False Pregnancy = Aggression...

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

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

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

JulieinPA

Member
Joined
May 3, 2013
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Location
NULL
I posted a short while ago about our mini lop doe having a false pregnancy. Well I don't know if she is still going through it or not ... but since she started she has become somewhat aggressive. By aggressive I mean - she has a snorty growl like sound, and she stomps, and if she gets aggitated enough she "lunges" at you. She has not actually biten any of us yet ... but I wouldn't put it past her.

We can pet her and put our hands in the cage to feed her, etc. ... but if we act like we're going to pick her up - that's when the behavior begins. I'm actually scared of her! I don't want to be the first one to get bitten!

So is this a behavior that will hault once she is through her false pregnancy ordeal? Or will this be an ongoing behavior!?? What should we expect? And what can we do? :help
 
You didn't mention how old your doe is, but this is rather normal behavior for does when they start reaching maturity (around 6-8 months old or older in Mini Lops). At that time, their hormones get pretty crazy which can lead to false pregnancies, territorial behavior, aggression, etc.

If you don't plan on showing your breeding your doe, spaying can help reduce this kind of behavior.

Breeding them can also help. Some rabbits are temperamental when they are off a litter and become sweet and friendly again once they're bred or on a litter. For other rabbits, it's the exact opposite. Also, with age, they tend to calm down. We have a couple unaltered does as pets who went through the "teen phase" when they were young, but settled down as time went on.

Not all does become aggressive around maturity, but it is very common. If you don't have your rabbit spayed, it will probably be ongoing behavior for a significant period of time until age settles her a bit more.
 
SweetPea aka "Momma's baby" goes through this every once and a while; in spring the most and its when she will not listen to Momma.

Her Symptoms:
She tends to go off her food
nesting
digs up everything
aggressive

If you Bun is not spayed/neutered ask your self this: CAN you live with the symptoms she is going through?


**Know that some rabbits get highly aggressive when going through this and also nearly stripping themselves naked (no hair) because no babies come.

Edited--P.S When Sweetpea goes through this I leave her alone, I don't pick her up, just feed her. When she is ready she comes to me.
:bambiandthumper
 
Last edited:
OakRidgeRabbits said:
You didn't mention how old your doe is, but this is rather normal behavior for does when they start reaching maturity (around 6-8 months old or older in Mini Lops). At that time, their hormones get pretty crazy which can lead to false pregnancies, territorial behavior, aggression, etc.

If you don't plan on showing your breeding your doe, spaying can help reduce this kind of behavior.

Breeding them can also help. Some rabbits are temperamental when they are off a litter and become sweet and friendly again once they're bred or on a litter. For other rabbits, it's the exact opposite. Also, with age, they tend to calm down. We have a couple unaltered does as pets who went through the "teen phase" when they were young, but settled down as time went on.

Not all does become aggressive around maturity, but it is very common. If you don't have your rabbit spayed, it will probably be ongoing behavior for a significant period of time until age settles her a bit more.
Click to expand...

She is 10 months old in June.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top