding with your bunnies

[Reicherufuriizaa]

I’ve had my bunnies for 4 weeks now and I’m wondering if there’s any advice regarding further bonding.

Our current routine is that morning and night I sit with the buns they eat pellets from my hand and they allow me to pet their head and stroke their backs while they’re eating from my hand. (See below photos)

Melody (girl bun) will come back a lot but will only let me pet her if she’s coming for treats and eating them from my hand. if I try and reach out to her outside of this she tend to dart away, she seems pretty shy in general and will dart away from loud noises or even unknown softer noises.

Miso (male bun) sometimes lets me get 1-2 short pets in before he moves away outside of the treat time.

I never chase them or follow if they move away. I always sit in the floor with them for an hour or so during these times and another hour before I give them their dinner I’ll sit on the floor near their favorite toy as they explore the house and recently have begun giving them a tiny bit of apple or pellet if they come up to me when I’m on the floor.

I’m a patient person and know it can take a while (have heard up to 3 months or so) to bond with bunnies, I was wondering if you have any tips from where to take it from here or if I should just keep doing what I’m doing? I love sitting on the floor with them but I am quiet a large woman so lying on the floor can be pretty uncomfortable and I feel I have to shift myself too much to lay still and moving can startle them a bit if I’m nearby. I also talk to them whenever I’m near them and they’re in the kitchen area so while I’m not always with them I check on them often.

they’re in a 2meter x 2.5 Meter enclosure space, so there is plenty of room for me to sit in there with them if that’s a good idea?

I want to / am happy to spend more time with the buns just don’t wanna over do it and I would love advice (lots of it haha) I’ve owned buns before but only when I was younger and they lived free range outside and I never got to see or play with them so a very different bunny experience.

Thanks for reading my novel and thanks for advice in advance.

 

[PeanutsPlace]

Are they both spayed and neutered? I’ve heard bonding take almost a year for some people

 

[Reicherufuriizaa]

Are they both spayed and neutered? I’ve heard bonding take almost a year for some people

yes they’re both spayed and neutered / desexed (that’s what I call it here I think) does that make a difference?

I’m alright with being patient but do you think there’s anything additional I need to do? If it takes a year it takes a year but wondering if spending more time is better or just keeping it the same is fine?

 

[CrazyChickenGirl]

What your doing seems great. Whenever I get a new rabbit (and still after they are no longer “new”) I often sit on the floor and read or do schoolwork where they can come to me. How human interested each rabbit is really varies on their personality (in my experience), for example my buck Dune loves to be pet and gives kisses in return, my buck Bullet sometimes will give kisses, but doesn’t want pet at all, my doe Opal mostly ignores me and when she does come it’s for being pet.
Bullet
Opal
Dune

 

[Reicherufuriizaa]

Thank you it’s good to know. I’ll be studying again soon so I’ll give that a try xD might be a bit tricky studying on the floor but I’ll see if I can get it to work maybe I can find a low table or something I enjoy spending time with the buns ^_^ your buns are very cute thanks for sharing pictures!

 

[JBun]

I think you're doing really well and have approached bonding with them just right. How much interaction and petting a rabbit will want once a trusting relationship is established, depends on the personality of the rabbit, as Crazychickengirl mentioned. As your bond with them increases and you get to know their individual personalities better, you'll be able to better gauge how much interaction each one wants and will accept.

And yes, I would encourage spending as much time sitting with them as you can and want to. You really can't overdo it when it's approached correctly, by not forcing interaction, while still being near enough to them that they can get used to your presence. This is how rabbits establish a bond, with each other and with people. It's time spent learning to trust and find where they fit in the hierarchy. And that can't happen until enough time is spent with each other.

One other approach you can try is petting when they've settled down for a nap. Usually when rabbits are busy exploring, petting is the last thing they want to be bothered with. So it's picking the right moments. Of course this only works if they are to the point where they trust you enough to receive the pets. Otherwise they'll just jump up from their nap and hop away.

If you're going to be sitting on the floor with them, I would say make it as comfortable for yourself as possible. Put a cushy blanket or padding down for yourself so you won't be uncomfortable sitting for extended periods. Then have your phone, tablet, laptop(with no cord or cord protected from bunny teeth), book, etc, to have something to do while they wander around getting used to you. And a smaller area usually works best, so they can't just avoid you and wander off.

I'd also encourage going over these links if you haven't already seen them. It's helpful to understand how rabbits communicate with their body language, so you can better gauge their response to you and your efforts.

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/bonding-with-your-bunny.html
https://flashsplace.webs.com/bondingwithyourbunny.htm
http://language.rabbitspeak.com/
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Understanding_your_rabbit

 

[Diane R]

What your doing seems great. Whenever I get a new rabbit (and still after they are no longer “new”) I often sit on the floor and read or do schoolwork where they can come to me. How human interested each rabbit is really varies on their personality (in my experience), for example my buck Dune loves to be pet and gives kisses in return, my buck Bullet sometimes will give kisses, but doesn’t want pet at all, my doe Opal mostly ignores me and when she does come it’s for being pet.View attachment 60286
Bullet View attachment 60287
OpalView attachment 60288
Dune

They're cute! I would cover the top and the door of the cage with mats, you don't want those paws to get trapped, that can cause some very nasty injuries.

 

[CrazyChickenGirl]

They're cute! I would cover the top and the door of the cage with mats, you don't want those paws to get trapped, that can cause some very nasty injuries.

Oh, sorry, I forgot to mention that it is an old picture from when I first discovered Dune could get up there. He has a different pen now.

 

[Reicherufuriizaa]

I think you're doing really well and have approached bonding with them just right. How much interaction and petting a rabbit will want once a trusting relationship is established, depends on the personality of the rabbit, as Crazychickengirl mentioned. As your bond with them increases and you get to know their individual personalities better, you'll be able to better gauge how much interaction each one wants and will accept.

And yes, I would encourage spending as much time sitting with them as you can and want to. You really can't overdo it when it's approached correctly, by not forcing interaction, while still being near enough to them that they can get used to your presence. This is how rabbits establish a bond, with each other and with people. It's time spent learning to trust and find where they fit in the hierarchy. And that can't happen until enough time is spent with each other.

One other approach you can try is petting when they've settled down for a nap. Usually when rabbits are busy exploring, petting is the last thing they want to be bothered with. So it's picking the right moments. Of course this only works if they are to the point where they trust you enough to receive the pets. Otherwise they'll just jump up from their nap and hop away.

If you're going to be sitting on the floor with them, I would say make it as comfortable for yourself as possible. Put a cushy blanket or padding down for yourself so you won't be uncomfortable sitting for extended periods. Then have your phone, tablet, laptop(with no cord or cord protected from bunny teeth), book, etc, to have something to do while they wander around getting used to you. And a smaller area usually works best, so they can't just avoid you and wander off.

I'd also encourage going over these links if you haven't already seen them. It's helpful to understand how rabbits communicate with their body language, so you can better gauge their response to you and your efforts.

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/bonding-with-your-bunny.html
https://flashsplace.webs.com/bondingwithyourbunny.htm
http://language.rabbitspeak.com/
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Understanding_your_rabbit

Thank you for the links and tips!
I found a recliner armchair that’s for the floor so hopefully when that arrives I’ll be able to chill more with the buns and play some games or read on the floor with them!
^__^