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I'm quite new to this bunny thing, but as I understand it 90% of their issues stem from their teeth and stomachs, so if they're not eating it's a pretty big concern? Especially considering they are opportunistic eaters, and will stuff their face any time they possible can. On a happier note, Snoopy and Peanut are trying too hard to be cute, especially in their christmas hats:   They also like their new litter-tray very much: 
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Jan 4, 2013 14:24
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Hey bunny thread, we've had our first house rabbits Jane and Sex Machine for a few months now and they seem to be getting used to us, albeit very slowly. I had a question for a few of the experts in here, though- what's the least traumatic way to pick them up? They're still very, very handshy and have only started letting us pet them in the last few weeks. Everytime we try to pick them up for grooming, playtime, or nail clipping, they dart inside their carboard hidey-boxes and thump. My wife seems to think the best idea is to reach in the boxes and push them out, which I think really stresses them. I prefer to pick up the box and lift the poor things before they know what's going on, but some of the literature seems to suggest that they'll get neurotic and feel unsafe if their safe havens are disturbed. Obviously we try to limit how often we pick them up but sometimes we just have to. Any recommendations? p.s. Here's a pic  . That's Jane on the left and Sex Machine on the right.
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Jan 4, 2013 19:22
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Well most rabbits dislike being picked up and some just hate hate HATE it. I guess yours are in the latter group. There are no easy solutions to that one. You can look up youtube how-to videos on how best to hold them but most assume that you have fairly docile rabbits who will not break the sound barrier to get away from you once their bunny ESP picks up on your intentions. Because that's the tricky part. They just know when you want to pick them up and you'll never catch them without traumatizing them at that point. It's all in your body language, no hiding that. You can try desensitizing them by occasionally picking them up and giving them a treat. And it helps to limit how often you pick them up so they won't be so apprehensive all the time. For example you don't really need to pick them up for playtime do you? Just open their cage. Maybe it'll just get easier over time as well, when they're more used to you and their surroundings. Cute pics btw, the dark one is really pretty. Also to the previous poster, those are some photogenic rabbits.
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Jan 4, 2013 20:57
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DS at Night posted:Well most rabbits dislike being picked up and some just hate hate HATE it. I guess yours are in the latter group. There are no easy solutions to that one. You can look up youtube how-to videos on how best to hold them but most assume that you have fairly docile rabbits who will not break the sound barrier to get away from you once their bunny ESP picks up on your intentions. Because that's the tricky part. They just know when you want to pick them up and you'll never catch them without traumatizing them at that point. It's all in your body language, no hiding that. You can try desensitizing them by occasionally picking them up and giving them a treat. And it helps to limit how often you pick them up so they won't be so apprehensive all the time. For example you don't really need to pick them up for playtime do you? Just open their cage. Thank you! Yeah, mine really can't stand to be picked up or even touched unless they're feeling really relaxed. We have them in an X-pen in an upstairs bedroom, so we try to have a 4-5 nights a week of playtime just around the room and hallway and a few nights where we bring them downstairs since there's so much more room to run and binky. They love being downstairs but hate being taken down there, so we try to use the kennel rather than picking them up. Anyway, my main question was how to get them out of their hidey-boxes... I want to make sure whatever method I use is the least stressful and most comfortable for them. Jane in particularly is really skittish ever since she got an ear infection last month that required daily ear medication that we more or less had to hold her down and force her to be still for. She's just now building up trust again and I don't want to impair that process any more than I have to. Thanks for your advice!
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Jan 4, 2013 22:23
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I tend to go sparingly on treats (raisins, nibble rings) just to have use of them when I need to bribe them into cooperating. It at least helps cut down the amount of times I have to annoy them by handling them just to get them in or out of a pen/hideaway.
