Bitten

[ChandieLee]

As I was re-filling Bailey's (my foster bun) bowl with pellets, she bit me... why? I was thinking, since she's not spayed, she may be getting a bit aggressive. Could this be it? Or is it something else entirely? All I know is that she bit really hard and I started bleeding on both sides of my finger. I started crying like a baby.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Well, our bunny Tony will do that sometimes and I think he thinks we are TAKING his food....

 

[jcottonl02]

I doubt she was trying to be aggressive. I would imagine she was sort of defending 'her' territory as such. I know occasionally when I try and take something out of Benji's hutch he sometimes growls and lunges at me...but he just pushes me out with his paws and his nose- he has never bitten me. But as yours isn't spayed maybe that's just adding that little extra aggression and sense of territoriality which would cause her to bite you.

Either way I think it might be linked to her not having been spayed. Or she might have just been in a grump and decided she wanted her space . Some buns are just like that I guess. Just try and occupy her with a big juicy piece of carrot or something whenever you go into her hutch- she can't bite you and the carrot at the same time!!!

 

[Flashy]

Whatever happens now, make sure you are not scared around her. Be very calm. If you get anxious and scared of her, she will pick up on that, and think there is a reason and need to be on alert, and will be more likely to bite again.

It might be you need to make adjustments so that this doesn't happen again, and basically so you are starting to work within her means and limits. It might mean wearing gloves, it might be that you need to feed her in a different way (maybe scatter feeding, or take the bowl out, refill and put it back, or it might be that you need a different type of food bowl, or maybe a treat ball would work well for her, and if you have two, you can just put a full one in, and then later remove the empty one).

It could be that she is not spayed, it could also be that because she is a foster bun, she has a history, and no one will really know what that fully was, and it may be her hisotry is making her react in this manner around food (like if she was deprived of food, or teased with food, or something). Just be patient and keep working with her.

 

[prince_and_thumper]

Thumper did that to me once, I also thought it was because he was not neutered. But I think it's just because I wouldn't let him out until I woke up more.

 

[Sabine]

I received my first rabbit bite by Raylann (spayed female) out of the blue. i was tidying the cage she shares with Benny and suddenly she bit my hand. No growling, no warning! I often tidy their cage whan they are in it and she never seems to mind much. I am still not sure what i did wrong that day:?

 

[slavetoabunny]

My foster, Snowball, is cage aggressive. The first time this happened, she lunged at my hand as I was pouring pellets into her bowl. I jerked my hand back and ended up cleaning up a bunch of pellets off of the floor. I have learned to put her in a carrier when I am cleaning her cage (i.e., messing with her stuff).

 

[Sabine]

I wonder is this more likely to happen with fosters (My Raylann came to me only three months ago from a rather neglectful home) than with bunnies that have been in the family since they were babies. All my other females have no problem with me messing with their suff

 

[irishbunny]

My bunny Princess used to be really cage aggresive and would bite me as soon as I touched anything that belonged to her in her cage. For some reason she stopped out of the blue and I can put my hand in now and take out her bowl without getting my hand bitten off! I have the best bond with Princess out of my three bunnies and when she first bit me I was really shocked that she would do that but really they are just acting on instinct and I learned not to take it personally, unlike humans they act on instinct and not logic, they aren't able to know that you aren't trying to take their stuff off them.

Getting her spayed could help with it but spayed buns can be cage aggresive too, the best thing to do is make sure she is out of the cage before you fiddle with anything in it or feed her. Usually outside of their cage they are their little loveable selfs because they don't ''own'' anything.

 

[tonyshuman]

Sounds like cage aggression to me. We have a couple of bunnies at the shelter that won't let you put any part of yourself into their cage. You have to gently pet them with one hand while you reach into the cage with the other. They're just very poorly socialized and don't trust people. With time, she will come to trust you when you treat her well. Being in a foster home is perfect for her to be more socialized--I wish our shelter bunnies could have that.