How can I get our rabbits to be more friendly?

[BorisFoundHisHat]

We took in 2 lovely bunnies from an aquaintance who was moving and couldn’t take them .

They are a bonded male/female pair of siblings who are both neutered.

They’re under a year old and I think are heading in to adolescence.

The person we adopted them from said they had been handled since birth and they are indoor bunnies .

We’ve had them around 5 months now and although they will happily come up to us , they seem very much aloof !

Neither enjoys being stroked (rarely the female will let us but usually she hops off ),
they will eat from our hands and come over to say hello but that’s about it .

The male will jump up to sit with us but usually in an attempt to see what we’re eating .

They are relaxed around us as they flop at or feet etc.

They both HATE being picked up. Ever.

I hear of house buns snuggling up for hours with their humans - are we doing something wrong?

They sound normal. Buns aren't huge fans of the 'pick up' and lots don't really like to snuggle. They sound happy just being near you and enjoying your company.

My previous bun hated being picked up and ran away if we approached her but would snuggle down in bed with the DC for stories. Current Bun is now 7 and has only in the last 6 months started to enjoy a snuggle but it has to be on his terms, when he wants it and only for as long as he deems fit (usually 2 minutes). He has always accepted a stroke but only if he has all paws on the floor and is positioned so he's nearly out of reach - he likes to make us stretch! Rabbits just aren't really cuddly creatures.

It’s good to hear their coldness is normal

They are full of personality - boy bun is very greedy and waits at the door to see what delights I bring back with me

Girl bun is very much stuck up !

To be honest you're not doing too badly. Think about it, bunnies are a prey species! In the wild pretty much EVERYTHING is out to eat them! That would make anybun somewhat nervous! A lot of rabbits never learn to enjoy being handled. They may tolerate it but at the end of the day being gripped around the middle and lifted into the air is the stuff of nightmares in their little bunny minds. Just take it as it comes, and in the meantime spend as much time on the floor with them as you can, to bond. It helps if you're eating a banana or an apple at the time! Another hugely popular treat with rabbits is 'Fenugreek crunchies'. Give them one or 2 normally at first (they may be slow to come round to them) but once they're addicted gradually work up to only giving them when bunny is on your lap, then on your lap with your hand on its back, then while being held... They're also great for teaching your rabbits to come when called.

It took my rescue bun 2 years to learn to jump up for snuggles on the sofa! Otherwise she prefers having her nose stroked and cheeks rubbed on the floor. She will often lean up against me or rest her chin on me if I am sat on the floor with her. Rabbits generally don't like to be picked up as PP have said but it's worth getting them used to handling so it is easier when it's a necessity. Again it took a good 6-8 months (and LOTS of patience) for my bunny to be happy to be picked up. I also got her when she was about a year old. Good luck with your new bunny overlords!

One of my lot has always been particularly wild. She, and her mother, were in the house for six months due to illness and I never thought she'd become in any way tame (I didn't know the mother, who was a rescue, was pregnant (to be fair, neither did the vet), and she birthed in a burrow. Fair enough, but they were, literally, wild rabbits. The other kits weren't so bad but this one always preferred escaping and living in the field behind our garden.)

Anyway, I realised that if I tried to go near this one she'd bolt. However, if I totally ignored her, better still, stepped over her on the way to feed the guineas she'd visibly get upset at my not acknowledging her (and thus not being able to show she was not letting me have anything to do with her). A few goes of obviously ignoring the poor thing and she was putty in my hands! (Ok, slight exaggeration, but I'd be able to kneel down and stroke her!). Even this morning, back outside, she came over for a nose rub.

So my advice is to go out of your way to ignore them and you'll find yourself with peeved rabbits who want your attention!