My bunny hates me

[AlexNufc]

I just got a baby white lionhead, I introduced him to two other rabbits a lionhead lop and a mini rex who are about 1yr old the new bunny is 3 months old but when i put the mini rex on the bed with him she bit him hard and i put her away in her cage but now the lil rabbit is afraid of me he seems to hate me what should i do?

 

[SweetSassy]

Hello. You need to slowly bond your bunnies. Hemight be scared cause he's new to your home, but it takes time to earn trust.

There will be some chasing, nipping and humping with the bonding process. That is normal. I would use a neutral area like the bath tub when bonding. It will take some time to bond.


http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12072&forum_id=17

Here is a link from the library about bonding Good Luck

 

[hartleybun]

:yeahthat: patience is definitely the key! you might find an extra pair of hands useful should you need to separate them quickly. others have also recommended a water pistol.

take things slow as this is a very young bunny. you could start by having the new bun's cage near to the others but with a barrier so they cant fignt. let the new bun settle in.

sorry if this is stating the obvious dont put this new un-neutered bunny in with another un-neutered bunny

 

[NorthernAutumn]

Please check the new bunny very closely for any bite wounds... blood, skin flapping, etc. A rabbit bite can be very nasty, and can get infected easily.

Introducing rabbits is a two-person job, for sure.
I suggest that you give them time to get used to the other being in the same house.... just in their cages, not touching eachother.

 

[Pipp]

Moving this to our Behavior section...

 

[Moro Ferret]

Are your rabbits fixed?

Introducing rabbits can be a real pain in the butt. After Bilal was fixed, I had to wait several weeks just to get them near eachother. I started by placing Bilal's smaller cage next to Walter's cage -- which would eventually house the two of them. Once a day I would introduce them on neutral ground, and keep them together as long as possible until fur started flying (there was never any blood or screams, but Walter would bite a chunk of Bilal's fur out and chase him aggressively.) Every day they tolerated each other more and for longer periods of time. Eventually, actually on Christmas, they hung out harmoniously for hours, but still fought on marked territory (if one entered the other's cage). A week later I took them to my friend's house in Cumberland, and they fought the drive up (or would have if they had been in the same cage), were allowed to run around the guest room all weekend, and came home best friends, able to be housed together. On occasion they get too frisky while playing and Walter will bite a chunk of Bilal's fur out, but with intervention they go back to normal right away. They are inseparable and play together constantly.

My point is, it will take awhile, and the process can't even begin until a couple weeks after fixing. The two most helpful things in my experience were putting the cages right next to each other, and car rides together (NOT both cramped in the same carrier, which is recipe for disaster.) Just some ideas...