New Bunny - very timid

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kat70

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Just got a new bunny a 13 week old Doe she is very timid.I handling her on a daily basis as much as possible.She has not been handled before.

My other Bunny was timid but as much he now is very friendly i whistle him and he comes.Im use to having bucks not does.

Any tips on making her more friendly , ive had a couple of bites of her too.She's a British giant weighing 7lb so i need to get her tame because they end up Huge!!
 
My doe was extremely timid when I got her, so much so that I couldn't even touch her. I spent a lot of time with her, most of the time I wasn't touching her at all, I sat in the run with her for hours on end and let her run to me and check me out, never did I even attempt to touch her. Then I gradually started carrying treats and I'd hold them in my hand and he's take them. When she would do that, I would start introducing movements so instead of holding the treat in her reach, I would have to move my hand towards her so she could have it. She got used to me moving pretty soon.

After that I started petting her while feeding her and pretty soon I could touch her without having to feed her. I also made sure I only touched her when she wanted to be, she would sit on top the little wooden hutch/box in the run and that was the only place I would touch her for a while, she soon realised that unless she was on that box, I wouldn't touch her. She was soon used to it and I was able to touch her anywhere, but I maintained the box as a marker. It was the only place I'd pick her up from, if she didn't want to go in, she wouldn't go on it. I even managed to voice train her through all this and she would jump on the box when I said "box".

All that took about 4 months to really accomplish and a lot of patience. Take things slowly and let the rabbit tell you when it's ready, rushing things only makes it take a lot longer in the end.

Anyways, good luck!

P.S.- Even though I didn't spend a lot of time touching her, I made sure to handle her EVERY day. I would put her on her back and play with her feet and mouth to make sure that vet visits, nail trimming, and other things were very easy to do. You should be able to look over her very thoroughly by the end of it, and it's easiest when they're young.
 
kat70 wrote:
what about the biting
Biting often can be helped by spaying the rabbit although she's too young right now. It also seems to stop or at least calm down with age. Right now all you can do is give her a firm 'no' when she does it. Some people recommend pushing their head to the ground to show dominence but in my experience, all that seemed to do was reward mine for biting since they seemed to think I was petting them.

Also, you never want to pull your hand away, it gives the rabbit the idea that 'hey, if I do that, she backs off'. If it hurts, I recommend leather gloves, it will protect your hands and give her the idea that she can't get her way by biting.
 
Yes shes got a hard bite !! With a Giant breed she need taming ! My other Giant is like a dog really more than a rabbit .He answers when i call or whistle and lays at my feet.
 

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