Help with rabbit!!?

Question

When we 1st got our rabbit she was a little naughty and a bit mad but she has chilled so much and seems loving now but this morning when I was getting ready for work I could hear her throwing her her bowl around her hutch and she did it for ages!! Then when I went to feed her she launched herself at me and bit me on my arm and then again on my finger!! She was obviously not too happy this morning, I fed her at the usual time so im not sure what was wrong with her!! I must say I didn kind of laugh because she also makes a grunting noise which is almost like she is saying leave me alone which I do find quite amusing but do you have any tips for trying to encourage her to not bite me??!!

Thanks!

Just to add- I let her run round the garden in the morning for an hour while I get ready for work then she goes back in her hutch (which is huge) big enough for 3 rabbits!! and has her breakfast and then I get her out after work @ 6ish and she stays out for about 3 or 4 hours so she has plenty of time out! Thank you for all your answers!!

Oh and sorry but putting her down is not an option! I think its a bad habit that can be kicked!!

Answer 1

I've found this website that might be able to help you .... it goes through different scenarios of rabbit aggression and possible reasons ... also gives you techniques to help! Had a read through and it looks good ....

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/aggression.html

Answer 2

first and foremost is the general health of the rabbit. You need to make sure that a physical problem is not the prime cause making the bunny aggressive. Rabbits in pain will be aggressive to avoid any more pain. Checking the rabbit for mites, wounds, burrs, or other problems can be done by you and a rabbit-savvy vet. Many times mites or a hidden burr can be driving the rabbit frantic. The second most important thing is to spay/neuter the rabbit. Female rabbits in particular can be very territorial. Many non-spayed female bunnies are fierce defenders of their cages. Spaying will dramatically decrease this tendency. In many but not all cases, it will stop much of the aggressive behavior. In those that it does not decrease the biting and aggressive lunging, a little behavior modification is called for.

If you eliminated physical problems and neutered your bunny and still see aggression then your bunny may have a behavioral problem that you might need to modify. There are several general rules that will speed the taming of Bunnicula. You need to be flexible in how you approach the problem. Flexibility is needed because many aggressive rabbits are on the high end of the IQ range for rabbits. A smart rabbit is both a help and a problem. Remember, many bunnies developed their behavior as a method of coping with a problem, and it worked. Many of these bunnies were picked up incorrectly or were constantly being prodded by little children. They were smart enough to develop a coping strategy. It will take time and some effort on your part to convince them otherwise.

In many cases, not reacting to the bite will break the behavior. If the behavior does not elicit the desired effect, then many bunnies give it up. This is the easy end of the aggressive scale. These rabbits usually pinch very hard, but do not draw blood. If you can avoid reacting to the pinch, just leave your hand there and try not to jerk it away.(put on thick glove to feed) Talk calmly, don’t raise your voice, and pretend that nothing important happened. This can break the mild biter in a few days to a few weeks. Remember though, a smart bunny may try it on the next new human, but generally they do not try it for long. As the pinching/biting fails, they drop it from of their repertoire of behaviors.

Answer 3

I just read your first answer and she does not need to be put down. That is just the last option when an animal is terminally ill and is suffering by being alive. My rabbit had the same problem when she was nearly one. A friend at work also owned a rabbit and she said that her rabbit did that too. She said we have salt on our skin and the rabbit can sense the salt and that is why they bite. She told me to get a salt lick for rabbits from the pet shop which I did. I didn't think it would work but I was willing to try anything as I thought it was ridiculous that my husband had to wear thick gardening gloves just to feed her. I also missed patting my little bunny! Anyway, she was nearly one and I put in this salt lick and for the next 4 and a half years she never bit anyone or grunted again. I was amazed! Sadly I found the cage door open one morning and my little bunny missing. But if she were still here I bet she still wouldn't be biting. The salt licks can be bought at the pet shop and they last for months as long as they are kept away from water. These do make rabbits thirsty, just like salt makes us thirsty so you need to make sure there is water for your rabbit to drink at all times. The salt lick should be there at all times too. Remove it when cleaning the cage so it doesn't get wet. I know it seems weird that it just started all at once but that is the way it happened with my rabbit. We though it was because she was in the garage at my parents house instead of outside our house and maybe she wasn't comfortable or maybe she was scared or maybe it was because my mum fed her. I asked my mum if she had been peeling carrots before she fed her and she said she hadn't but although she didn't bite everyday occassionally it happened, even to my husband. We even went to the extent of one person distracting her while the other got the bowl like she was a lion or something. But I never even considered getting rid of her. There is always a solution to bad animal behaviour, you just need to find what it is. But the salt lick is worth a try as the same thing happened with both my bunny and my friends bunny and the salt lick worked for both.

