The first step to accepting you've got a problem on your hands is to forgive yourself. You did not knowingly cause the problem and you are not responsible for your unhappy bunnies. Why do I know this? Because you're reading this article and actively seeking help, hints, tips and understanding. You are trying and that's the main thing, you have your motivation.
Breathe easy, bunnies can be taught and retrained. Thankfully there are always solutions to making your rabbit more comfortable and calm in your care. To first explore why rabbits get stressed, we will need to do some investigation.
What are the symptoms of stress in rabbits?
There are numerous signs to look out for when diagnosing stress. Not all symptoms are purely stress related - for example, thumping can occur at any point where bun is afraid or annoyed, but also communication to other rabbits and signs of change as well. However when numerous symptoms are displayed, it's time to go deeper to root out the source of the problem.
Various symptoms can include;
- A sharp behaviourial change as of late
- Excessive thudding
- Defensive body posture
- Sudden 'scrabbling' and running
- Circling
- Spraying and urinating in random places
- Constant smells of pheromones
- Excessive digging and dragging claws
- Referred aggression to cage mates
- Fighting and bully behaviour to cage mates
- Biting
- Growling
Stress; Why is my rabbit behaving strangely?
Going into the intricate rabbit psyche, they are prey animals deep down regardless of how much you pamper, love and hold them. Even the most tame buns have their brief moments of fear and stress where they feel better hiding in a dark place - it's onky natural for them and may very well take hundreds of years to come to terms with humans fully.
The bottom answer to this question is simply: Change.
You need to ask yourself: "What has changed lately?" what has made your buns literally swap their personalities for these new scary, timid ones? Rabbits are massively sensitive to changes in the environment and household, they are able to pick out new strange scents and sounds a lot easier than you'd think.
If for example, you have moved your rabbits recently indoors from outside, it's important to understand that they need time to adjust to the new surroundings. Outside rabbits never get as much human contact as they would do in the house, so they need to come to terms you being around so often.
So to put it simply; your rabbit needs time and patience to adjust to the change that's occurred.
What can I do to calm down my rabbit to normal?
Is there any way you can restore normality to your rabbit's lives? Most likely, a big enough change to affect a rabbit balance, is usually a change that cannot be reversed easily. But that's okay because change is inevitable and your rabbit may need to accept this.
Keep calm, you and your bunnies will be completely fine. With time and patience, buns will calm down and accept whatever has changed and will eventually learn to accept it. The most important thing is to give and respect their own space and reinforce a safe, fun environment for them.
Rebonding and establishing a new friendship
You may need to 'rebond' with your rabbit in order to build that trust again, the dynamics of your relationship may have completely changed whether you have moved house, moved your rabbits or introduced more rabbits into the household, introduced a new animal, ect.
Start with leaving your rabbits completely alone without overly bothering them for one whole week - leaving them in their enclosure. Let them get used to their area without any distractions from you or any other animal, aside from feeding times.
After one week, spend at least one hour everyday with your rabbits, either sitting nearby or outside of their enclosure. Take down some notes of the behavioral changes and anything going on at the time that may be contributing to the issue. Do not force the rabbit into having cuddle time or petting time with you - in their eyes you may need to earn this trust again. Stay quiet and observant and let them get used to you and explore on their own terms.
When rabbit is exhibiting good behaviour, give them a treat and pet them lightly if allowed.
For more tips and tricks on bonding, head over to the 'Bonding' section at the top of the page and follow the steps until you and your rabbits are both comfortable again.
I must insist that when it comes to rabbit stress - you absolutely cannot allow yourself to scold them, shout or get angry or you may need to start from step one again. Stress can quickly turn into anxiety and crippling fear with a few wrong moves.
Moving on with your rabbits
Congratulations, you and your bun are now through the rough patch! Just bear in mind that a trust bond needs to stay strong in order for your buns to depend on and see you as one of their own.
Also try hard to maintain the new found balance with set routines and as little changes and amendments as possible. Remember to acclimatise your rabbit to anything new slowly and at their pace, to reduce the threat of stress in the future.
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