Rabbit Whispering

I'm being introduced to a new aspect of bunnies with these two new girls.
They're both pretty girls, but they are both really nervous. Chrissy is the more outgoing of the two and she has been moving around in her cage some, but she still runs to a corner and gets all white-eyed and stiff if I come up to the cage and talk to her, much less put my hand in the cage.

Lady (Tattooed Lady), the little harlequin, just basically sits hunched up in a corner, looking scared to death. I know she's been eating and drinking when no one is here, as well as tearing up the cardboard platform I put in there for her, but when we're here she's frozen bunny most of the time. I'm spoiling her a bit by giving her a small mound of hay next to her, and a water bowl where she can reach it. I see her, ever so often, timidly reach over and take a piece of hay, or sneak over to the water bowl for a drink. :roll:

Today is the second, full day they have been here, so I guess it's normal for them to be all skittish, but it's a new experience for me because when we brought Scarlett home, he was fine almost immediately and when River was brought to us, she settled down within a few hours.

So, not one to waste time, I started trying to socialize them yesterday. I put my hand in the cage and start rubbing their head and side of their face until they seem to relax a bit, then just lay my hand down, next to them, on the cage floor and stay very still. After a few minutes, they will reach over and sniff my hand. Yesterday, Chrissy did this, then leapt around, acting terrified and thumping her foot while Lady just stayed stiff and terrified (note, they are in separate cages, one stacked on top of the other).

I repeated the process today and Chrissy didn't do the whole "OMG!! PANIC!!!" thing. She just got all stiff when I started petting her, then relaxed, then sniffed my hand and ignored me.

Lady did something a little different. She did the whole 'frozen stiff' thing, then relaxed a bit while I was rubbing her head, then sniffed my hand. I still didn't move, of course, and after a minute or two, she did the bunny creep, very slowly, over to sniff my head. Then she scooted back to her corner and repeated the process a couple of times.

After I did this, they both have seemed more relaxed. Chrissy came up to the front of the cage (still eyeing me) and nibbled her pellets. Lady actually moved to the other, back corner of her cage and even groomed herself a little.

Rabbit Whispering 101

Chrissy in her new home



Lady

They're both adorable! Good luck with the rabbit whispering, sounds like you're doing great.

I really love Chrissy. I'm not normally a huge fan of lops but she just has presence.

Trust is built slowly--and it sounds like you are doing it well.

One thing that sometimes helps with skittish rabbits is to drape a cloth over part of the cage. They feel safer when not exposed on all sides. You can withdraw it little by little as they begin to get used to their new home.

alforddm":k2vedz0r said:

I really love Chrissy. I'm not normally a huge fan of lops but she just has presence.

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Thank you! I think so too
One of her eyes seems a little irritated. I'm going to get some terramycin ointment either this evening or tomorrow and treat her with it. It's not bad, just enough to notice that the fur around the eye is a little rough looking. It could just have gotten irritated from the shavings and dust at the show, but I'm keeping a close watch on it. I did let the breeder know and she said she would keep an eye on her herd too. I understand 'weepy eye' is rampant in the mid-western shows right now. :/ I'm sure it's nothing serious, but I'm being very cautious. <br /><br /> -- Wed May 06, 2015 1:47 pm -- <br /><br />

MaggieJ":k2vedz0r said:

Trust is built slowly--and it sounds like you are doing it well.

One thing that sometimes helps with skittish rabbits is to drape a cloth over part of the cage. They feel safer when not exposed on all sides. You can withdraw it little by little as they begin to get used to their new home.

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Thank you for the idea! I would try it, but Chrissy seems to be coming out of her shell pretty well and Lady is in the cage on the bottom, so she already has some 'protection'. The cages are next to a wall and behind the back of a door, so the wall and door create two sides, then the other side is toward an area where the heating stove is, so no one ever goes back there. Really, only the front is exposed, so I'm hoping she feels pretty safe in there. She seems to be relaxing some.

I think both of these girls have been picked up by their ears. I know River was and when we first got her, she was really good about being petted, but if you got near her ears she would hunch up in anticipation of being grabbed. Both of these girls do the same thing. It took a little while for her to learn that we weren't going to do that to her, so hopefully these girls will learn to relax and be happy bunnies too.

I've discovered that rabbits don't seem to mind being 'scruffed' much (although I avoid it when it's practical), but it must really hurt them to pick them up by their ears.

Raisins. They're great bribery.

Susie570":dc7ulwjc said:

I've discovered that rabbits don't seem to mind being 'scruffed' much (although I avoid it when it's practical), but it must really hurt them to pick them up by their ears.

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You are correct in your observation, I only scruff when absolutely necessary..You can bruise the bun that way,I say that because I had to scruff one just prior to processing and there was bruising in the skin.
I would never pick up any animal by the ears..that is painful and cruel. :x There is a thread on how to pick up a rabbit I don't remember the title though..the just of it is one hand behind the forelegs and one under the rump..This is how I pick up a bun and rarely get scratched,but more importantly don't hurt the rabbit..

katiebear":m9l11vmx said:

Susie570":m9l11vmx said:

I've discovered that rabbits don't seem to mind being 'scruffed' much (although I avoid it when it's practical), but it must really hurt them to pick them up by their ears.

