A rabbit that likes to lick me but avoids being touched.

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a7736100

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I have a buck that licks and chin my hand daily when I feed and water him. He'll come to the cage door and even sticks his head out the door. However if I try to pet him he avoids it. He only allows me to sometimes touch his hind back area without moving away.
 
Try petting behind the ears along with a bit of ear rub. It seems they frequently don't like their noses touched, I think they can't see directly in front of their nose and get surprised when something touches their nose, perhaps? Also, bribe them when they get petted. If they're eating their favorite food every time they get petted, pretty soon they will want pets. But, all rabbits are different, he may not ever like to be petted.
 


Short video of him in action

He still only wants to chin and lick.
 
I have another male that chins whenever I open the cage door. Are males more likely to do this than females. Many rabbits will come to the cage door but only 2 out of 50 wants to touch me.
 
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The way you hold your fist you are giving him a demand for him to groom you. A dominant rabbit will crouch down and expect the subordinate rabbit to groom it. Instead of holding your fist low give the rabbit a light bump just above his nose. That's a simple greeting. Then instead of trying to pet him try rubbing his face the way you'd do with a cat. They seem to enjoy that a lot more than any petting on their back or sides. Don't try petting the rest of the rabbit until it has gotten very comfortable with this. Some only want their faces touched until they get itchy at shedding time.
 

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