Am I the only one who's having a bunny that likes to bite?

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LiRa92

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Kota Kinabalu, , Malaysia
Hi fellow bunny breeders! It has been a long time since the last time I posted anything. Been busy finishing my last semester as a pastry student. Hehe. So yeah... My bunny likes to bite now. I just couldn't understand why does he bites almost every time I feed him. He once bit me until my finger bleed, and recently he bit me at the side of my palm and I got a small bruise in light purple-ish color. 3 days ago, he "punched" two small holes that looked like a snakebite on my right wrist. He made me cry most of the time. It hurts a lot. Despite my hurting parts of my hand, I still love him like I always do. But does that mean that my bunny hates me? and the real question is, am I the only one who's having a bunny that likes to bite?
 
Could you explain what is happening when he chooses to bite you? For instance, is it when you are trying to feed him? or what is happening at the time?

Also do you know his age and is he neutered?
 
I would try picking up his bowl when you feed him and not being in his space when you do. Like for instance we usually just add the feed right to the bowl in the cage but some rabbits are territorial about their food bowl OR they want you to just move or hurry up. To alleviate this you can pick up the bowl from his space add the food and then put it back down.
 
:blushan: I just re-read and saw that you did say it was when you are feeding him. Is that the only time he does this?

I'd suggest then that you put the food in his cage when he is out for his exercise. Just avoid reaching in with his food when he is in his cage.
 
My rabbit just bit me when I reached my hand into her cage. She is very cage aggressive. I have to sweep her cage when shes out of it because she'll attack the broom, I have to distract her on one side of the cage while I put food in the other. Once shes out of the cage, shes great. But her cage is HERS and she doesn't like me in it.

If you rabbit is not neutered, it may help to get him neutered. Also like has been said, try picking up the bowl or feeding him while hes out of the cage. I would try not to put my hand in the cage if he's in it, that will upset him and he'll probably bite.
 
Sounds like "hutch aggression". Don't really want to let it go on as they will learn to bite to get their way. I usually will grab them up, roll them on their back and pin them like an "alpha" rabbit will do and hold them in that position for awhile. Only had to do it a couple of times, and now, I'm bite and blood free.
 
You need to be the alpha. If you don't want to flip him, you can hold his head down slightly for half a minute. Repeat each time he's aggressive until it stops.
 
Sorry for this late reply. Thanks for the advices! I think he hates it when i touched anything that belongs to him. Previously he bit me when I was reaching for his wiffle ball. He's so aggressive showing his teeth and going for my fingers when I try to stick my fingers inside his cage! :bunny24

oh yeah! and he's about 10 months old. his not neutered. a male bun2. :)
 
We had a Netherland who was a nasty piece of work. She would lunge and bite everyone. I was worried that she was going to get the baby, so I trained her to deal with me putting my hand in the cage.

This required a heavy glove, and me putting my hand in her face, and not pulling away when she went for me. Then AFTER she'd lunge, I'd push her head down. I kept doing this for about 3-4 days, and she finally got to the point where I (and only me) could feed her, or even pet her in her cage. She still growled at me though, but didn't lunge. And that's all I wanted out of her.
 
LiRa92 wrote:
Sorry for this late reply. Thanks for the advices! I think he hates it when i touched anything that belongs to him. Previously he bit me when I was reaching for his wiffle ball. He's so aggressive showing his teeth and going for my fingers when I try to stick my fingers inside his cage! :bunny24

oh yeah! and he's about 10 months old. his not neutered. a male bun2. :)
Neutering should help calm the aggression.
 
I bought him from a bunny breeder, she had this small pet rabbit shop. and that was in the month of January this year when I brought my bunny home. He was a month old during that time. When he was about 3 months old, my bunny got sick that he could not lift his own body nor moving his feet. and he was suffering from diarrhea too. I took care of him day and night. When he got better he started to eat more than he usually did. He's extremely aggressive. He eats everything in front of him. I've been treating him like a baby. Petting him while I'm watching TV. I gave him more attention compared to my other bun because I really want him to fully recover. Two months later my mother and uncle started to complain that Poe (my bunny that we are talking about) bit their fingers. I was surprised. Poe never bit me before. So I thought maybe Poe needs more attention. A few more months later, Poe bit me for the first time and my finger bleeds. But that was because I clipped his nails and I know he hates grooming. A few weeks later he started biting when I feed him or when I touch his things. It happens more often as he got older.
 
It sounds like being separated from mom so early in life hasn't been good for his behavior. He needs to be taught that biting is not nice, something that mom would have taught him if they were together longer.

Also that breeder really needs to be more educated. Rabbits are weaned from milk to solids at 3-4 weeks of age. To be removed from your mother at that age is very stressful. We condone weaning at 6 weeks but only once have actually done it and it was a specific breeding for a friend. One of them did not survive. That baby should have really been with mom for another month. I usually don't comment on things like that but separating at 4weeks of age and being a breeder myself I find it rather disgusting
 
My sister keeps them with momma 8-12 wks, they're usually VERY well adjusted temperament wise.
 
My guy is a biter and I have the scars to prove it (have you heard you flesh crunch like lettuce, because I have!). However he is much better with it.

He bites as a way to let us know he's pissed. He likes a chest snuggle, but suddenly he'll turn his head and bite your shoulder or neck. He purs and the moment he stops you need to put him down. He doesn't exactly give much warning to let you know cuddles are over.

If you sit on our couch, talk to him a little, or he'll lunge out from under the couch and go for your ankles. This is avoided by just letting him know you are there and not some big, bad beastie. We usually just say, "Hey Bizbiz, mind if we take a seat?"

He used to bite all the time, happy or grumpy. We realized we have a particularly aggressive rabbit. You could be walking across a room and he's dart out and chase your feet, honking and biting the whole time. Then retreat with binkies and ear shakes. It's still hard to get us into the habit of "yipping" to let him know it hurts. Human reaction to bunny bites is usually a very natural swear versus an unnatural squeal that the bunny understands.

He used to draw blood and cause very bad and deep wounds at first, but now he basically gives you a good pinch or graze. Maybe someday he'll be over it or we'll be able to understand his desires more.
 
My lil girl Lila bites! She bites soo hard and I usually bleed and it leaves a mark. With my male rabbit Charlie, he doesn't bite but he nibbled which is really cute :)
 

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