New mini-lop that was given to us...how long until he adjusts to us?

[doodlebugger]

We started with a Flemish giant which was a whole different experience in itself. Now we are adding a mini lop to our rabbitry. The Flemish is inside, and the mini lop will be an outside bun. The new mini-lop was given to us by a family who had an 4-H member who lost interest in the bun after a few months. He is 9 months old and has not been friendly since we brought him home. We have tried to leave him alone for the first 48 hours to get accustomed to his new home, but he freaks out everytime we come to the cage and try to pet him. He has started pouncing me with his paws and scratching! It scared me the first time, I thought he was doing a binkie, but then when I realized he is pawing me and scratching at the same time, it freaked me out. Some sort of defensive move on his part. He seems really depressed most of the time, and although he is curious sometimes (smelling, standing on his hind legs, and exploring the boundaries), he pretty much has been eating and sleeping. It's like he is depressed. How long do we wait to let him adjust - are we expecting too much too soon? Should we just leave him alone or should we force interaction? I have some pretty nasty scratches from him.....and he kind of scares me because he seems unpredictable....you just don't know when he is going to strike. I don't know what to do......any ideas?

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Sounds like he was treated very well or socialized at all. You're gonna need patience and lots of time. Let him come to you first for interaction. Use treats to bribe and try to get him used to handling. Neutering would probably help to. It's normal for a bunny to be hutch aggressive, but too much is not good as you still have to clean, do nail trims, etc. Use the library here as a reference toward behavior modification.

 

[doodlebugger]

We tried treats, but he just does the pawing jump thing. He does seem to be warming up to my daughter more than myself. He is actually coming over to smell her, and will tolerate petting. The funny thing is that the woman who gave him to us was able to handle him fine, but as soon as he got in his new home, he became really aggressive. We will just keep trying. I did read that we should let him come to us first before petting him....have to gain his trust. I think we are just trying too much too soon! We have to be more patient. Thanks. Any other insight would be helpful. This is our first mini lop, and he is nothing like the flemish we have.

 

[OneTwoThree]

He needs time. My house rabbit lionhead who I've had since 6 weeks is just now at 8 months showing me affection. And he's the most spoiled rabbit ever hah. You probably also smell like your flemish so he's on the defense.
That said, I just got a flemish giant, she's about 7 weeks old. And her temperament is COMPLETELY different from my lionhead, shes super loving and sweet right from the get-go, and not nearly as skittish, and she came from a worse situation. I'd love to hear about your flemmie though! There aren't many threads on them!

 

[doodlebugger]

We got our Flemish giant after reading an article in a homesteading or farm magazine about the breed. He is a fawn, and he is now 6 months old. We got him when he was 11 weeks old. We still can't really turn him over, so we are working on that still, but he is very sweet and laid back. Actually, we call him lazy! We can bring him a special treat, and he will try to reach it while still laying down! LOL
When we got him, he was almost 8 lbs, and now he is 15-16 lbs! He is still growing too! We only fed him timothy hay and pellets (Old Red I think is the brand) and some occasional alfalfa. Now we are slowly introducing greens and just started with one. We will wait to see how he does with it, and move from there. We love him, but he just takes up so much room! He's more like a dog than a rabbit. He has been so sweet and easy to deal with. This poor little mini lop is just the opposite. He acts like a spoiled kid who isn't getting his way! LOL We are just trying to be patient. That's hard when you just want to pick them up and snuggle them!

 

[EbunnysMum]

I would like to have a Flemmie thread too! As for the little lop, sounds like he is just generally disgruntled, and forgot all manners in the move! I am sure that you can win him over, and it is gonna take time and patience. Also, it can be hard to remember with our snuggle bun Flemmies that not all rabbits can be interacted with in the same manner. I have friends that get frustrated with their smaller bunnies and come hang with our "gentle giant" cause she is so mellow. Your lop just might be a high strung bun. You may never get to snuggle him. At any rate, he is lucky to have you!

