Rabbits do appear to become attached to one person once a bond has formed. The formation of this bond takes time, patience, and no small amount of work. However, an attachment requires a bit more time. New rabbits can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to form an attachment to their owners.
Rabbits are very social creatures that form strong bonds. As such, rabbits may form a strong attachment with its primary caregiver, which can be interpreted as the rabbit having a favorite person.
Rabbits are very loving, social animals, which means they not only love to spend time with their humans – they require it.
Rabbits are social animals, so a single rabbit is likely to feel lonely and depressed. Rabbits can live alone, but you'll need to provide your pet with the attention (company, petting, grooming, exercise, playing, and enrichment) that a bonded rabbit partner would provide.
Many people ask, can rabbits live alone? Rabbits are social animals, and, like us, can suffer from loneliness. Though there are exceptions, most rabbits want and need another rabbit for company. For this reason, we always recommend keeping rabbits in groups of two or more.
In the wild, rabbits live in big groups and they enjoy being with friends who will play with them, groom them, understand them and look out for them. So if these sociable animals are kept on their own, they may become bored, depressed, and very lonely.
Rabbits are social and intelligent creatures. They'll know that you love them; you just have to learn how to say “I love you!” in a way they'll understand. You can show your rabbit you love them by giving them gifts such as toys and yummy treats.
At a minimum, you should spend at least an hour with your rabbit every day. However, 3-5 hours (or even more) are ideal. You do not have to be giving your rabbit undivided attention during this time, but instead, make yourself available to interact with them if they want to.
Licking: Licking is a way bunnies groom each other. If your bunny licks you, it's a sign of affection as you'll often see pairs of bunnies grooming each other this way. A bunny lick is a sign of a bond.
Like all mammals, rabbits experience of a range of emotions, both basic and complex. A domesticated pet rabbit will understand and mirror the emotions of their owner. If you're happy, you'll find your rabbit reflecting this joy. If you are withdrawn and depressed, a rabbit will express concern for your predicament.
It often indicates they are either hungry, upset, tired, cold, etc. Rabbits and other animals are essentially the same when it comes to this type of communication between animals and humans.
Rabbits explore their environment by sniffing and nudging. It may be a greeting or their first line of investigation. But nudging can also indicate a level of bossiness. Your rabbit might be telling you, “You're in my way!” They may also be trying to get your attention because you're not petting them.
Many rabbits enjoy being kissed on the top of the head. Your rabbit will not kiss you back, but will return your affection in other ways. Licking is a key sign of affection from rabbits. You can teach a bonded rabbit to 'kiss' you with training.
We usually tell our adopters that we expect the average bonding is going to take about two and a half weeks.
The whole bonding process can take as little as one day or up to several months – it all depends on your rabbits.
To keep your rabbit happy and healthy, let it out of its cage at least once a day, giving it time to roam. Though at least one hour is necessary, aim closer to three or four. As a rule, never keep your rabbit cooped up for 24 hours at a time.
If your bunny remains well-behaved after several hour-long absences, lengthen their next several times alone to 2 or 3 hours.
3-5 Years Old
Rabbits tend to become a little less active by the time they reach this age. It is said that rabbits also become more affectionate during this period and they will start to trust you more.
Nudging, head butting or rubbing against you is rabbit body language for loving attention. 'Give them a stroke or cuddle, or what you know they enjoy', says Rosie. 'Rubbing their faces against you is a way of sharing their scent profile, and showing that you really are friends.
When a rabbit nibbles or bites you softly it is often accompanied with licking, which is a sign of love. He is trying to groom you and is simulating the grooming process (however, you have no fur to build up knots in so it results in just a little nibble of the skin).
They also love getting a good back scratch around the shoulders. That said, they tend not to like being touched on the ears, neck, feet, stomach or tail.
Rabbits can also exhibit distress at separation. As with dogs, symptoms include destructive behaviours such as chewing on slippers and carpets and reverting to unsavoury toilet habits. In many cases the remedy is broadly the same: a softly, softly approach to separation, building up steadily each day.
Signs that your rabbit might be bored
Rabbits might start chewing things that they shouldn't, destroying their pen, or trying to dig out. They might also start to over-groom themselves to give them something to do.