If you're the same Laura that posted this yesterday about a 2 year old rabbit, I'll simply repost what I told you last time, and if not... well here's what I told the other Laura! lol
The best way to tame a rabbit, and bring out it's more domestic qualities is to turn it into a house rabbit.
Yawp, ditch the cage, and pull out the litterbox, leave chew toys out, and get on the floor on your belly and TALK to the cute little furball.....
It will feel safer around you, including when you have to drag it around to shows... it will be better litter box trained, so it wont get so much poo everywhere during shows either.
Being on the floor, makes you seem like less of a predator to a prey animal. It makes you appear much less intimidating, and the bunny is more likely to become curious about you down on its own level... warning: it may get too cute and try to use you as a human jungle gym.
Speaking only in soft tones around it will make it more calm around you as well.
If the bottom of his cage is wire, change that. It is very uncomfortable for the bunny, not to mention dangerous of he gets a nail caught. That would not only injure the little guy, but it can get infected, completely yank out the nail, and ruin the aesthetics you want to preserve if you want a show bunny for the fair.
Give him something to bite the heck out of. Bunnies have a naturally occurring instinct to chew, because their teeth never stop growing (like rats, beavers, etc). You can encourage it to chew on an old pair of cotton jeans you no longer wear, or newspaper, and it will be much more content, having been able to satisfy it's urge the chew stuff up.
There's a link below for you that will have more ideas on how to make your bunny tamer and happier. I hope it can help you out.Can I tame a close to 1yr old rabbit for the Fair?
Angry rabbits can be a real challenge. These rabbits tend to be very intelligent and learn early on that exhibiting bad behavior gets them what they want (keeping people away who want to pick them up being the usual reason). So they will bite, snarl, lunge, or otherwise act in an offensive manner. There is some good information at www.rabbit.org. Realize that this process may take months. However, once the rabbit realizes that you are a source of good things (food, petting, treats) rather than bad, then you frequently have the problem of convincing them that really, you can鈥檛 spend 24 hours a day snuggling with them and petting them!
I don't know how much time you have before the Fair. It can take months to re-train a rabbit. Are you sure it's a boy? (Girls can be more difficult to handle at certain ages.) Always approach him with a little treat, bit of apple, oat cereal, raddish leaf, etc. Let him know that you are his friend. Talk to him too, get him used to your voice. Pet him in his cage while he's eating his treat. Get him used to your hand. You can wear a glove if you are afraid of being scratched or bitten.
Then I'd start taking him out (without too big a struggle) and move him away from the cage so he can't see it and put him on a flat (not slippery surface). Hold your left hand over his eyes, keeping his head down and gently pet and stroke him with the other hand. Do this for maybe 2 minutes at a time and put him back to the cage. Do this a couple times a day til he seems to accept it (it may take several days). Then start putting him on a table and posing him. Your 4-H leader should be able to help you are refer you to someone that can. Different breeds are posed differently.
Have patience and be gentle. Something may have scared him and he is afraid of handleing. You can change his mind with love.
No comments:
Post a Comment