When you take the bunnies to your home, you might find it difficult to adjust to their pace. Though the rabbits are social animals, they are fearful creatures. Once they start to feel safe with their place, the bunnies will become comfortable. They will also depend on you for food and attention. Here is a list of the things you can use to make the bunnies adjust to your home.
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Placing Bunnies In A Calm And Quiet Space
When you take the bunny to your home, it will feel uncomfortable to stay around new scents and large areas. All rabbits have different personalities. They tend to face difficulties adapting themselves to their surroundings.
There are reasons why the rabbit feels nervous and uncomfortable with your home at first. You took the bunnies to your home, which is not familiar to them. Also, you are a giant and a new person to the rabbits. Thus, it is only natural for bunnies to feel sacred. When they feel very uncomfortable, you can see a noticeable look of fear in their eyes. During these times, you should keep the rabbit down and place it in a quiet burrow.
Keep the rabbit in a spacious pen so that it can move around and exercise and play with ease. It is better to keep the rabbit’s cage far away from loud and wild noises. Keeping them at a spot where the bunny can spend playing and eating by itself is also a better idea. Bunnies often love to be around in places where they can play, exercise, and protect themselves from predators and spying eyes.
It is not crucial to give them a separate room.
But keep the bunnies in an area where people roam less and do not have constant loud noises.
Giving Their Pen A Permanent Area
The bunnies love to roam around, and it is natural for them, and you have to encourage it. But, if you can not watch the rabbits all the time, you need to place them in a cage. When the rabbits are familiar with the cage’s location, they will feel comfortable. Bunnies are animals of habit. They like to follow a strict timing schedule with typical food at a steady time. Also, the rabbits want their shelter to stay in the same spot, making them feel safe.
You should not keep the rabbit’s pen away from the ground. Fix it on anything on the surface, and keep a surrounding fence so the bunnies will roam and jump within their pen. As you know that bunnies dislike when someone is holding them, and they like to walk around, you should keep their pen near the surface, which gives them more stability and comfort.
When the bunnies hear wild or loud sounds, they will run away to hide. Even if you want to give them company by keeping other pet animals nearby, you should give them a safe space. It is better to keep their cage in quiet places with a natural amount of lighting.
Maintain Your Distance From Bunnies At First
The bunnies do not like it when you are around them while sleeping, relaxing, eating, or playing. First of all, you put them in unfamiliar territory, making them uneasy, so you should make sure of their emotions. If your bunny is staying with you for a long time and if it feels comfortable with your presence, you do not have to do this. But, if it is a new bunny, you should consider giving it some alone time and space. It will adjust to you and your surroundings.
When you are free, set the bunny out of the pen so that it will familiarize you and your home by roaming around. Now, continue with your daily routine and see how the rabbit will interact with you. When you do not watch them with wide-open eyes, they will tour around your house by themselves. It makes the bunnies to be aware of your scent and presence.
When you are watching the rabbits, be careful not to keep the things that might be dangerous to the bunnies. It is better to remove the harmful objects from the way so that they would not chew them or get injured. Include this process in their routine and encourage them.
Bring Them To One Room At One Time
Though you want to show your entire house to the bunnies, it might be overwhelming for them. Even if you stay in an apartment, make sure to introduce every part of your flat at a slow pace. Bring the rabbits to the living room at one time, the bedroom at another time, and more. When they see unfamiliar and large areas, they tend to get nervous. It is better not to watch them from near, and you can see them from far away distances.
You can find plenty of small gates, which allows you to keep the rabbits away from restricted areas. It is better to buy a fence and fix them at certain places where there is a danger for rabbits. For bunnies who live in holes, your home might be too large so show them one area at a time.
Do not make loud noises when you are with rabbits and let them explore your home by themselves. It is better to leave them at their own pace and do not force them. As they still feel uneasy, they do not like to play.
If the bunnies are afraid of a thing (home decor), a sound, or even a scent, they will start to run away in fear. When you notice this kind of behavior, it is better to keep them in their cage. It helps them to calm down and feel comfortable. If you take them away when they are afraid or in stressful situations, the rabbits will think that you are protecting them and will feel safe. The bunnies will hide in the cage to quiet down the sounds and inhale the familiar scent.
Take The Bunnies To Other Pets
As the bunnies are easy prey animals, other pets like dogs and cats might chase or eat them. When bunnies feel threatened by other pets, they will fight back. If you do not want to face this, introduce one animal at a time to the bunnies.
If you want, you can take the pet animals with you when you are watching bunnies far away from their cage. This method helps both rabbits and other pets to get aware of each other. Give some time to the bunnies before introducing them to other pets. As they are in a new place, the bunnies will fight when they are afraid.
When the bunnies roam around, take a few safety precautions about other animals getting in their way. Bunnies are jealous animals, and when you do not give them care or attention, they will avoid you by turning their back at you. Care for them with more affection so they can be aware of you and your home as fast as possible.
You have to remember that this is the slowest and longest process, and you have to make sure of necessary precautions for their safety.
Make Sure To Give Them Litter Training
When the rabbits are at their early age, it is easy for you to give litter training. When you litter train the bunnies, you can reduce your worries about them causing accidents while playing. Also, the rabbits can roam around with ease and familiarize themselves with the large cage. Bunnies do not like to stay at the same and small place throughout the day. By litter training the rabbits, they can go to the litter box every time they need to use the bathroom.
You can buy a triangle-shaped box with lips for your bunny so it can use it as the litter box. This type of box is present in every store that sells pet food and other related things. The litter box with lip-like edges is the ideal option for male bunnies as they mark their territory. When the bunny marks or scratches it, the lips will resist accidents.
It is better to use pellet litter because it is spongy and prevents awful odors and stain marks. It is easy to litter train the bunnies. You can leave their poop with hay in any corner to suggest that it is the place where they have to go for the bathroom.
How Much Time Do The Rabbits Need To Adjust Themselves?
When your bunny is aware of you and understands that you are its caretaker, it would feel comfortable around you in a day or two. Remember to introduce your house one by one, and if your rabbit is a new pet, it might need a few weeks to feel safe with the surroundings. Bunnies are often stressed and nervous animals as they are the easy target for predators.
You should adapt yourselves to the bunny’s schedule and not vice-versa. When you watch them only a few times, they will feel more comfortable roaming around, and they will be familiar with you, your scent, and other objects. When the bunnies adapt themselves to your home, they will relax and play more. The amount of time they will take to adapt themselves to the new environment will differ as the bunnies have different personalities.