Aggression and depression

[existenziell]

One of my rabbits (I have two) is Juniper. She's a year and half old lionshead mix. She is spayed. And I just adopted her about 3 weeks ago.

Anyway, she has some significant behavior problems that are proving hard to deal with. I've been trying to work with her gradually and have been giving her lots of love (and treats), but she hasn't made any improvement. I realize these things take time, but I'm wondering if there is anything else I could be doing to help her become a happy and friendly bunny.

She is pretty aggressive, but only when she is approached. She grunts really loud in annoyance and has, more recently, taken to biting (probably because she realizes that grunting alone isn't working). This happens both in and outside of her cage. Sometimes I'll give her a treat when I go to pet her (she is very food motivated). She'll happily eat the treat but grunt while doing so when I'm petting her.

She also seems depressed. She doesn't like coming out of her cage and usually puts up a fuss when I try to get her to come out. Sometimes I will take her out and she will just jump back in, followed by a loud thump. She is also pretty inactive when in her cage and when I let her out for play time. Sometimes she just sits in a corner with her ears pressed against her head. If approached, she grunts and will sometimes try to bite.

Her aggression is also affecting my other rabbit, Hegel. He is also a lionshead mix (but only 8 months old). He is neutered. He's a real sweetheart and likes her, but she likes to try and bite his nose every time he gets near her in his cage. No, I don't take them out together because they aren't bonded. I have this dog pen gate that I use to block off access to his cage now when she's out and vice versa when he's out so they don't interact. Even through his cage bars and the dog pen she tries to bite him and box him.

I don't know what her background is. She was left unspayed in the parking lot of a vet clinic. So obviously someone didn't take very good care of her. I suspect that this is what has contributed to her problems and that presumably 1+ years of this behavior is going to be hard to break. Is there anything else I can do? I have two goals: I would like to get her to be more friendly and not grunt or bite. I would also like to eventually bond her with my other rabbit (though this is not as crucial as the first).

 

[agnesthelion]

Here's what I would do.

I would seperate the two rabbits. I know they aren't bonded and can only see each other through a pen, but I would seperate further by putting her cage in a different room.

A lot of times what happens, is when a new rabbit is adopted and brought home they are scared already and feeling insecure and then when there is another rabbit at the new home AND a new human slave attempting to bond with them, it can be very overwhelming and bring out territorial behaviors and the need to protect her space.

If you move her to a seperate room this takes out at least one of the variables.....your other bun. She needs to have low stimulation at this point so she can start to feel secure in her new home.

To then form a bond with you, it's about time and patience.....and ignoring her . Let her out for free run in the new room, let her come out on her own. Do not reach in her cage to get her. Sit on the floor and read or watch TV but ignore her. You can offer treats since she is so food motivated but do not attempt to pet her just yet. You want her to get to the point where she will come up to you and trusts you not to "get her" just yet. This will slowly start to build her trust.

As she progresses follow your gut on when to attempt to pet her. Also, continue to respect her cage at this point by not reaching in to get her and also hopefully you can lure her back in with food so you don't have to put her in it either. Again, this is all about building her trust and her learning that you respect her, so to speak.

Again, it's all about time and patience. 3 weeks is still a pretty new bun in a new environment. As far as bonding with your new male bun, I would hold off until you build her confidence in her new home and bonds with you first. She sounds too defensive right now to be able to bond with another bun.

Best of luck to you. I hope things start to come around! By the way, how was she at the shelter? How long was she there and when was she spayed? Also, did you do a bunny date with your other bun at the shelter?

 

[existenziell]

I'm not entirely sure how long she was at the shelter, but a local pet store had picked her up in October (they do adoptions through the Humane Society but keep the rabbits at the pet store). She was spayed by the veterinary clinic where she was left so she was spayed before being handed over to the Humane Society. She acted the same with other rabbits and the staff at the pet store there. I knew going in that she was going to take a lot of work since she would grunt at me too when I pet her. I had been visiting the pet store for weeks and playing with her there. I did not take Hegel there for a meet because I figured that she would respond similarly with him until her behavior could be improved through lots of work and care.