 

[OneTwoThree]

From everything I've read, flemish and other giant breeds are basically nothing like other bunnies. There are exceptions, of course, but as a general rule, I've found my lionhead(Samson) to be more like a cat, she'll let you pet her and cuddle her *if* she feels like it, but if not, she'll let you know. It's taken a lot of time to get her to bond with me, she still likes my husband better and hasn't ever given me bunny kisses, but my Flemmie already has, so its interesting to see the difference.

 

[Coco31]

HI i have the same problem! I bought my mini lop from the pet shop last August she was 4 weeks old and very friendly and would let the pet shop lady hold her etc. As soon as we took her home and got her set up she became very disgruntled. And just like you i went to put some treats in her cage she pounced on my hand and clawed at it was very scary i thought she was vicious!

So over 12months later i still cannot pick her up. She is not vicious but will run into her hutch every time i open her cage. I sometimes think she is depressed

Would love some advice as well.

 

[doodlebugger]

We started with parsley, and he will come and take it from our hands, but he just looks either depressed or grumpy the rest of the time. He runs away from us if we come outside and he is in the main part of the hutch. He stays in his box when we fill his water or food. We are trying to be patient, but I hope it doesn't turn out that we can't do anything with him a year later....

 

[Coco31]

Oh it gets depressing for you as well cause you just want to be able to play with them and interact with them especially the kids. I am thinking of taking her to the vet.

 

[doodlebugger]

If you do, please post and let us know what was said. Our mini lop seems to be coming around slowly, and I can say that at least for the last two days, he has stopped that weird jumping paw swat! He is starting to smell us when we open the cage door, and has even let us pet him a few times. It will be a miracle if he will ever be a snuggle bunny!

 

[Coco31]

I had the same break through. But after a while she went back to her old ways but i will definately let you know what the vet says.

 

[funnybunnymummy]

Sounds to me like a typical unsocialized rabbit. He's probably learned to associate hands with being poked, prodded, and mishandled.So when he sees hands coming, he goes on the defensive. Gus would do this too when we first got him if we tried to pick him up out of his cage. He HATED being picked up and would attack if he thought you were going to pick him up. He'd kick and scratch once you got hold of him too.

Is it possible to get him out of his cage without picking him up? Once he's out of his cage and onto the ground or floor, he'll probably be less inclined to attack. Then you can get down on his level with a few treats and see if he'll come to say hello. Don't force him to come to you, though. You have to pretend like you're not interested in him, then his curiosity will take over. There's a really good thread here on bonding with your bunny. I'll see if I can find it.

One other question: If he's living outside, have you treated him for fleas/mites? Gusgot fleas/miteslast summer and it made him absolutely miserable. Since we've treated him he become a much sweeter, friendlier bunny.

Hope that helps!

Rue

 

[juliew19673]

Patience and time..

I have a bun that I'm fostering, have been for over a year as the rabbit rescue I worked with shut down and he was such a miserable bun (growled, attacked everyone) I couldn't imagine him being sent away to Arizona or wherever else, as he would just be labeled "Aggessive".

Brought him home and just sat with him (did not touch) for months (I did try early on and just got bit and growled out until someone on RO said to not - and it did work).

Now a year later, I can pet, pick him up, give him nail trims, BUT every morning when he gets pellets, he HAS to charge his bowl and growl. I've never been able to stop this behaviour, I now sit with the scoop of food in front of his bowl and wait for his dive at it.. I laugh and his attempt is half hearted, but he won't give it up.

Bad "Rearing" can be overcome, just take alot of patience and reading your bun.. Best of luck, think it will be fine with time.

