Aggressive breed or hormones!?

Advertise with us
Love your rabbit
Shop deals on ebay
shop deals on amazon
Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
acdcfan23

acdcfan23

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2013
Messages
96
Reaction score
3
Location
NULL
Okay, so i have a female Netherland Dwarf and a male Mini Rex. Now i would love to get them both fixed and have them together so they have some one when I'm at school but everyones against it.
They are both about a year old and both are mean (the male mostly) they bite, dig, lunge, growl, circle, and spraying. A bunch of people have said thats hormones and it could help getting them fixed so I've been saving all my money to do so. The whole time my mom and dad both have been completely against it and are willing to say anything to get me to not do it. Now my mom says that a rabbit breeder told her that dwarfs and rexes are just mean breeds and fixing is absolutely pointless. Anyone else ever hear that?
 
Fixing is not pointless. It greatly reduces or eliminates hormones. What are potential signs of hormones? -lunging, growling, biting, spraying urine, aggression, forgetting litter habits, excessive destructive chewing. I have heard that delaying for too long can cause some of those behaviors to become ingrained. One year old is certainly not too old.

Perhaps some of our breeders on the forum can comment about any breed-specific traits, but I have not heard such about those rabbits.

There is, of course, the possibility that your two rabbits may not get along even after they are both fixed. If you do get them fixed, be sure to wait a good 2 months post surgery (male) before attempting to bond them. Just read up a lot on bonding procedure to maximize your chances for a successful bond.
 
Temperament can be somewhat genetic, so there can be some breed or lines that are more aggressive than others, and some that can be more friendly. That being said, it does come down to the individual rabbit more so than breed. Dwarf breeds do tend to be a bit more temperamental, but not all are and out right aggression is more rare.

It does sound more like your rabbits are hormonal. Females can be worse and tend to be more territorial than males, but some males can be bad too. Neutering generally does help with hormonal problems and does have some health benefits as well. It might not totally get rid of all the behaviours, but should make a good improvement.
 
I am certainly prepared for them possibly not getting along but even if they don't I'm still willing to do anything to help reduce the behaviors they have that defiantly sounds to me like a hormone thing. Its just horrible having 2 bunnies i can hardly even touch.

My male will act all friendly then do this then start lunging and growling and tries to bite again.

ImageUploadedByRabbit Forum1401664752.956902.jpg
 
How close are they to each other? If the male smells the female close by, or on you, that may be part of the problem. I would've expected the female to be the more hormonal, and aggressive, one.
 
Nethies and Rexes are pretty established pet breeds, I strongly disagree with the breeder saying they are mean! My nethie is the friendliest little thing. It's more likely to be a hormone thing, especially since you have two of them, that makes them much more on edge about territory security. Definitely fix them asap.
 
majorv said:
How close are they to each other? If the male smells the female close by, or on you, that may be part of the problem. I would've expected the female to be the more hormonal, and aggressive, one.
Click to expand...

They ate currently both outside, female on my porch in her cage and male is off the porch 10-15 feet away in his hutch. Female just went out she comes in in the winter but my males been mean for a while (honestly i saw the biggest change in him after my mom tried breeding them. I was against it but she put them together and after that he started getting meaner but everyone thinks I'm crazy)
 
It sounds like your male simply might be frustrated. Before he could probably smell the female but knew he was never going to get near her. Now that he knows for sure that she's there and he just can't get to her, he is probably driven a little crazy by it. Any time you handle one, I would wash your hands and arms thoroughly before going to handle/feed etc the other. This will help to reduce the smell and hopefully stop them being so mean towards you. While you might not fix their behaviour completely, I 100% agree with neutering and spaying your two buns, the male especially sounds like it is very hormonal, the female very likely so as well. It is not a waste of time. You may not get them to bond, but if they calm down even a little bit, it will be a bunny with a much happier life. Take the time to work with them every day, wear protective gloves if you have to, and reward good behaviour.
 
Whoever that breeder was, he/she has no idea about minis and dwarfs. My mini rexes are the sweetest lil bunbuns ever... Pardon me for undermining everyone else's bunbuns. I have gotten my mini rexes from two different breeders, and both have had very nice animals. Mini rexes are well known all over as nice breeds. Just look it up on the web and you will see. I've never had Netherland Dwarfs, but I've read that they are sweet and feisty. Apparently they get into trouble, but I don't read a lot about them BITING people.

May I ask why your parents don't want them to be neutered and spayed? You should tell them it will make the buns nicer and better pets. Do they want to breed them? If so, tell them not to breed two different breeds of rabbits as it causes health problems. If they want to breed, they need to get two rabbits of he same type. Do they think it's unnatural? If so, tell them that if they want a "natural" situation, they should let them run free in the yard, have lots of babies, and dig huge holes. (Sorry, I really don't mean to sound disrespectful). Is it a cost thing? If so, you should show them that you are saving up and you will pay for it yourself.

Good luck.
 
ChocoClover said:
Whoever that breeder was, he/she has no idea about minis and dwarfs. My mini rexes are the sweetest lil bunbuns ever... Pardon me for undermining everyone else's bunbuns. I have gotten my mini rexes from two different breeders, and both have had very nice animals. Mini rexes are well known all over as nice breeds. Just look it up on the web and you will see. I've never had Netherland Dwarfs, but I've read that they are sweet and feisty. Apparently they get into trouble, but I don't read a lot about them BITING people.

May I ask why your parents don't want them to be neutered and spayed? You should tell them it will make the buns nicer and better pets. Do they want to breed them? If so, tell them not to breed two different breeds of rabbits as it causes health problems. If they want to breed, they need to get two rabbits of he same type. Do they think it's unnatural? If so, tell them that if they want a "natural" situation, they should let them run free in the yard, have lots of babies, and dig huge holes. (Sorry, I really don't mean to sound disrespectful). Is it a cost thing? If so, you should show them that you are saving up and you will pay for it yourself.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

They think its just an out right waste a money. They've said how they had outdoor rabbits as kids and they say they were nice so they think i shouldn't care and just leave them alone or get rid of them. Ive called all the vets in my area and the cheapest i found would be $130 each for the surgery plus $40 for a check up before the surgery (to make sure they are healthy enough for the surgery)
 
The price sounds very reasonable considering what others have said theirs cost. I understand where your parents are coming from because we had a big white rabbit in the backyard when I was a kid. A turned over trash can was his home. I don't agree with that view point any longer though.

I know a number of people who breed NDs, and, yes, they can be known to be temperamental...just depends on the line and how they're raised. Given time, they may settle down but as long as there's a chance they can smell each other - in the air or on you - you'll be a target until then. And, no, you really should not breed an ND female to a mini rex male. Partly because you're mixing breeds and partly because the buck is bigger than the doe and could cause birthing problems.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top