Bunny Care?

Question

I have a rabbit and i have a few qwuestions.....how can i keep him entertained? annnd everytime i take him out, he growls and bites me...is he just mean...or what? please help! thanks a 1,000,000!

Answer 1

Where to start? Rabbits need and want daily care and attention as well as about 30 hours/week of time out of their cage/space. It sounds like you bunny is still getting used to you and needs time to get to know you and trust you. Since rabbits generally don't like being picked up, it is better to let him come and go on his own. Once he is out, just sit quietly and let him come to you on his own terms. Rabbits are curious and he'll come over to sniff and explore...just let him and don't try to pet him at first. After a while when he stops being so shy, give him a quick pet between his ears. It's better not to put your hand directly in front of his face as that is his blind spot and you can startle him.
Here are two good articles about your first bunny and winning over a shy bunny that might help you bond with your bunny.
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/firstrabbit.html
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/shybun.html

Once he learns to trust you, you can play with him. Be sure he has toys in his cage so he can entertain himself.

It will also help to get him neutered when he is old enough. I am including several links that have great information on rabbit care.

Answer 2

I personally disagree with a number of the sites that have been recommend by some of the users like rabbit.org and bio.miami.edu. Those site do give some good info, but they also give some bad info too.

It's best to ask people who breed and raise them for showing.

First, look at your cage size. Can you reach your hand all the way to the back corners of the cage. If not, your cage may be too big or too deep. That gives the rabbit room to get away from you, giving it room to feel like it can fight.

Secondly, they cage is considered by the rabbit as it's territory. You need to get the rabbit out of the cage from time to time and on your territory. Outside of the cage the rabbit will be much gentler.

To get the rabbit out of the cage, distract the rabbit with one hand by getting the rabbit to focus its attention on it and use the other to grab and pick up the rabbit. This will help to keep you from getting bitten till you tame the rabbit down some.

I recommend wearing a sweater or jacket till the rabbit gets used to handling so you avoid getting scratched or bitten as easlily.

Get the rabbit out and pet it daily on its forehead between its eyes. Always pet it from the front so it can see your hand coming towards it. Coming from the rear so it can't see will only scare it. Petting a rabbit on the head between the eyes will calm and soothe the rabbit.

When you pick the rabbit up, the rabbit needs to be balanced in your hands. If the rabbit is not balanced it will kick, scratch, or bite. They kick and scratch because they are trying to regain their balance just as humans stick out their arms or legs if they lose their balance and start to fall.

To pick your rabbit up, stick one hand under it's chest and the other on it's rear. Lift the rabbit up with both hands rest about 2/3's of the rabbits weight on the rear end. Bring the rabbit's head up to the armpit of the hand holding the rear and place its head in your armpit. This gives the rabbit a place to feel like it is hiding so it isn't so scared while you are holding it.

Answer 3

first of all, the perfect eating routine is the known pellets because the bottom eating routine plus 2 cups minimum in line with bunny of greens, no cabbage, not some thing watery, in elementary words parsley, some carrots (extreme in sugar), darkish leaf lettuce, kale, spinach, theses are the perfect element. an countless furnish of timothy hay for them to eat to digest their foodstuff is needed. do not use pine or cedar shavings, those are dusty, you'd be cleaing the cage two times a week. that is elementary to littertrain a rabbit, you in elementary words purchase a litterbox sufficiently vast for the rabbit to sit down in and not using a lid on it, positioned some shavings (aspen, no catlitter) and positioned timothy hay interior the muddle container, this way they bypass on the muddle container, eat the hay and bypass to the lavatory right away. interior some thing of the cage you could positioned a blanket down, then you truly in elementary words ought to purchase shavings for the muddle container, a lot less demanding. make confident they have some timber chews or toys to chew to save their tooth trim. they favor their nail trimmed a minimum of once a month. The cage might want to not be in any drafty parts or indirectly in image voltaic.

Answer 4

He's biting because he is scared. He may not like to be picked up. Mine doesnt. I have a lot of different toys in his hutch. I have small plastic balls with bells in them (like the ones for cats) in the cage. He also likes to chew on and play with paper towel tubes. You can also have your rabbit neutered, It may make him less aggressive. I had mine done and it was a really good decision.

Answer 5

Rabbits don't like to be picked up. When they're in the air, they're completely out of control and all their instincts are screaming that they're going to die. Biting you is a surefire way for him to make you put him down. He needs to learn that he doesn't need to bite to get your attention, and that he can trust you.
Hard as this might be for you, you might need to just leave him in his cage for a few weeks.
This doesn't mean you don't get to interact. Watch him, sit by the cage while you read, talk to him, let him get used to your presence. Push a little treat through the wire sometimes when you come by, like a sprig of parsley. Also, if he doesn't have on already, he needs an upside-down box with a hole in it inside his cage. It can be his burrow. He'll use it to hide and get some time to himself. Never, unless it's an emergency, ever touch him or bother him while he's in his box. He needs a place so go where he feels like no one can reach him.
When he's comfortable with you---when he comes to the front of the cage for a treat instead of running and hiding in his box---you can start training him to not be afraid of your hands. Open the cage door and put your hand in his cage, holding a treat. If he runs and hides, leave the treat and go away. Soon he'll learn that you're bringing him food when you open the cage, and he'll stick around. Let him eat from your hand, and when he moves away, close the cage and take the treat with you. If he eats the whole thing and doesn't move away, put some more food in your hand and start petting him gently with your other hand. Just stroke him on one side of his back, far enough from his head so he can't bite you easily, and make sure he has room to move away from your hand if he wants to. When he moves away, close the cage and take the treat with you. As he gets more comfortable, you can pet him more, but always watch to see if he's trying to move away from you, and go away when he does.
After a few weeks of this, he'll probably tolerate you long enough for you to take him out of his cage, if only for a few seconds. Slide one hand under his chest just behind his front legs, and the other under his rump just behind his rear legs. Pull him out of the cage and put him back in again, then leave him a treat and go away. If he runs and hides from you after this, go back to stage one, just leaving treats by his cage occasionally. He should progress faster this time, and in another few days, you can take him out again. Repeat, until he doesn't hide after you put him back, but stays to eat the treat you leave in the cage.
Finally, take him out of the cage and hold him in your arms as you feed him a treat. Keep feeding him until he tries to get down, then put him back in the cage. From now on, only give him treats while he's in your arms. Always put him back when he tries to get away. By this time, you and him should have gotten to understand each-other much better, and the only rules you need are "don't reward bad behavior" and "put him in his cage as soon as he gets scared."
The point of all this is so your rabbit knows he can get your attention just by acting nervous, and you'll put him back where he's safe before he resorts to biting. You have to remember that anything strange makes a rabbit afraid for his life. He's at the bottom of the food chain. If he can't run away when he's scared, he'll fight until he can get away. By paying attention to his feelings, you give him the ability to "run away." The box in his cage is also important. The darkness helps him feel safe, like he's in a burrow, and since you never touch him while he's there, it will be his way of controlling how much playtime he gets, so he comes out when he's ready. Feeling in control will make him a happier rabbit.
As for toys, rabbits like things they can throw around or chew: wooden blocks, packing paper (paper with no ink in it is best), empty tuna cans with the sharp edges removed, and sticks from non-poisonous trees, like pine and maple.
Good luck!

Answer 6

www.rabbit.org
This site is great and can answer millions of your bunny questions.