Help with Nippy Baby Bun!

[briemommy]

Hello all. Completely new to the whole bunny thing, but Brie and I seem to be bonding well. There's only one thing that really bothers me. She likes to nip. I've read elsewhere that since she's only about two months old she will try to nip everything and if she sees me as "mommy" she will try even more because of a suckling kind of nature.

My problem is me. I've been Neosporin-and-bandaged more times than I can count from my blind hamsters so I'm pretty jumpy when it comes to teeth. I am scared when she puts her mouth near me! We'll be hanging out and she will hop up to me (and even on to me) and nip me through my t-shirt (front and back), my arm, hand, and toes (even with socks on). I've read somewhere to yelp loud enough to startle her, and that's what I did when my dogs were pups, but it doesn't seem to work with her. She'll start, and then come back for another test nip.

I love her but I'm so stressed out when I sit down with her and I hate pulling back when she sniffs me. Please help!

 

[JBun]

You could try doing what her momma would do and gently press down on the neck shoulder area for a few seconds. Or I've read that picking them up and turning them onto their backs right after they've nipped, can also be effective, because most rabbits don't like to be flipped onto their backs. Just remember to be gentle, firm but gentle, cause you don't want to frighten your rabbit. Keep in mind also that rabbits will sometimes use little nips to get your attention. They might want a nose rub or a treat. I've had litterbox trained rabbits dig at me to let me know they need to go back to their litterbox to pee.

 

[agnesthelion]

Baby buns do tend to nip as it's how they explore and it's a form of grooming. The deal is you want to teach her that biting humans can hurt because we don't have fur

I would try gently pushing her head down as that is what mommas do to their babies. Also, never reward her for nipping, ie if she is trying to get your attnetion for pets.....DONT pet her if she nips.

If you are consistent and firm but gently, it most likely be a habit she will grow out of.

 

[agnesthelion]

Ditto post! We posted at the same time

 

[Imbrium]

I used the "holding the head down" trick on one of mine that loved to nibble on my pants as a baby and it worked wonders.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

And if the nip turns into to biting, that's when I'd flip them on their back and pin them like an "alpha" would do. They do need to know "pecking order" to borrow the poultry phrase. It's bad when they learn that biting gets them what they want. Have lost quite a bit of blood and skin socialize our rescues and teaching the few problems buns "proper" behavior, but it didn't take more than a few sessions and I hate bleeding and having to put band aids over chunks of torn flesh.

 

[briemommy]

Well, she's definitely taste testing everything. Especially after I slather on some sweet almond oil or jojoba oil. So I think I'm going to make sure I don't try to hang out with her immediately after applying oil.

I tried pushing her head down a bit but it didn't seem to work. Are there any resources that will illustrate how to do this properly? I think I'm only pressing enough for it to feel like a pet. Think there's a video out there somewhere that will show a momma rabbit doing it?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Imbrium]

are you holding it down for a few seconds? you don't need to push very hard, just enough to lower the head to the ground and then hold it there for a few seconds.

 

[briemommy]

I just tried this and it seems to be working. She's really smart and already knows when I'm about to do it! Thanks!

 

[Imbrium]

whee!

 

[briemommy]

Ok, here's a new one. So we're dealing with the random nips and working on them. She just pulled a new one on me and DH.

We've been getting her to climb on our laps with a bribe of some pellets in a bowl. So she'll finish, and instead of turning to hop off, twice she nuzzled the crotch of our pants and then bit down and tugged! What was that??