Answer 4

I COULD BE WRONG!
I have 1 rabbit and 3 Guinea pigs (not my first rabbit)

Your rabbit maybe feeling stress. Is it in...
1. a windy, draughty place (door, window, outside)
2. a loud place or around places of sudden sound (by computer, TV, or other electrical devices (dogs barking can startle rabbits)
3. a place where there are many sudden movements (in a living room or near a garden gate).

Many of my rabbits + Guinea pigs through things (food bowls, playthings, etc..) when I first started caring for them.
From experience i would advise bonding.
BUT, i would also advise gardening gloves!
Collect your rabbit, WITH THE GLOVES, move SLOWLY (you may wish to cover the gloves in something used to stop cats scratching (check to see if pet safe first).
Put in a quiet area (that it can't escape from) and sit close buy (not to close that it can easily bite you) Remember MOVE SLOWLY.with NO SUDDEN NOISE.
Keep still till the rabbit is settled (may take some time).
Return to cage.
Repeat.(May take some weeks)(works relatively well with mine, I don't keep to my proper timing, Coursework)

p.s. try putting a damp carrot in with it in the enclosure (when with you)
Try taking two separate nights off from this method a week.
Don't carry to far away from body or rabbit is more likly to dislike being picked up.

If I think about anything else I will putt it in the comments.

Answer 5

Agree with spaying, (by a vet who knows rabbits, not just cats and dogs) and that hormones can cause this behavior.
Also agree with checking for health problems with a vet that knows rabbits.

Just wanted to add that for now,, try positioning the cage so that the door is on the top. You might be able to get around the lunging if you are reaching in from overhead, instead of straight into her face.

Answer 6

how old is she? has she been neutered? it may be that she is now reaching maturity and therefore is more territorial, especially in her "home". i would suggest that this is the most likely cause of the sudden aggression. best thing you can do is get her neutered and then consider getting her a neutered male companion - as much time as you spend with her and as much time as you provide her out of the cage, there is no substitute to a bunny for companionship than another bunny! they are social creatures and need to be around others of their own kind - this will probably also help with the aggression issues.

speak to your local rabbit / animal rescue centre - they will be able to give you more advice about the aggression and getting her neutered and will probably also have a nice little boy bunny in need of a new home!

Answer 7

I have an agressive bunny. Mine is in a huge hutch, with a very large run, she also has a bunny companion. She dislikes having any bowls or toys in her hutch and always moves them outside, she also spends hours moving straw and hay out of the top hutch down into her bottom hutch (she has a two storey hutch) until it is bare. I wanted to keep the top layer packed with straw now the cold weather is here, my bunny has other ideas though.

Answer 8

If she starts to bite tap her on her nose ( not too hard but hard enough to show her who is boss) she should soon learn , but while she is still biting wear gloves( thick ones) and a long sleeve t-shirts so she does not bite into your skin , hold her at least one a day so she learns that it is fun to be held ! My rabbit would thump her foot whenshe was annoyed so the gruning noise might just be beacuse she is annoyed . she also must be biting you ( espially if she is chewing your clothes 0which she might not be doing ) beacuse she wants something to chew on , but a piece of wood ( a log ) in her cage should stop her wanting to chew! Get a bowl which is heavy so she can't thrown it around the cage it might be beacuse she is bored!

Answer 9

Try letting her out of her cage for a bit. Or get her a bigger cage with somewhere to hide. If the cage is too small, she may fell trapped and is aggressive because of it. www.cavycages.com has info on hoe to build a cheap, large cage.

I agree that getting her spayed should help. Without the hormones, she will be less territorial. Then you can get her a male friend to live with.

Answer 10

she may be in heat and she is acting purely on hormones! and she may just be full of energy and needs a good run around! in the wild rabbit run around all the time so they dont appreciate being in a cage! she also may have an injury take her to the vet for a check up
hope this helped you xx