Agressive Doe

[marie_martin]

I have posted here in the past about my hollandlop doe. She was bred and became very aggressive toward me. Towardeveryone, but mostly me. My DH is the only one that can handle her. Shehad the one baby and it was overdue and did not make it. Not sure whathappened but I think it was born late and had matured too much. Notsure. But anyway, she is better now with DH, sometimes a bit testy, butbetter. But she wont let me near her cage. I am afraid of this littlebunny? Any suggestions? I do get DH to get her out and I hold her andeverything. She has never really taken treats from me out of my hand sothat is not really an option. I do give her treats when I come to thecage and as I lay it inside the door she jumps at me hissing. Not surewhat to do next. If she is going to be this agressive when not bred, Idon't know that I want to try again. Thanks for any help.

Marie

 

[ec]

I think spaying her would be the best - andkindest - thing you could do, along with understanding that herhormones are feeding the problem.

 

[marie_martin]

Can you tell me why you feel that I should spayher? I mean besides the obvious reasons thatsomeothershave given me? I understand there are rabbits inshelters and I don't take that lightly believe me. But I have looked inmy area and there are none available. I also want to raise and havehealthy happy rabbits as my pets, not ones that are discarded andprobably have not been taken care of. Not to mention that I am a veryresponsible person and I would like a real explanation of why my doecould be agressive? Could there be a reason? I mean if there is a validconcern and some problem that could be causing the aggression I want toknow? If I need to have her spayed I will. I would not risk her health.I raise registered nigerian dwarf goats and I can assure you that I cantake care of her and her babies should she have any. I just want toknow if there is some condition that would be causing her to be thisway? Why is it mostly toward me? Is it because I am a female? Can shesense that? Is it because she can sense that I am leary? Could shehave some hormonal condition that would make it a better ideafor me to spay her or is that just the standard answer here. I meanthis is a group of people who raise and breed rabbits is it not? Ireally thought I could come here and get answers. I have met a few ofyou and everyone seems very nice but I think that automaticallyrecommending that someone spay their rabbit is maybe not the nicestapproach. i was not offended the first time I asked a question and gotthis response, I tried to understand that you guys just want what isbest for all rabbits. But if I am going to get that same response toevery question, I guess I will have to look elsewhere for help. Thanks.



Marie Martin

 

[ec]

Hormonally-driven behavior ebbs significantly after spay/neuter. It really can help territorial/aggressive behavior decrease.

also, with female rabbits, you're dealing with all kinds of potentialreproductive system problems - ovarian and/or uterine cancer, pyometra(pus-filled uterus) and much more.

Seehttp://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Uro_gen_diseases/Bacterial_diseases/endometritis.PDF

and http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/spay.html

for starters; also here:http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rabrefs.html#spay

And from the Bunny 101 section on this board:http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12319&forum_id=17

I've seen and heard of too many bunnies whose owners gave up on thembecause they became hormonal (I've got one; she's spayed now). Also,sadly, too many bunnies who died of cancer, pyometra, etc. becausetheir owners either waited to spay or rescued too late to stop theprogress of these diseases.

 

[naturestee]

It's not too uncommon for intact female rabbitsto be aggressive due to hormones. This can be passed on toher kits, so it's generally not a good idea to breed her. Iknow some of the other breeders here such as Tinysmom breed forpersonality as well as physical appearance and usually will not breedaggressive does.

In my experience, rabbits that have not been mishandled but areaggressive benefit greatly from spaying. It tends to makethem less territorial and more calm. We recommend spay/neutera lot for aggressive rabbits because it does actually help alot. I'm sorry if you see that as offensive, but it's prettymuch a tried and true fact.

If you wish to continue breeding, I recommend buying a proven brood doewith a good personality from another breeder. This isgenerally a good way to start breeding rabbits anyway, especiallyholland lops which are prone to birthing difficulties.

 

[ec]

Also, a lot of people here are involved in rabbit rescue. Most folks here are pet owners and not interested in breeding.

 

[aurora369]

I would agree that if she's quite aggressive,then it may not be a good idea to breed her as there is a good chanceit could be passed on.

If you could find a reputable breeder that you could get a doe withgood personality to do your breeding from, that would be a good option.

I can understand wanting to raise your own animals. But ifyour girl is making you uncomfortable now, imagine having 4 or 5 likethat?

The agression may get better with age, but that's not guaranteed.

You should check out the threads EC provided for you on dealing with aggressive rabbits.

--Dawn

 

[ec]

Re. aggression and hormones, there are a lot ofthings that your girl can't help right now. That's one reason thattaking care of the root of the aggression will be helpful to her, andto you, too.

 

[TinysMom]

I just wanted to pipe in here with a couple of comments.

I have had 2 does that I consider really aggressive (three if you countMona Kea when she has a litter in the nestbox). The first one was MissBea. She was really terribly afraid and her aggressiveness was acage-aggressiveness. If I held her - she sort of snuggled into me.

My second one is a doe I got last year (Minnie)...and she's beenaggressive for a whole year almost. She is starting to settle downbecause I'm forcing her to let me pet her. She had a litter and theyturned out to be just the sweetiest things...one of my nicest littersfor personality. HOWEVER..once again...her aggressiveness was becauseshe was afraid...not so much because it was in her genes.

If her first litter had not been nice- I would not breed Minnie again.As it is, once she is a little more used to me, I plan to breed heranother time or two to help out one of my lines for type...and then I'mgoing to retire her and let her live her life out here as a pet (evenif she is mainly caged).

She is one of my rabbits that does NOT want to come out to play. Takeher out of her cage and put her on the ground - even alone in anexercise pen - and she totally freaks out. She HAS to stay in her cage.She likes her toys and she's happy - as long as she's allowed to stayIN her cage.

I am afraid that if I allowed someone else to adopt her - it would not be a good match. So I am keeping her.

I understand the desire to want to breed and raise your ownrabbits....trust me! I think you're a responsible person and will dothe right thing.

My only concern is...is your doe naturally aggressive because it is ather nature to be that way - or is she aggressive because she'sprotecting her cage or still scared of you (I don't remember how longyou've had her).

One of the very worst things I ever did was to breed Miss Bea a day orso after I got her. How THOUGHTLESS of me. She was adjusting tous....plus going through a pregnancy. Fortunately, with four of usworking with her- in less than a month she stopped being cageaggressive.

I guess what I'm saying is maybe before you breed this doe - get to know her a bit better.

To me, lionheads are usually easy going. I've heard some say they'revicious or they're no different than other breeds- so it could be thebloodlines I started out with or the way I choose to breed them.

I wish you luck in whatever you decide.

Peg