Click to expand...

You are correct in your observation, I only scruff when absolutely necessary..You can bruise the bun that way,I say that because I had to scruff one just prior to processing and there was bruising in the skin.
I would never pick up any animal by the ears..that is painful and cruel. :x There is a thread on how to pick up a rabbit I don't remember the title though..the just of it is one hand behind the forelegs and one under the rump..This is how I pick up a bun and rarely get scratched,but more importantly don't hurt the rabbit..

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Right, I always try to pick them up using two hands, but if a rabbit is feeling spunky and wants to kick, I've found it's sometimes necessary to scruff with on hand and support the bottom with the other hand. I have never picked up a rabbit by its ears, but I've just noticed that it's pretty obvious when rabbits HAVE been picked up that way. :/ The way they 'flinch' every time you get near their crown. It took River a pretty long time to stop doing that, she's a calm, confident rabbit now. I guess I just mentioned it because it's pretty obvious that people do, still pick up rabbits by their ears and you never know who might not realize that it really does hurt the rabbits (or at least scare them pretty badly) and stop doing it.

Susie570":hfrk6s6n said:

I think both of these girls have been picked up by their ears. I know River was and when we first got her, she was really good about being petted, but if you got near her ears she would hunch up in anticipation of being grabbed. Both of these girls do the same thing. It took a little while for her to learn that we weren't going to do that to her, so hopefully these girls will learn to relax and be happy bunnies too.

I've discovered that rabbits don't seem to mind being 'scruffed' much (although I avoid it when it's practical), but it must really hurt them to pick them up by their ears.

Click to expand...

Susie570":hfrk6s6n said:

I have never picked up a rabbit by its ears, but I've just noticed that it's pretty obvious when rabbits HAVE been picked up that way. :/ The way they 'flinch' every time you get near their crown. It took River a pretty long time to stop doing that, she's a calm, confident rabbit now. I guess I just mentioned it because it's pretty obvious that people do, still pick up rabbits by their ears and you never know who might not realize that it really does hurt the rabbits (or at least scare them pretty badly) and stop doing it.

Click to expand...

I just wanted to come back to this, because after this conversation I realized that I have seen this behavior in three of our rabbits. Two of them we've had for a year now, and the other we've had for 8 months. I am positive that neither breeder (both of whom are well-respected and knowledgeable RT members) would ever do this to their rabbits.

I've also seen this behavior in at least one kit born here, and he certainly was never picked up that way. Yet he still flinched, hunched up, and stiffened into a trembling, terrified rock any time you got close to his ears. Based on this, I think that this behavior is a poor indicator of prior treatment.

Miss M":95k4f6pu said:

Susie570":95k4f6pu said:

I think both of these girls have been picked up by their ears. I know River was and when we first got her, she was really good about being petted, but if you got near her ears she would hunch up in anticipation of being grabbed. Both of these girls do the same thing. It took a little while for her to learn that we weren't going to do that to her, so hopefully these girls will learn to relax and be happy bunnies too.

I've discovered that rabbits don't seem to mind being 'scruffed' much (although I avoid it when it's practical), but it must really hurt them to pick them up by their ears.

Click to expand...

Susie570":95k4f6pu said:

I have never picked up a rabbit by its ears, but I've just noticed that it's pretty obvious when rabbits HAVE been picked up that way. :/ The way they 'flinch' every time you get near their crown. It took River a pretty long time to stop doing that, she's a calm, confident rabbit now. I guess I just mentioned it because it's pretty obvious that people do, still pick up rabbits by their ears and you never know who might not realize that it really does hurt the rabbits (or at least scare them pretty badly) and stop doing it.

Click to expand...

I just wanted to come back to this, because after this conversation I realized that I have seen this behavior in three of our rabbits. Two of them we've had for a year now, and the other we've had for 8 months. I am positive that neither breeder (both of whom are well-respected and knowledgeable RT members) would ever do this to their rabbits.

I've also seen this behavior in at least one kit born here, and he certainly was never picked up that way. Yet he still flinched, hunched up, and stiffened into a trembling, terrified rock any time you got close to his ears. Based on this, I think that this behavior is a poor indicator of prior treatment.

Click to expand...

Interesting... I guess I just thought it was the case since I actually SAW River's previous owner pick her up by the ears. :/ But, maybe it's just a sensitive area for rabbits and they get nervous when a person goes near it. I haven't been around a lot of different rabbits, I guess it could just be a trust issue, although River did seem pretty trusting in every other way except when she thought I was going to grab her ears. :shrug:

some bunnies just naturally flinch...and it's hard to know why....tends to go hand in hand with a more nervous temperament I find.

My new zealand buck gets real nervous when I first try to pet him on his head. He trys to back away from me to tje point were he cant go any further. When he realizes I'm not hurting him he usually calms down and enjoys it

Mine prefer to have their jowls scratched first..it seems to relax them..their eyes roll up in their heads then they turn to rabbit putty.. :lol: you can pretty much do whatever you want to. ..