I don't plan to bond her with Hegel until she becomes comfortable with me. I haven't even tried and try to keep them as separated as possible. I do have them in the same room but their cages are like 3-4 feet away from each other. I'll try putting her in a different room.

Also kind of an issue, but she doesn't like coming out on her own. She just kind of sits staring at the open door. Sometimes she does venture out. And she is really easy to get back in because she does do that herself after a bit.

Thanks for the input.

 

[missyscove]

What is her cage like? Is it on the floor? What's the floor outside of her cage like? My bunnies, for example, don't like solid floors but love their rugs.
To bond with my rabbits, I give them a portion of their pellets in their bowl in the morning and then have them eat the rest out of my hand throughout the day. You might start by sitting on the floor and feeding her out of a bowl close to you or putting pellets around you on the floor.

 

[woahlookitsme]

I really like the advice given already. I totally agree with all of it. She needs her own space and time. Let her get used to her surroundings and allow her to come out on her own. Definitely keep her away from your other bun. She is very much feeling protective and is giving all the signs of such. Open her door and ignore her. When you do this make sure you have time to just leave the door open for an hour or two or even more. Eventually when she feels comfortable she will explore but this will definitely take time.

 

[tonyshuman]

We have an aggressive rabbit. She's about 9 now, and was found as a stray and spayed around 3 yrs old. We think being unspayed for a longer period of time than most spayed rabbits and being a stray impacted her behavior. Hormones act on the brain and some of those changes don't go away after fixing.

Also, having been a stray she may have an attitude toward food that is aggressive. I have another rabbit that was underfed and poorly treated before the shelter got her, and she was terrified of hands for at least 6mo after I got her and is still possessive of food (5 yrs later).

For our aggressive bunny, we just know to be very gentle and work gradually with her. She gets "eye crusties" and when her first bond-mate passed, I became the one who would clean them off for her. She didn't appreciate it at first, but over time has come to enjoy being petted and having her eyes tended to. It took about 3 months of twice daily gentle grooming to get her used to me touching her. She will never be an easy bunny to hold for nail trims or other things, but we only pick her up when absolutely necessary and make nail trims as fast as possible. I try to take care of her upkeep with all 4 of her feet on the floor. This is easier with big bunnies and she's a nethie so it doesn't work as well, but I have found that for big aggressive bunnies you can trim the nails on both front feet by crouching over them while they sit on the floor.

There are a lot of good suggestions so far, especially just sitting in the room with her and letting her explore you without you reacting. I would definitely keep her and the other bun farther away for now, until she's a bit more confident in her space. Make sure she's comfortable with good traction flooring and a hidey box that you don't put your hands into. I try to take a nap lying on the floor with a new bunny in the room so that they see I am comfortable around them and they don't need to be afraid of me. I'd make sure to just sit in her area without seeking her attention for at least 15 min every day. It may take months but it should help. She may never be very comfortable because of her background--for our aggressive bun we know that if she's in her house, we don't put our hands in there--but it should help.

 

[existenziell]

Thanks everyone for the wonderful suggestions. I already moved her cage into our bedroom so she's now out of sight of the other bunny.

As for what type of cage she has, she has one of those large Superpet ones. It has a plastic bottom and two entries, one from the top and the other from the front. The front door just goes down and acts like a little ramp, of sorts. She does have a hiding place in there. I put an Oxbow bungalow in there, which she seems to really like. The outside of the cage is carpet.

 

[tonyshuman]

That's good. I think the housing changes will help, along with working slowly with her and giving her time.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We had a Netherland that was an absolute little monster--bite and draw blood for no reason whatsoever. It took 4 years to get him to the point where he wouldn't bite and started behaving like you would want a bunny to. I took to wearing gloves as I grew very weary of bleeding and band aids.