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Jan 6, 2013 06:56
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New desktop right there. Wish I could get mine to pose like that. Her being black and me having a dark blue carpet in my room does not help matters. Think she knows she's getting done this week, she's suddenly very affectionate. Jumped up into bed with me this morning and nuzzled under my elbow before spinning round and settling down into 'her spot'. She's not barking at me as much and she seems quite happy to be petted, she settles down into a little bunny loaf and grinds her teeth. She's currently having an argument with the pillow behind my back and I have renamed her Fluffy Cuddlebun, which her previous owner is not happy with  Juppo suits her too much but she is fluffy and cuddly at the moment.Is there any way that she'll stop being alarmed by people moving round the house? Especially when the front door opens, she'll prick her ears up and then, if she's free-range, run around the room and then jump up onto my bed and nudge me til it stops. Not sure if she's scared, trying to warn me of danger, or what. happyflurple fucked around with this message at 16:16 on Jan 6, 2013 |
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Jan 6, 2013 16:12
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Billy went to defcon 1 with foot stamping and everything because I ... hiccuped. Some of them just aren't very good at figuring out what's actually dangerous. But running around on full alert, grunting and stamping their feet is how they warn others of danger, not nudging. As for the nudging thing that really only means they feel there is a wrong in the world that needs to be righted by you. Whether that is by giving them food, attention, or getting out of their way depends on the situation. Usually it's the attention thing. In this case she wants you to make the front door noises stop. Since she can't have that maybe some attention instead? She might get used to the people moving around sounds with time. Iran-Contrarian, really the best thing here is to have their pen in the same place as where their playtime is. It's good for them to know they're never far from their "safe place" and that they can go back there if they want to. As they're creatures of habit who'll do anything for a treat, most rabbits can be taught to get back in their cage/pen by themselves with a simple command.
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Jan 6, 2013 18:01
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We're learning that they do have really weird triggers to go apeshit and/or be really scared. Understandably I was cooking and through a whole bunch of meat into a hot pan, the sudden loud sizzling caused them to scuttle back into the pen. The weird one was my girlfriends pants, made from that parachute-material crap. The sound of those pants rustling freaks them the gently caress out, like huddling shivering in the corner of the cage until the pants leave the room.
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Jan 6, 2013 21:40
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DS at Night posted:Billy went to defcon 1 with foot stamping and everything because I ... hiccuped. Some of them just aren't very good at figuring out what's actually dangerous. But running around on full alert, grunting and stamping their feet is how they warn others of danger, not nudging. Attention it is then! Won't be as bad when I move out later this year but for the moment I live with six people and five of them are very stompy, loud boys. Also I need to train her to go back in her cage when I say something, she's a bugger to get back sometimes. I want to let her out now but I know I'm going back to sleep in a bit and if I leave her out she'll somehow find something to destroy that I wasn't previously aware of
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Jan 7, 2013 10:15
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happyflurple posted:Attention it is then! Won't be as bad when I move out later this year but for the moment I live with six people and five of them are very stompy, loud boys. Also I need to train her to go back in her cage when I say something, she's a bugger to get back sometimes. I want to let her out now but I know I'm going back to sleep in a bit and if I leave her out she'll somehow find something to destroy that I wasn't previously aware of You might try playing the radio or something similar to raise the base noise level in her area. There was one time last year that there was blasting being done outside my apt. Multiple times an hour an explosion would go off and my whole apt would shake. They were significantly less upset when I was playing the radio for them during it.
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Jan 7, 2013 15:49
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Harriet freaks when I eat peanuts loudly. No other crunchy food freaks her out nor the really loving loud snowplow my building uses for my parking lot nor the holes in the parking lot with their extra loud subwoofer and lovely music. I don't understand.
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Jan 7, 2013 16:59
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The rabbits I had with my ex, a couple of summers ago the male was happily hopping around on the balcony outside and for some reason, came tearing back in to the apartment, hid in his cage stomping his little bunny feet off. Go outside and find... a really confused looking grey squirrel sitting on the railing. On the other hand, fire alarms? They'd be totally chill.
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Jan 7, 2013 20:08
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I bought BP a cardboard tunnel and a cardboard maze from Binky Bunny and they finally arrived! I'm kind of too lazy to put together the maze right now but the tunnel came assembled so I presented it to them. Bitsy went and hid in the far corner of the cage and Paterson just seems very confused. He went inside of it and sat there for a few minutes before coming out, walking around it a few times, and then hopping away to sit in a cardboard box house that is way too small for him. Fail.
