Hi all,
Being a cat owner, we are relatively new to the rabbit owning business. I'm sure this has been asked before in this forum but I wanted to see if i can responses tailored to my situation.
My partner and I recently got two baby bunnies. They are both male lop cross bunnies and are only 8-9 weeks old. They live in a hutch outside and we have a run that we put them in as often as possible.
My question is: naturally, the bunnies are nervous around us. They are happy to be near to us, and seem to be happy to see us when we come to the cage, but they are a little nervous if we try to stroke them. They will often hop away if we try.
My main concern is that when we bring them in the house / put them in the run, our only option is to pick them up (since the hutch is outside etc.). Being prey animals, I understand that they don't naturally like being picked up but we just don't have a choice. I am concerned that every time we have to pick them up to put them in the hutch, have we just scared them and undone all the bonding progress we have just made? I'm really hoping they start to learn that we are not there to hurt them. I guess being so young, they are not quite mature enough yet though.
Any advice would be appreciated?
Thanks,
Ollie
Being a cat owner, we are relatively new to the rabbit owning business. I'm sure this has been asked before in this forum but I wanted to see if i can responses tailored to my situation.
My partner and I recently got two baby bunnies. They are both male lop cross bunnies and are only 8-9 weeks old. They live in a hutch outside and we have a run that we put them in as often as possible.
My question is: naturally, the bunnies are nervous around us. They are happy to be near to us, and seem to be happy to see us when we come to the cage, but they are a little nervous if we try to stroke them. They will often hop away if we try.
My main concern is that when we bring them in the house / put them in the run, our only option is to pick them up (since the hutch is outside etc.). Being prey animals, I understand that they don't naturally like being picked up but we just don't have a choice. I am concerned that every time we have to pick them up to put them in the hutch, have we just scared them and undone all the bonding progress we have just made? I'm really hoping they start to learn that we are not there to hurt them. I guess being so young, they are not quite mature enough yet though.
Any advice would be appreciated?
Thanks,
Ollie
