New bunny - behaviour

Hi

I am new to bunny keeping and have a few questions that I'm sure you more experienced owners will be able to help me with

Firstly he seems a little nervous when I handle him, yesterday when stroking him he was crouched to the sofa and his ears were flat against his body (he didn't look angry, just frightened as he was shaking a bit and panting I think???) Today he shaking less, not panting and his ears were up and facing forward, so I take this to be an improvement?
He is ok with me picking him up but how do I pick him up correctly? I scoop him up under his tummy and then swiftly put my other hand under his back legs which he is fine about but when I turn him around to put him on my chest he paniks a little. I keep one hand under his bum and the other accross his back. It seems to be the turning that causes him bother but I find it difficult to pick him up if he is facing me.
He also keeps nibbling the sofa and trying to dig on it? Why?????
I have discovered he prefers to use one corner of his hutch as the toilet but when I put a littler tray in it he just sat in it and got himeself comfy and then did his toileting in a different corner! He is on newspaper and wood shavings and has hay on newspaper in his bed. He hasn't toileted in his bed.
I think that is all at the mo! I shut him in his hutch at night as we have a lot of foxes about (he has a solid wire hutch and run, not mesh because of this and it is all set up on the patio and is joined together) Is it best to shut him in? I open the whole hutch around 7am and close it around 8.30 pm after he has had some cuddles on the sofa.
I look forward to receiving some helpful advice! Thanks for reading, Elaine

Ok, lots of questions to try to help with. Phew!!

Rabbits are prey animals and instinctively dislike being picked up as this is like being caught by a predator. Many will struggle when you try to lift them and you must be very careful as they have incredibly strong back legs. They will thrash these and give you nasty scratches ( I have some rather fetching ones just now!) and there is the slight possibility if they are stressed enough that they can damage their backs.

In rabbit society, buns tend to show who is top bun by demanding to be groomed. The top bun will present itself in front of another rabbit, lower its head and receive grooming. This helps buns feel very special. When we stroke our buns, they feel that they are top bun and we are their minion - which is indeed how it works! It might be that your bun is flattening down to be groomed. If it is breathing very very quickly and is totally flat, it might be that it is stressed.

Rabbits are very clean animals and will have a latrine area in the wild so their burrow isn't signposted. In captivity, they adopt an area for their toileting. Try lifting some of the wet newspaper into the tray area and keep putting some of his poops into it so he associated it with the smell. It might be that he is still choosing where he wants to have his toilet.

I would recommend not using woodshavings as they can be very dusty for rabbits and also can get into their eyes and cause problems. You are better just using newspaper and hay. Don't use straw because it can be sharp and again, damage eyes. Also, it doesn't have the nutritional value that hay has.

On the subject of food, use a pelleted food instead of muesli which tends to be picked over by fussy buns and all the good stuff left. Buns should have a diet which is 70% hay, 20% pellets and 10% fresh veg.

As your bun is still growing, feed him according to his age, but as he gets older, feed him the amount recommended for an adult bun and no more - no matter how much he begs. Getting buns to eat lots of hay helps to wear down their teeth and keeps their guts working properly. It is the most important thing you can do for you bunny and will save him a lot of pain and you a lot of expense later.

I hope this has helped and it sounds like you are doing just fine so far.

Sounds like you are doing an ace job so far.

All of the advice Nickie has given you above is excellent advice and I think a lot of bunny parenting comes as you bond more with you bunny and you learn as you go.

The idea of popping a few poops and some wet paper into the toilet tray area is a great idea. Get your bun used to that being the area to do the business in. Its not something that happens overnight but a little bit of persistance and patience goes a long way.

I think that shutting him away at night is a good idea for safety so long as the hutch has plenty of room.

Your bun may well be a little frightened about being picked up but will this hopefully will improve once he learns that its cuddles he's getting. The lowering of the head could well be a sign that he wants to be stroked...they love it on the top of thier head to their nose and also around their little ears.

It sounds as if you pick him up the same way I pick up my boy and its always worked for us.

Good luck, please continue to post away with any questions you have, we are always happy to help......we love bunny pictures too!!!!!!

Thank you ever so much for your replies! I've just bought him a new hutch which is bigger and gives him more room at night.
I'll post some piccys when I'm done!! Thanks once again, I don;t know a lot about bunnies but I'm a keen and fast learner

I think a lot of what you learn about bunnies they teach you along the way.

They are such amazing and highly intelligent balls of fluff and you will never stop being amazed by them. The more you put in, the more you will get out and the more you will fall for their charms.

Enjoy. x