Are male rabbits friendlier than females or vice versa?

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foreverblue127

foreverblue127

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I have read a lot about lately about how male rabbits tend to be nicer than females. Not on here but on a few other sites. What do you guys think? Is it all about individual personalities? I am new to owning rabbits, but I have one grown male and one baby female. Both are very friendly with me. The female more so. And they both get a long with the other animals. My baby girl is barely 4 months old and she wants no other animal near me. She is not aggressive towards them, she just jumps on me and puts herself in between myself and the other animal. She does this every time. She was just spayed a few days ago. Also I read that mini lops can be fairly mean?? I was surprised to hear that. My girl is a mini lop. Has anyone experienced that? I always write long posts, but I always have so many questions. And I have found there is no better place to find out information than on here:)

 
My male is standoffish and doesn't like to be touched. My female loves to be petted. I haven't noticed males in general (my own or at the shelter) to be friendlier, but females do tend to have "bigger" personalities while males tend to be calmer. I like the males for their laidback personalities, and females are often divas, but sometimes it's the diva-ness that makes them so much fun.

I've never heard that mini lops were mean - I've only heard the opposite and almost every one that I've known was very sweet (except for one who came from a hoarding situation and was terrified of people). My boy is a holland lop and my girl is a mini lop.
 
I have notcied when a female isnt spayed. They get very mean (some rabbits). And Males are always nicer.!
 
Well, we have two does, Buttercup and Kokomo, and eight bucks. We tend to get bucks because we've had better luck with their attitudes and socialising.

But really, I think it depends on the rabbit. Thumper was an unaltered doe, sweet as could be, so I don't think gender really has anything to do with it.
 
Whether the female is spayed or not probably is a factor. None of our rabbits are fixed because we show them andbreed some. In general, our bucks are more laid back and friendly. Our females, up until about 5-6 months or so are prettyfriendly, too. When the hormones kick in and they get close to sexual maturity then they tend to getsomewhat agressive and 'tense', I guess you could say. After they have a litter then their old personality usually returns. I've heard other breeders say this so I don't think it's isolated to any particular breed. There are always exceptions though. I don't have any experienceliving withaltered rabbits.
 
I've heard males are usually nicer and are better for a first bunny. I got a male, and it seems pretty true.

He's a cuddle bug that likes to give kisses.

I think males could be mean too though, as could females be sweethearts. Depends on the rabbit.
 
I've had 2 males and 5 females. I like each sex for different reasons. My boys have been special and great, but Korr has only been really friendly and wanting pets for about 9 months now (he is about 5.5 years old). He has never been aggressive, just kinda aloof with me. Sean was very friendly, he was also an angora, and they are quite outgoing as well.
MY girls are a bit more reserved, but still friendly. I have had to work more with Amelia, but she is coming around quite well. Both Lillian and Ginny and friendly, but Ginny is a bit territorial (she is intact too). Penelope wasn't really lovey, but still showed affection in her own way. Sophie was more lovey and would lick my back when I was sitting on the floor. Thumper (who I am fostering) is very affectionate, she will push my hand for more pets if I stop for a few seconds. I have only had her for a few days now and she is almost more outgoing that some of my others when they first came.
I didn't really choose the sex of most of my rabbits. The only 2 that I really choose were Sophie and Amelia as they were both gotten as companions for Korr. All the others were just what they were/are. When I got Korr, I was looking for a female but ended up with a male as he as the only one there. Lillian was chosen for me, and I am not really sure if I would have gotten a male if I had the choice. Sean I just fell for and knew he was mine, the breed and sex didn't really come into play much.

Each rabbit is different. They do tend to take a little while to warm up to a new place before they show who they really are. Young rabbits can also change as they get older (usually around 4-8 months old). Right after getting spayed can also be a time when they are not themsleves, but this usually goes away after a few days to a week as they recover.
 
Ok, what you guys are saying goes along with what I have read. My male Bun is laid back and sweet. But he is not a lap bun. He will let you hold him and he will lick you for a short time. While my female bun is a total lap bun. She loves sitting with me and giving me kisses. Excessive kisses in fact. All over and often. But I love it:)!
 
[align=center]I have had five different rabbits (three females, two males - currently I have one female and two males) and I prefer males.

My male, Sabriel is SOOO sweet. He gives kisses, cuddles, is an over all lover boy. Silas is the same way.

Then there's Solara. She'll give kisses but runs/attacks if I attempt to show her affection.

The other two females were very sweet- except one around my other rabbits (Soleil). She loved being pet but never licked me.

Nala was very sweet as well, liked to lay by me, loved pet but never gave kisses.

If I ever got another bunny, he would be a boy. (waaaaay in the future) I much prefer them to females and with all of the bunnies at the sanctuary I volunteer at- I always seem to like the boys more than the girls. I dunno if it is a personal preference- but they DO seem sweeter to me.

It also probably does rely on the breed too, because Soleil was a New Zealand and Nala was a Flemish mix- and those are both very sweet breeds.

I don't know. I think it's all personal preference (whether someone says males or females are sweeter).
 