 

[doodlebugger]

Thanks! We know he is coming around and that it will take time, but we are surprised at how well he is doing so far. The batting scratching thing has stopped, but he still flinches and runs away at times. He is getting used to us opening the door to the hutch and has even come to investigate at times. He does still kind of shut down after he has had enough - we call it stone-walling. He just backs into his hutch corner and becomes very still and won't even move his head. The only thing that moves is his nose. We have learned to read his attitude by his nose - as long as it's moving, he's interested, and when it stops, he doesn't want anything to do with us. He is taking treats from myself and my daughter, but to get him interested, sometimes we have to put it right in front of his lips. He doesn't sleep in his box during the night - he stays out (even though we humans think it's far too cold). In the morning, we usually find him in his nest/box. I am thinking about trying to go out at dusk or dawn to try to visit with him - maybe we are interrupting his sleep in the day time? :?

Patience is the key, so we will just keep waiting. We are just glad to have him, and this is a great experience for my daughter's project too.

 

[Flick]

You've got the key... patience. My Skyler was part of a seizure from a backyard breeder along with over 150 other rabbits. He'd had no socialization at all. Took 18 months before he ever allowed me to so much as rub his nose. Now, 4 years later, he's my "rubby bunny". He'll even raise his nose into the air, asking us to rub it. Patience and consistency.

I also suggest you find a way to bring him into the house to live with you. Set up his own pen with a litterbox, etc. and let him be a consistent part of your family.

 

[doodlebugger]

We have been thinking about putting him in the house, but with a small dog and the Flemish living here, I don't know how much more my hubby can take! We also have three outside dogs in addition to the mini lop we just took on. I am seriously considering bringing the mini inside, but I don't know how that will affect our Flemish. Neither are fixed (because we may be using them for breeding purposes in the spring), and I am concerned about safety for the mini lop. I just don't have as much room inside either - the Flemish takes up a lot of room!

 

[Flick]

I understand your hesitation. I"d be more concerned about his safety outside with predators (owls, snakes, possums, raccoons, hawks, etc.) than inside with the Flemmie. Even if the predators can't get him, he knows they're there and that is very stressful for a rabbit. Could be part of his behavioral problems. He never feels safe outside. Everything out there wants to eat him and he knows it.

Also, outside he's more likely to get ear mites, fur mites, fly strike, Gerardia, and other parasites.

If you keep him and the Flemmie well separated, they'll be okay. They'll probably have a pee/poop war which is annoying, but that will calm down after their territories are established.

I think once he's brought inside and made to feel secure, and loved as part of the family, you'll see a very positive change in his behavior.

 

[doodlebugger]

I totally agree with you about being an inside rabbit, but he has been outside all his life, so I am a bit hesitant to make such a big move until we are prepared. I would love to do this, don't get me wrong, but I just need to wait right now. We may be moving in the near future, so it's a really good possibility that he will be moving inside. I just have to convince my hubby. How big of an inside cage would a mini lop need? The temporary holding cage we have is pretty small.

 

[Flick]

His cage would not be nearly as large as your Flemmie's. Alot of rabbit people use "Neat Idea Cubes" to make cages and pens. These are wire panels that we put together with zip ties, so we can make the size we want/need. Each panel is about 14" square. A basic cage is generally 2 panels high, 3 panels wide and 2 panels deep. So, that's 28 inches high, 42" long, and 28 inches deep. That's big enough for a small litter box, hay rack, food and water containers while leaving him enough room to stretch out fully on his tummy and fully stand up. For flooring we generally use Coroplast, a corrugated plastic, or linoleum or other easily cleaned floor coverings. I think somewhere in Rabbits Online there is a forum that shows various cages members have built, but of course, I can't find it, now.

Several stores have their own version of Neat Ides Cubes (called NIC). You can order them from Wal Mart: WhitmorStorageCubes for about $20. I've heard that Staples carries some. The ones at Target used to be great, but they changed the spacing of the wires, so now the spaces are big enough for small rabbits to squeeze through.

As I said, I do understand your problems with bringing him inside and I really hope you'll be able to overcome the obstacles. Talk to your husband, tremble your lips, water up your eyes... works on my husband.