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Jan 7, 2013 20:57
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happyflurple posted:Attention it is then! Won't be as bad when I move out later this year but for the moment I live with six people and five of them are very stompy, loud boys. Also I need to train her to go back in her cage when I say something, she's a bugger to get back sometimes. I want to let her out now but I know I'm going back to sleep in a bit and if I leave her out she'll somehow find something to destroy that I wasn't previously aware of Have you tried breaking out the dinner / greens / whatever when you want them to go home? It might take them a few minutes to notice they just got fed, but when they finally figure it out my buns are running home.
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Jan 9, 2013 20:57
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carmiendo posted:Have you tried breaking out the dinner / greens / whatever when you want them to go home? It might take them a few minutes to notice they just got fed, but when they finally figure it out my buns are running home. Indeed, a nice carrot or piece of lettuce is the only sure-fire way to entice the little terrors back into their pen. They have way to much fun exploring every nook and cranny whilst eating antique furniture.
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Jan 10, 2013 09:06
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Yeah will give that a go, more consistently anyway. Sometimes I can get her in with a raisin, but only by showing her them, throwing one in her cage, and then turning my back. She's a bugger. Will also try the radio thing, it's usually very quiet here so I guess background noise would make it less noticeable for her. Also, she is a dick and I wish I could get her to sit in cardboard boxes and look adorable. She just eats them. But only ones that contain stuff. All the empty ones get ignored because she is, and I stress this again, a dick.
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Jan 10, 2013 14:22
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Have you tried trying to train her by shaking the raisin box? Bitsy will come to the sound of anything shaking, any crunching, any kissy noises and she is an absolute devil terror. I would try to cut a bunch of holes in some boxes so she has lots of exits. Paterson is the bigger fan of cardboard boxes but Bitsy has really grown to like the tunnel that I got them. She doesn't really relax or rest though... too much evil to get done.
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Jan 10, 2013 20:04
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 dis love
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Jan 11, 2013 08:45
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Dem buns!
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Jan 11, 2013 18:20
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luscious posted:
 Of course, they're probably planning something terrible, but in a cute way.
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Jan 11, 2013 20:04
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So, I figured Harriet's birthday was somewhere around here, so I got her a crinkly tube as a gift, for her to crawl in and play with! Her response has been, hop over, stick her head in, hop away, come back hour later, try and eat it, then ignore it.
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Jan 12, 2013 05:14
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luscious posted:Have you tried trying to train her by shaking the raisin box? Bitsy will come to the sound of anything shaking, any crunching, any kissy noises and she is an absolute devil terror. Yeah haha, but it's hit or miss. Sometimes I'll shake the packet and she'll fly on to the bed or get under my feet and go mad begging, other times she'll just sit and look at me then go back to eating her own poo poo. Sigh. Of course if someone opens a pack of crisps or she hears me taking tobacco out of a pack, she'll be there in a jiffy. Gonna make a bunny run with the boxes at some point this week, we've got loads in storage and they're massive. But yeah, they're always up to no good. We seem to have developed a routine though, which is kinda nice. She gets out on a morning when I wake up, around 9am (or 1pm today shut up I'm a student), binkies about the room, comes up on the bed and nudges me to pet her, chills with me for a few hours, then more binkying and hiding til the evening when I get bunny cuddles again  I need to get her used to my housemate so he can let her out when I'm not here but she attacked him last time, so...edit: I came back into my room to find her with her head in the bag of donuts I bought. Took em off her and rattled her treats bag instead but she just licked her lips then hopped away. edit 2: and then I get my tablets out the bottle and a split second later she's all up in my grill happyflurple fucked around with this message at 17:19 on Jan 12, 2013 |
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Jan 12, 2013 15:08
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luscious posted:
wanna motorboat dem buns
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Jan 12, 2013 18:50
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So anyway I thought I could stop my rabbits from gnawing too much on my table by rubbing soap on it but after a long and suspicious silence I caught one of them licking the soap off the table legs. What is WRONG with these creatures
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Jan 12, 2013 22:32
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DS at Night posted:So anyway I thought I could stop my rabbits from gnawing too much on my table by rubbing soap on it but after a long and suspicious silence I caught one of them licking the soap off the table legs. What is WRONG with these creatures You know how they say one way to stop kittens from jumping on counters is to put double sided tape on them? Yeah, I came home one day to find one of my kittens licking the sticky off!