I have two girls, both fixed, one is a mini lop. They are both love bugs. We tend to watch tv together all in the same chair. Lots of kisses particularly from the mini lop.
 
Lol!

Well, I had a boy and he was VERY nice, but he seemed to think i was dig-into-able all the time -_- but he was pretty well behaved, EXCEPT i found unfixed, he would literally try to chew threw his cage, and grunted... wanting to make me his partner , the irony was i named hum bubba lmao.

My girl, unfixed, is much less aggresive in that sense, but... shes more territorial, ive had to develop, get her to co operate for grooming strategys, like block off tunnels, etc cause shes a lionhead and needs alot of brushing for hair. But she seems more... friendly, or standoffish more so, then my boy.

Hope that helps sorta :p
 
I don't know that I can help much, most of my buns are pretty young, but I think it just depends on the bun itself, I have 2 males both are atleast 1 year old, one is very sweet, will come over and put his head down and soak in the pettings and lovings, the other is standoffish and just wants to run, but he's also a netherland dwarf. Then I have 2 females 1 is turning 4 months old and the other is turning 5 months old. The 5 month old will put her head down and let you pet her and is really sweet also, she is a mini rex, the 4 month old just wants to run and play she is a mini lop crossed to a lion head. Then I just got 2 dutch rabbits 1 male and 1 female, the male will let you pet him and is like, ok whatever and doesn't care, but the female will run to you if you go in the exercise pen and stand on her hind legs for you to pet her and give her attention or treats LOL.
So I think it all depends on the rabbit.
I do think the females definitely need to be spayed.
 
Yeah basically what angela said, Also... it usually dosent matter, males and females dont act TO much diffrent, except in sexual maturity :p
 
I have had my rabbit luck with bucks/males. I have only had 2 females out of my 7 rabbits. I personaly like the males better. The bucks always seemed friendlier. The does were more like "ew, dont touch me" and "hop away! hop away!" So, I agree with the other sites that you have looked at. Bucks tend to be more friendly than does:)
 
I have two bucks and two does. All unfixed.
I think it depends on several factors - personality, breed, age, whether they are fixed or not, etc.

My MR (Mini Rex) buck, Dusty, is super sweet, loves attention, doesn't mind kids roughing with him at all, but my HL buck Kaelum doesn't like to be pet or touched at all, really. Kaelum is also younger than Dusty, and that could be a contributing factor - he's still a "teen" and thinks everything should go his way and that Mom should leave him alone. :p

My 3 mo old doe, (also a Holland Lop) is kind of like her daddy, Kaelum. She doesn't like to be messed with much and will thump in protest at things. She is a bit more of a cuddler than Kaelum is though, however.

And my 2 yo old Mini Rex doe Kailua is a hormonal witch. She is grumpy most of the time and squeals and charges the cage. Her attitude changed when she was bred and had babies. She was actually decently sweet. And none of her behaviour passed on to her kits.

Emily
 
I have a doe and buck. Both of them are sweet. Oreo is my minilop, not mean at all, on the contrary! She cant stand being carried or picked up too much, but is a total sweet heart otherwise. Bugsy is my male and he's very calm, wont ask or demand to be pet but will sit there forever while you pet him lol and he tolerates being carried very well. I think it really just depends on the bun!
 
My male is neutered and can still be a huge jerk :confused2:
I'm sure a lot of that though is just his personality, not based on gender.
 
Very interesting to read about everyone's experiences! I have been owned by 11 wonderful bunnies over the years: 5 girls and 6 boys. A decent sample size. I have noticed NO correlation between friendliness and breed or sex. All of mine except one have been affectionate and loved attention. The one that doesn't is our newest who we've had for 2 months. He's sweet as sugar but a very shy little guy still and doesn't seek out affection. I'm confident he will be more comfortable with us in time though and I don't think it has anything to do with his breed or sex, it's just part of his personality to be very cautious.

I haven't even noticed a difference between fixed and unfixed, but that certainly doesn't mean anything. Two of my girls were spayed at 1 1/2 and one at 6 months. Another was spayed at 1 year but I didn't know her before the surgery so can't comment. The last died at 7 months, before she ever got spayed. All of my girls were total sweethearts and I really saw no difference between spayed and unspayed. I suppose Phoebe Mae (spayed at 1 year) and Tallulah (died at 7 months) DID go through short nippy phases, but they both stopped pretty quickly and it wasn't bad. The others didn't go through any nippy or bratty stages. My boys have all been sweeties before and after being neutered, too.

And I have to disagree about mini lops being mean. My Rory is a mini lop and he is undeniably my favorite. He can be a bit moody at times, but just runs away when he doesn't want attention. When he DOES want attention, he actively seeks it out, and will snuggle happily with me for hours at a time, completely relaxed. He and my Netherland Dwarf are/were my snuggliest boys, and Tallulah was my snuggliest girl (she was a Holland Lop). Tallulah would follow me everywhere I went, she was so affectionate, and she lived for snuggles to the point that she would hop on my lap whenever (and wherever) I sat down, or do this:

RoryandTallulah307.jpg


So, there's my 2 cents :)
 
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