Anti-social Behariour

Question
Hi there! It would be great if I could get some advice on how to
get an anti-social bunny to come out of his shell.
I have 4 bunnies. A male holland lop named Little Jerry, two
mini-rex/rex females named Gwen and Marmalade as well as a
holland lop/mini-rex/rex mix named Potter. He was one of the
babies from Gwen and Jerry's litter. I decided to keep him after I
had a hard time finding a home for him. He was the last male
left. He just turned a year in November and the others turn 2
this year.
My question is in relation to Potter. The other three bunnies are
quite social. They love to be pet and enjoy playing with me and
socializing with me. Potter on the other hand, does not. I try to
pet him lightly a few times a day, but I don't want to force
anything on him, so if he runs away, I let him run and never
chase him. I assume that if he wanted to be pet, he would let
me. He has always been very jumpy. When I walk into their
room, he will jump from the top level in his cage to the bottom
in a hurry!
He will take treats from my hand and enjoys the other bunnies.
Sometimes he can be a bit too forward however.
He is neutered and for a while, him and Jerry were in the same
cage and they would groom eachother freaquently.
Once I got Marmalade that is when I had to seperate them. I
think the fact that I brought another female home threw things
out of whack. I am getting the females spayed this spring and so
maybe once they are done, he can spend time with them.
I am just wondering if there is anything I can give him by way of
a supplement to help calm his nerves so I can work with him so
he doesn't get to anxious when I pet him. I have heard that you
can give them rescue remedy. Can that be an option? I work at a
pet food store and can get most products thru there. I don't
mind paying for something decent as long as I know it is
completly safe and will help him.
There is a product with chamomile in it. I have heard that works
well with dogs who are anxious. We also have a st john's wart
formula that works on dogs and cats who are jumpy and
irratable.
I just want him to have a happy life. Even if he doesn't totally like
to be pet all the time, I would just like him to not be so jumpy.
I would appreciate any advice that you can offer and Potter
would love to hear something as well.
Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you soon!
Stacey

Answer
There are some bunnies that just want to be left alone, and he certainly sounds like one of them.  Being that jumpy, however - have you had his hearing checked to make sure that he isn't deaf?  Sometimes a rabbit who reacts negatively to your sudden presence turns out to be deaf.

If his sight and hearing are perfectly fine, then Rescue Remedy would be a wonderful thing to try.  You can get either the spray or the drops and put them on his ears.  The dropper in the bottle is glass, so don't try to put them in his mouth.  Mimulus might be another essence to try.  I haven't heard of using St. John's Wort on rabbits.

You also might check out http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rabcare.html#behavior one of the articles is called "Life with an Aloof Rabbit."

Good luck.

Kim