Mean bunnies! :(

[dwkirch]

Hello, my girlfriend and I recently lost our rabbit Hero, this July. We adopted an already spade female rabbit and purchased a male. We have had them both for a little over 2 months. The female(Kloe) hated the male(Charley) when they first were acquainted, but after a week they became pretty good buddies and are still so to this day.

The problem, is that Charley(he isn't fixed) will let us hold him, and while we are cuddling him, he will randomly out of nowhere viciously try(and sometimes succeed) in biting either our faces, or other parts of our exposed skin to the point of bleeding sometimes. I need help in trying to get him to stop this behavior without having to fix him, since I do not have the funds at the moment, and I worry about him being put to sleep and not waking up from the surgury.

The female has always been wary of us, and will only usually accept pets in the morning and occasionally during the day. She settles in(i'm not sure if it is because she is scared or enjoying pets) if she accepts the pets, otherwise if we even try to touch her she runs and freaks out. She really freaks out if we try and pick her up, but once she is in our laps she is usually calmer, even though I can tell she is still stressed.

Can anyone help me get my bunnies to love me?? Or will they always be this way? =(

The female is a Holland lop, and the male is a Netherland dwarf.

Thank you in advance!!! ray:

 

[RoscoTheRat]

I wouldn't worry too much about putting him under. I doubt something will go wrong. :/

But a neuter may calm him down a bit.

I have a nippy bunny (she's about 7 and unfixed). She has never done is aggressively though, but many rabbits nip to tell us something. Mine either wants more pets, less pets, to be put down or to be left alone. He could be telling you something... or he could just be untrusting of you?

 

[Bunnylova4eva]

^^Give him treats while you're holding him. That usually calms them down..
Then again, i had a rabbit {Charlie

 

[Nancy McClelland]

That's usually a tell that they want down. Definitely get him neutered--with the males it's way less invasive of a surgery and they don't have to put them under as deep. We've had 12 done with no problems. The only rabbit we ever had this problem with was also a Nethie, but time and patience overcame.

 

[Maureen Las]

Neutering /spaying DEFINITELY decreases aggression in most rabbits....

It is important to find a vet who has done a lot of rabbit surgeries successfully. Once you get that their is reallyminimal risk. Experience with rabbits is #1

http://rabbit.org/faq/sections/vet.html

We have few vets in kansans in our 'rabbit saavy " list ( info from previous members of forum )

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=11603&forum_id=9

 

[OneTwoThree]

You need to get him neutered and stop trying to hold/cuddle him. Rabbits who like to be held are the exception, not the rule.

 

[piperknitsRN]

As others have said, most bunnies don't generally care for being held--it sets off their instinctual fear of being carried away as prey. Try interacting with your bunnies on their level--on the ground! And agree with the others, please neuter your bunny and also, you might have him checked out prior to make sure there isn't something physically wrong with him causing him to be grumpy. This does sound like hormonal aggressiveness, though.

 

[funnybunnymummy]

It's important to teach rabbits to learn to be handled. Sometimes you just HAVE to pick them up: to clip their nails, at the vet, in an emergency. A rabbit that can't be handled, can't be helped.

However, when it comes to socializing and bonding with your rabbit, that happens on their level--the floor. If they choose to hop up into your lap or onto the couch for pets, let that be their choice.

Young rabbits can be very nippy. That's one of the ways they communicate with other rabbits. There are a number of ways to deal with it. Squeal, say "NO!", pin him down, or put him in a time out. I've found the latter worked well for Gus.

There's a really good thread on bonding with your bunny here: http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=33921&forum_id=48. Read it over. Maybe you'll get some ideas?

Hope that helps!

Rue

 

[MILU]

Yes, I agree with Bunnylova4eva, if you give good treats and hold and pet your bunnies while you do it, they'll know you just want to be their friend. My 2nd bunny didn't care about me when he came home, I thought he hated me but soon it all changed. Try to pet them very gently on the top of their head, around the ears... they like it. Also, try to stay always close to them, talk nicely to them (even if they pretend they don't care, they *are* paying attention). One more good point is that I never let my bunny caged, he was free to go wherever, and soon he only wanted to follow me everywhere at home.. haha I think a bunny won't like you much if you make him a prisoner and don't let him exercise/run as much as they need... Well, I hope it works for you!

Btw, I've just checked the link posted on the comment above and it's wondeful!! You must check it and try all the options there, they'll certainly be useful!

 

[dwkirch]

Alright, thanks for everyone's input! We have an appointment for Charley's(Male) "hormonal sources" to be removed on Friday, haha. I will start holding treats so they have to eat them near me instead of just letting them take it and run and hope that that helps. They do go crazy and run/jump all over me in the morning when I am pouring cereal so I always have to give them a couple pieces otherwise they are cranky, haha. I hope his procedure goes alright! I heard they become sweethearts after the surgery, I drop him off Friday morning and get to pick him up after work! Hopefully Kloe(Female) starts to be less skiddish over time, I will resist the urge to cuddle her, even tho she is super adorable.

 

[dwkirch]

I guess I should mention, Kloe is almost 2 because we adopted her. Charley is about 6months old or so.