behavior is bad....

[changeme4]

hi there. im new to this blog and ofc a little new to a bunny.. i have baught anew bunny a few months ago..her name is thumper. of course i have done resecrh and more... but what i dont understand is her behavior... over the past few weeks, i have moved from a place to place... knowing it may not be comforting for her.. thinking now it may not have been.... over the past few days she has gotten aggressive with me,by my touch, and when i try to grab her bowl to put feed in it. i give her treats and plenty enough water for maybe weeks even, but shes been eating and drinking way to much.. she bites me deeply hard and i remember someone saying to yelp or make a noise to tell her that's not good.. which i have, but its to the point where im bleeding now.... is it just spring time? or is their something im ever doing wrong... anyone care to answer please? really love her and try to keep her attached to me, let her roam freely around my room.. she just has gotten this bad attitude.. thank you
(pics of thumper) isnt from the outside, raised in a cage with her brothers and sisters.)
at this point i do have a new leash for her to roam outside with me for a few hours, at the time i had to use a phone cord which was only 2 days.)

 

[Mariam+Theo]

Welcome to the forum! She is a very pretty rabbit! It is very likely that she is getting all those female hormones that come to animals during the spring. It would be best to get her spayed (if she has not been spayed yet) because that will calm down her territorial habits and prevent her from getting cancer. When she bites you, you can also press her head to the floor. It is how mom rabbits punish baby rabbits in the wild.

 

[changeme4]

i havnt gotton her spayed just yet. but i will be sure to do that. and sometimes after she bites me and i lift my hand she presses her head down as if she wants to be pet on the head. maybe in as ''im sorry'' or so like a dog would do when their bad.. but ill be sure to get her spayed. thank you

 

[Preitler]

It is how mom rabbits punish baby rabbits in the wild.

No, they do not. I would say it's more an affront, like being humped from the wrong side.

As I see it:
Putting the head down does not mean "Im sorry". More like "show me that you accept that I'm the boss, groom me now!"
Rabbits don't have that concept of doing wrong, what they do, they do it because it's the right thing to do. That's very different to dogs, for example. So punishing a rabbit imho is between pointless and counterproductive.

It's more complicated than one gesture or behaviour can be explained in one sentence, there's quite some context too. You've got a hormonal adolescent there, I would ignore those "attacks". And do all the grooming and petting that is demanded. Gloves help if necessary.

And that idea with the phonecord has the potential to become a deadly trap from one second to the next

 

[helena]

Welcome to the forum! She is adorable! You had said she's eating and drinking too much @changeme4 . You should be giving her as much water as she wants and as for food each day, give her 1/4 cup pellets, 1-2 cups of fresh veggies (make sure you don't give citrus foods or anything bunnies shouldn't have), and as much timothy hay as she wants. She should always have access to water and timothy hay. Another thing that might help is not picking her up. Some bunnies really don't like that. To help bond with her you could try feeding her the treats out of your hand, sitting quietly in a room while she runs around (if she comes up to you pet her but don't go after her), or if she lets you, pet her for a while. Bunster (my bunny) loves being petted on her head .

 

[changeme4]

No, they do not. I would say it's more an affront, like being humped from the wrong side.

As I see it:
Putting the head down does not mean "Im sorry". More like "show me that you accept that I'm the boss, groom me now!"
Rabbits don't have that concept of doing wrong, what they do, they do it because it's the right thing to do. That's very different to dogs, for example. So punishing a rabbit imho is between pointless and counterproductive.

It's more complicated than one gesture or behaviour can be explained in one sentence, there's quite some context too. You've got a hormonal adolescent there, I would ignore those "attacks". And do all the grooming and petting that is demanded. Gloves help if necessary.

And that idea with the phonecord has the potential to become a deadly trap from one second to the next

The phone cord is just to have when I take her outside. I do have a little leash and I’m planning on getting kinda a “doggy house” just to let her be able to sit outside and eat the grass under her with being able to sit in a comfortable place where no birds or nothing can get her. So she could have outside time. I have changed that situation. And yeah. I figured as much the demanding part and not the “I’m sorry” like a dog would.

 

[changeme4]

Welcome to the forum! She is adorable! You had said she's eating and drinking too much @changeme4 . You should be giving her as much water as she wants and as for food each day, give her 1/4 cup pellets, 1-2 cups of fresh veggies (make sure you don't give citrus foods or anything bunnies shouldn't have), and as much timothy hay as she wants. She should always have access to water and timothy hay. Another thing that might help is not picking her up. Some bunnies really don't like that. To help bond with her you could try feeding her the treats out of your hand, sitting quietly in a room while she runs around (if she comes up to you pet her but don't go after her), or if she lets you, pet her for a while. Bunster (my bunny) loves being petted on her head .

Thank you. That was MUCH of a big help! I now see I’m feeding her to much pellets and not enough hay! So I will switch that around.

 

[Blue eyes]

How old is she? Rabbits under 4-6 months get to eat more pellets because they are still growing. They also should not get that many greens until they have been slowly introduced to them over a period of time.

I cannot see that leash very well but it should not be around her neck. (This is extraordinarily dangerous if it is.)

 

[changeme4]

How old is she? Rabbits under 4-6 months get to eat more pellets because they are still growing. They also should not get that many greens until they have been slowly introduced to them over a period of time.

I cannot see that leash very well but it should not be around her neck. (This is extraordinarily dangerous if it is.)

She is about 7 months maybe 8. And the “leash” was a phone cord when I took thoes photos. Now she has a leash and vest so I can let her out in the front yard. When she’s out back I just have to lock the dogs up. And let her roam free. The phone cord is no longer a thing. It was only for a few days.

 

[Blue eyes]

Some of the vests are not really safe either.

Check the following thread on this topic.
https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threads/rabbit-harness-good-idea-or-not.95782/#post-1121545