behavior differences in male and female

[Catherine]

What are your opinions on whether a buck or doe makes a better pet? Or is it an individual thing?

Catherine

 

[LadyBug]

i have a little boy. he's a Holland Lop and almost 6 months old. he was miss-sexed at the pet store, thus i took home what was supposed to be a girl and about a month ago found out it was a girl. he's an absolute love(although i think we can thank the breeder for that to some extent). he's even been know to 'hug' my leg when i have a specific pair of heather gray knit pants on(VERY cute. lucky for y'all i got a pic of it! i'll post it as soon as we get that roll of film developed.). he loves the cats, small children as long as they stay fairly quite, and isn't bother by any noise. he's the best first bun i could have asked for. and even though he's not the little girl i wanted, i wouldn't give him up for any thing. so, i guess you could say i'm biased, but i love little boys. i'm sure girls are great too, and i hope some day i''l be able to have one. some of it is definitely temperament and how much they where handled when they were small thought.

Anna

 

[pamnock]

This is a wide generalization, but does tend to be more territorial and more aggressive than bucks.

Pam

 

[ec]

If your bun is spayed/neutered, I truly think it's a tossup, depending more on individual personality than anything else...

 

[trailsend]

I agree it has a lot to do with personality - and the individual bun. Most of my friendliest, laid back buns are boys, but I think it's just their personalities, not because they are boys. I have lots of super girls too

 

[XxMontanaxX]

I've heard that boys make the best pets. But I have both genders and I say its an individual thing, based on personalities, just like everyone else.

 

[Starina]

My lady is a little pushy. I think it comes from the fact that does are born to be mothers. They are dominant and like to be the boss, which you gotta be with kits who want to get into all sorts of trouble. I wouldn't trade her for anything though.

~Star~

 

[BlueGiants]

As Pam said, it's a generalization, but if someone has never had a bunny before, I usually recommenda boy, (and getting him neutered). They tend to be a little more laid back.The girls tend to be more aware of their surroundings, more alert and more territorial. That being said, I love my girls. They are more active and once they bond with you, I think they are more affectionate.

But there are exceptions and before anyone gets a companion rabbit from me, Igive heavy considerationto an individual bunny's personality.

 

[Lias_ark]

As a breederI feel bucks on the whole make better pets. Does when they hit sexual maturity can get NASTY. Tom cats make better pets. In horses geldings are easier to get along with then mares. JMO

 

[Hayley411]

I think that males are by far the best for a pet, I think they tend to be more laid back and calm but also more friendly and playful ( I know I am contradicting mysef but its true). Female once they reach their "teenage" years become very territorial and tend to regress on the litter training where as all the boys that I have had have been great examples of a litter trained rabbit andthey have never spayed anywhere contrary to popular belief that all males spray. So after all that I think boys are the best rabbits.

~Hayley~

 

[Pipp]

My girl Pipp is totally bonded to me, she plays with me, grooms me, tries to sleep with me (I outweigh her by 140 lbs or more, so not a great idea). She's very territorial and beats the crap out of the cats if they come in our room.

My boy Dillis friendly (and curious) as all get-out, he greets people at the door, paws at your leg, LOVES his pets, he thinks other rabbits are cute (he hasn't noticed that he's a rabbit, too, and may well be a little person in a bunny suit). He will nip you if you don't behave, or if you're in his way, or you're holding him... but he only stays mad for a couple of seconds and never breaks skin.

His pet bunny, Sherry, is a territorial terrorist who is obsessed with patrolling her area (the house) and going after any other bunny she considers to be trespassing (everybody but Dill). But she's warmed up to me, comes when she's called and loves to bepetted, too. She will still grunt, lungeand/or box at times, butdoesn't bite.

Radar(a mutt) is a very docile boy, he's a little shy and not too bright, but sweet. His gf Darry (mini-lop), has drawn blood, she doesn't like handsvery much. Or arms, legs, torsos or heads for that matter. But shetolerates us. She doesn't hide, just ducks.

My two foster girls are very docile.They don't want to come out of their pen,they won't fight with other bunnies throughthe bars, and don't seem territorial at all. Although when I separated them from their ailing brother -- who was the friendliest of the trio to humans, but also the most aggressive (barely) to other bunnies -- they wouldn't let him move back in.

Conclusions? Beats me.:dunno

I guess the boys are friendlierand the girls more territorial, but if you bond with a girl, and you're her territory, you are so in.

Dill and I were bonded, too, until the interloper showed up (Sherry :X), but I think Dill willbond with anybody (or anything), so hard to say what effect his maleness had.

THis probably doesn't help.

Back to work!!

sas :whistling

 

[Bunny Mum]

Our girl bun was high maintenace until she was desexed, then oh so placid loved being handled where before hand she would hide from you if she saw you coming and no chance at catching her.

My other buns were all boys all neutered but i do think it is DEFINATELY a bit of personality to boot. Two of my boys continued to be alittle fiesty out of their comfort zones and the other two just kept well clear of any nonsense and were easily picked up and cuddled. Who knows.

I am looking forward to some new buns soonafter losing nearly all my babiesso am looking forward to seeing if sex plays a part or whether it is just personality.

.

 

[jcottonl02]

I can't speak from experience on both parts, as I have two boys, however I can say that they are both the most loving little guys.

They groom me constantly, and play with things that I leave around. When I see them in the morning or after school they get so excited, run round in circles and lick me like crazy.

When we are watching tv, they hop around the floor for a bit, then leap onto the sofa and squidge up next to me and lie with their little eyes half closed and their feet sticking out behind them.

I have heard that males are laid back and calmer, and my boys seem to agree with this!! My friend has a female rabbit that will growl whenever you go near her to pick her up, when their male rabbits are much more laid back.

However- it is a lot to do with personality, I think. And how they are handled as babies. It's really up to you; I think that, unless you are very unlucky, whether you get a male or a female they will be your precious baby who will love you lots and ask for huggles constantly!!!!

 

[ec]

I have a very affectionate, outgoing (spayed) girl who loves to play (by herself and with me), and also enjoys being petted, snuggling, etc. and will groom me (as long as I give her enough head pets!) She was a "teen" and extremely bossy when I first brought her home, but as she's matured, she's mellowed out a lot while still being quite adventurous and full of "bunnitude." And I wouldn't have it any other way!

One of the reasons I'm metioning all this: I wanted to choose a rescue bun based on personality, and that's the main reasons I ended up adopting her. The shelter staff were right in their assessment of her temperament, though there were some things - mainly the "teen" craziness - that they didn't see, because of her environment at the rescue. (She was in a shelter, as opposed to being fostered in someone's home.)

Yet I've seen folks on this forum swear that female buns *never* do any of the positive things I just metioned. My guess: they might be basing their ideas on:

1. being around unspayed and/or young, feisty buns

and

2. that it's an individual thing - about personality rather than traits that are related to gender per se.

Just my .02-worth!

 

[tonyshuman]

since a pet rabbit should be altered (spay/neutered to prevent accidental litters), i agree with what others have said about the genders not really mattering. i think each rabbit has its own personality, and it's independent of gender. for example, my girl bun is very sweet, but extremely shy (i have only had her for a month though), and my boy bun is a little sassypants! he can be a real jerk sometimes. however, he can be sweet when i'm cuddling with him and the girlie can be mean if i'm standing between her and the food dish. if you meet with a rabbit and interact with it for a little while, you can get an idea of its personality. most shelters will give you some time to get to know a bunny when you go to adopt.