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Jan 13, 2013 00:43
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Woke up to find Juppo staring at me, literally an inch from my face. I sort of want to know how long she was sat there. Creepy thing.
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Jan 13, 2013 18:26
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^^ That is amazing, both terrifying and cute at the same time.
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Jan 13, 2013 20:20
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Harriet doing that is why I close my bedroom door now.
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Jan 13, 2013 20:32
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happyflurple posted:Woke up to find Juppo staring at me, literally an inch from my face. I sort of want to know how long she was sat there. Creepy thing. Bitsy and Paterson used to do this. I woke up a few times to find Bitsy licking my eyes. That was loving weird.
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Jan 13, 2013 21:41
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happyflurple posted:Woke up to find Juppo staring at me, literally an inch from my face. I sort of want to know how long she was sat there. Creepy thing. I don't think I've ever woken up to the bunnies that close, but I have woken up a few times with a pair of ears sticking up over the edge of the bed at me.
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Jan 13, 2013 22:12
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When I first started keeping Tobias in my bedroom, he used to jump on my head at least once a night, so... could be worse.
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Jan 13, 2013 22:45
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Harriet put her paws on my nose to wake me. I guess they figure they're not normally get a chance to look us in the eye
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Jan 13, 2013 23:14
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Remora posted:When I first started keeping Tobias in my bedroom, he used to jump on my head at least once a night, so... could be worse. Yeah mine like head jumping too. Or sitting next to my ear and going HMMM.
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Jan 14, 2013 00:05
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DS at Night posted:Yeah mine like head jumping too. Or sitting next to my ear and going HMMM. Mine too! What the hell?? Why is this a thing???
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Jan 14, 2013 00:32
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they make a noise? BP never really make noise. Last time Bitsy did was when she jumped from really high up and landed on a carpet. I tried to lift her to the floor but she didn't want it. Go figure.
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Jan 14, 2013 03:27
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Remora posted:When I first started keeping Tobias in my bedroom, he used to jump on my head at least once a night, so... could be worse. Haha, mine too. And then I freak out, and then they freak out, and we co-freak out for a few moments.
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Jan 14, 2013 04:22
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There are wood floors in our bedroom, so they generally are unable to sneak up on us if they manage to houdini their way out of the cage (which is often). The floors are pretty slippery for bunny feet, so they may enter silently but as soon as they try to hop a little faster they end up pedaling whilst stationary in a comedic and cartoon-like fashion. This of course makes a very loud, rapid scratching noise, which does freak you the gently caress out if you're fast asleep.
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Jan 14, 2013 08:47
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Amazing isn't it? They've escaped, they can go anywhere and do anything... so they choose to go bother you while you're sleeping. This sums up everything there is to know about rabbits' personalities. luscious posted:they make a noise? BP never really make noise. Last time Bitsy did was when she jumped from really high up and landed on a carpet. I tried to lift her to the floor but she didn't want it. Go figure. What you never have them go HOO or HMMM while running circles around your feet? Mine do it a lot and for no reason. It usually means they're about to try to have sex with something. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW-pOAqQ430 edit: not my rabbit, just a random youtube example.
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Jan 14, 2013 14:11
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Pixel likes to jump on my bed and start sniffing my face at like 6:00 AM. I kinda encourage it, it's nicer to wake up to than an alarm clock. She also grunts a lot when she's annoyed, which really surprised me because my last rabbit was completely silent all the time.
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Jan 14, 2013 16:12
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| # ? May 30, 2024 17:43 |
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Oh yeah Paterson honks all the time. He's so sweet. He normally does it when he's getting fed... he doesn't even understand how to mount Bitsy.
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Jan 14, 2013 18:40
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