Mother Holland Lop Stomping and Biting

[Brittini]

This is my first ever litter of Holland Lops. The 7 month old doe I bought turned out to be pregnant. She gave birth shortly after getting her, so we had no time to bond. She birthed 3 healthy broken chocolate otters. She will let me pet her but stomps sometimes and runs at you and bites you whenever you go near the nest box. Which I have to do often because she keeps pottying in the nest box, even though shes litter trained and always has fresh litter. She also eats all the hay from the nest even though she has plenty of her own. And she digs at the nest which constantly results in the now 1 week old kits being able to wander all around the nest box then she jumps on them when coming in and out. I tried taking the babies out and only putting them in for an hour in the morning and an hour in evening, but she would attack whenever I came near her cage when her babies weren't there. I couldnt even put them back in and take them without her running at me and biting me real hard.

Any advice? I will be deeming her a "pet" rabbit and rehoming her once the kits ween. She seems to be friendly until you go near her babies.

 

[Semra]

Hi! Wow, I never heard of a mama bunny like her. I think the result of her being aggressive when you go near her babies may be because you had her for a short time before she gave birth. She may not have bonded with you and doesn't trust you. For example, my mini satin mix rabbit "Cinnabun" got in with my bucks literally one week before the spay surgery (I wanted to spay her because I have two bucks and I didn't need the worry of babies). When she came in with my mini lop buck "Ella" (he was a late bloomer, and we thought he was a doe) I was certain she was pregnant. I put the spay surgery on hold and waited until ... Surprise, she gave birth to 3 beautiful broken babies. She only trusted my Mother, siblings, and myself with her and her babies. Any friends or other people who even opened her cage would get bit and attack by her, but if I touched her she would lick me all over my fingers, and she was such a sweetheart. Cinnabun was just aggressive towards strangers due to her past abusive home she was in and that's just her personality now. The best decision (in my opinion) is to pet her before touching her babies and try your best to work with her calmly and peacefully. Wear thick gloves if needed. Once the babies reach 2 weeks, they should hopefully start crawling out of the nestbox, and make your life a bit easier. Since the taking out the rabbits and putting them back in seems not effective, I would just leave the kits with her, but always remember, if she starts hurting her kits you have to interfere. Also, I personally would not buy from the seller who sold you your doe, you may buy another and have her be pregnant as well. I also agree, when her babies are weaned rehome her as a pet. I hope everything goes well with your rabbit, best of luck!

 

[Brittini]

Hi! Wow, I never heard of a mama bunny like her. I think the result of her being aggressive when you go near her babies may be because you had her for a short time before she gave birth. She may not have bonded with you and doesn't trust you. For example, my mini satin mix rabbit "Cinnabun" got in with my bucks literally one week before the spay surgery (I wanted to spay her because I have two bucks and I didn't need the worry of babies). When she came in with my mini lop buck "Ella" (he was a late bloomer, and we thought he was a doe) I was certain she was pregnant. I put the spay surgery on hold and waited until ... Surprise, she gave birth to 3 beautiful broken babies. She only trusted my Mother, siblings, and myself with her and her babies. Any friends or other people who even opened her cage would get bit and attack by her, but if I touched her she would lick me all over my fingers, and she was such a sweetheart. Cinnabun was just aggressive towards strangers due to her past abusive home she was in and that's just her personality now. The best decision (in my opinion) is to pet her before touching her babies and try your best to work with her calmly and peacefully. Wear thick gloves if needed. Once the babies reach 2 weeks, they should hopefully start crawling out of the nestbox, and make your life a bit easier. Since the taking out the rabbits and putting them back in seems not effective, I would just leave the kits with her, but always remember, if she starts hurting her kits you have to interfere. Also, I personally would not buy from the seller who sold you your doe, you may buy another and have her be pregnant as well. I also agree, when her babies are weaned rehome her as a pet. I hope everything goes well with your rabbit, best of luck!

Thank you so much! I do pet her before touching the babies. Shes dreadful to have as a mother lol

 

[majorv]

It’s possible that the doe will calm down as the kits get older. We had a couple of does who were fine with us, except when she had a litter. Once the kits were a couple of weeks old and getting around better she wasn’t as protective.

 

[Brittini]

It’s possible that the doe will calm down as the kits get older. We had a couple of does who were fine with us, except when she had a litter. Once the kits were a couple of weeks old and getting around better she wasn’t as protective.

I'm hoping so. I never really knew her before babies lol.

 

[rabbitlover2019]

start with herself not kits
by giving treats, Caress (specially head and ears)
always move and do very slowly
don't get close to her suddenly. let her attack you very slowly don't panic, then her fear and anxiety will be reduced.

as i know, rabbit bites are tolerable without any discomfort. so may be she really scared.

 

[Brittini]

Her babies now at 9/10 days old are able to escape the nest box