Saturday, January 16, 2010

How do I tame a baby rabbit?

I have a 1 month old baby rabbit, that is like a fire cracker, she will jump everywhere and very high at that, she gets nervous if you try to pick her up, I want to be able to pick her up and get her to come to me whenever I want her to, like my 6 month old male, actually he is not fixed yet, so they had an odd encounter, and she circled him then jumped up to attack! And he is three times larger than him, I didnt let him try and mate with her I seperated them, he will be neutered soon, How can I get her to warm up and be just as tame as he is?How do I tame a baby rabbit?
You need to put yourself in the little tiny bunny's position and think how you'd feel if you saw this great big giant looming over you and grabbing out at you and then think how you would want that great big giant to act so that you weren't afraid. Do a lot of sitting right next to the cage. Don't touch the rabbit, don't look at it and don't talk to it. Talk, but not at the rabbit. Speak softly and gently and be soothing. After several days, a week or two, reach slowly into the cage for just a minute with your hand and let it rest inside the cage without doing anything. Let it know you mean it no harm. Any time you look at the rabbit or put your hand in the cage, stoop or sit down so that you are at their level. Don't stand and loom over the rabbit and look scary and imposing. Be their equal. Anyway, then take your hand out of the cage without touching the rabbit. Increase the time you put your hand in the cage slowly and open your fingers, encouraging it to come to you. Have food in your hand to show that you want to give good things to it. Do everything slowly so as to not scare the rabbit. If you choose to reach toward it, move slowly and if the rabbit shys or jumps, stop so that it will calm down and learn that you mean it no harm and learn to trust you. Once she starts letting you touch her, touch her a lot, but in the cage so she knows she's safe. Pet her and talk to her. When you first pick her up, pick her up in the cage so she still has her safety zone. Put her down when she starts to get upset, but then pick her up again when she calms down. Gradually pick her up higher a little more and gradually work her toward taking her out of the cage. Once she lets you hold her out of the cage, hold her a lot and pet her and talk to her. It will take a lot of patience, consistency and time, but that's how you earn trust.How do I tame a baby rabbit?
You just have to be patient and continue to interact with it so it will trust you. Try holding it in a towel or blanket for a few minutes a day and also make a play area in the yard or house where you can be on its level. Sometimes they never tame especially females. I have three 2 month old babies and they adore me because of all the time I spend with them. Also they love their treats. Just be patient.
First off, neuter both of them just to make sure no babies come out of this. Also, rabbits that aren't from the same litter will normally not get along. They are very territorial creatures - so be careful if you do try to bond them because rabbit fights can be very nasty and hard to separate.





I would handle her a lot. Feed her out of your hand primarily. Put her in your lap and brush her. Pet her ears, behind the ears on the neck, and up her nose between her eyes. They will close their eyes and relax (normally, this works for most animals). Rabbits also don't tend to like to be picked up. My rabbit will actually start shaking if you hold her and move around and not settle until you've sat back down. Maybe the males doesn't mind so much but my female really does not like it.


Make sure she gets plenty of excercise outside of her cage. My rabbit is barely ever in her cage - we've kind of given her a room of her own, but I suppose that is a little excessive. Just make sure she gets time outside of her cage that isn't necessarily being with you so she gets to have a little freedom and act like a rabbit.





Also, remember - your other rabbit is 6 months old, this new one is only a month old. I'm not sure, but that might have been too early to take it from its mom and litter, so she's probably insecure all around. You've had a longer time with the male though, the female will come around if you work with her.
Be around her as much as possible.


Is she an indoor rabbit??


My friend had an outdoor rabbit and her dad made out old treehouse into a cage for the rabbit.


If you keep her a pen or something you can go in the pen with her and just walk around and try and get her used to you.


Thats what we did.


If you think she is tame enough to be left in the backyard and wander around thats what we did.


If she is an indoor rabbit then make a pen outside or inside.


If you make one inside then you should cover the floor with newspaper.


If she is an indoor rabbit you might want her to get used to the outdoors a little bit.


Any how just be around her as much as possible and when she is calm just try and pick her up and cuddle with her.
The key to getting any animal tame is trust. Some tricks i've used with new rats is not keeping the food in their cage. When it's 'feeding time' everyday, you slowly work the rabbit up to taking the food from your hand. This will get her to trust that you wont hurt her. The same can be done with treats. Putting something that smells like you in the cage, or simply sitting quietly and 'talking' to the rabbit helps. It's all about building trust, and whild she's a baby, it's the perfect time.
continue to try and pick it up. Don't give up!
Well first start out by just talking to her softly and petting her while she's in the crate. Once she gets use to that try lifting her a few feet off the ground (remember to support her properly) then maybe try lifting her into you're arms(keep her feet facing AWAY from you.)





I hope that's helped :-s.
The rabbit will warm up on its own. It takes time, that's the key. The older the rabbit gets, the less hyper. I have a male rabbit and he is hyper only outside his cage when I let him out. I would try to let them out on the same room and just leave them there. It's possible that they're nervous around you. Maybe let them outside with a fence surrounding them so they don't escape. When rabbits run around, it usually slows them down.
Well, you see, you just have to let her feel like you love it. Don't try to startle it, just let it alone for a while. When it seems that it likes its new environment, try to get close to it. Let it know your voice and never, never try to sneak up on it. Let it see your face for a while, but still, leave it alone. Do this for a few weeks and then try to feed carrots and other stuff to it from your hand. When it gets the feeling that you're not an enemy but a friend, it'll start to develop a warmer attitude. If it runs all over the place, just let it. Of your rabbit grew up in a huge mass of land, of course, it will want to hop around and explore. But if your rabbit is, like mine, in a cage, it will be less hyper. I tamed my rabbit so well, it knew how to tackle enemies, not people he saw before, (he knew or smell) how to give me the food bowl when it's empty, (that took a while) How to freeze when I say, ';Don't move, predator near!';, and how to snatch a piece of food from one's hand. I named it Coffeestain since it had white fur and brown ';stains'; on it. I gave it to my friend, who lost it.
have them eat of of ur hand, if they will they trust u.

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