New-ish bunny...how to stop attacks?

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chinmom

chinmom

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2007
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Location
Wheeling, West Virginia, USA
I placed a flemmie mixa fewmonths ago, and she was a sweetheart before she was placed. She was surrendered back to me with a terrible attitude. She was adopted by a family that had already adopted chinchillas; the daughter (13 years old, but VERY mature) adopted the chins, and her 11-year-old brother's hamster had died about a month prior to it. I had several rabbits at the time, and asked the mom if her son would be interested in adopting a rabbit. She was already mostly litter trained, so all they had to do was keep up with the training and she'd be in great shape.

The mom called me because they needed chinchilla supplies and said that Thumper would be coming back; her son wasn't paying enough attention to her, nor taking care of her. So I said it wasn't a problem, and went to pick her up.

Her attitude has completely flipped; any time I put my hand in there, she attacks it. I've been working with her on it, but nothing seems to be working. My arm is completely scratched up (not just little scratches, either...my arm has bruises and been bloodied) and I'm just about fed up with her. She's biting, too.Tonight I got tired of it, and covered her with a piece of fleece then took her out so I could change her litter, not that she uses it anyway.

So we've been working on litter training, but the attacks haven't gotten any better, and if nothing else, worse than before. I've gotten chinchillas used to human contact and have broken them of biting and scratching, but nothing is working on Thumper. Any ideas on what I could try? When I do get in her cage to do something and she DOESN'T attack me, I give her a craisin or two as a reward. It worked for about a day and a half, and doesn't work now.

So please, any ideas? I'm getting really frustrated with her...
 
I'm so sorry to hear that you're having trouble with Thumper after having her be brought back to you. How long has she been back now?

I don't know that I have any expert advice, but I'd just suggest to remain calm and patient with her. Being moved back and forth can be traumatic for any human - let alone any animal! And bunnies are so sensitive. It's possible that she's just not sure who to trust or where she belongs anymore. That would cause me to go clawing and biting - it sounds as though she's doing the same.

One of the biggest things I've learned is that bunnies bond on their terms - not ours. I know that Flashy had written an awesome bonding article that's in our library. I'd definitely consider searching it out and working on it.

Is it possible to let Thumper run free when cleaning her cage? Maybe she's a little cage aggressive and would do better being outside of her cage whenever you're reaching in. You can also try putting a treat such as banana or apple in her pen for her to eat in order to distract her when you're feeding or cleaning her pen.

I don't know if any of that will help, but I'd really urge you to not give up on her. I hope she'll come around - for your sake and hers. Good luck and keep us posted.
 
I would suggest cleaning her cage while she is out. I have the same issue with my foster Abner. He is very protective of his personal space and his food dish. I've learned to put my hand on him to hold while retriving the dish and putting it back in. I've warned his potential adopter about this. She was okay with it.

Also it may have to do with no being out enough. Perhaps give her some more time out sessions. I know it is not easy with many rabbits.
 
Just wanted to update...I put an aluminum feed dish in her cage (one that attaches on the inside), so now she can't really spill her dish, which means less time that I have to actually spend IN her cage cleaning up. I tried letting her out then straighten her cage, but as soon as she heard me messing around in there, she came barreling back. Her latest thing is to drag one of her fleece blankies into her litter box so it gets all nasty. But today was a huge improvement over her attitude the past week. I started giving her veggies again, and she will take cilantro directly from my hand, which is a plus. I think she's starting to associate treats or yummies with me messing around in her cage. The only other problem I've been having in the last 24hours is her peeing in the feed dish, so I'm just scooping it; I've done it twice today. I rearranged some things, too...switched the spots of her feed dish and water bottle. She is still peeing for the most part in her litter box, which is a good thing, but the whole urinating in her feed dish I think is just a little rebellion.

On a separate and somewhat terrible note, I had the door to Thumper's cage open yesterday, and she didn't want to come out, so I opened Georgie's cage to let him have some run time. He promptly jumped into her cage and they started attacking each other; I grabbed Georgie by the scruff (I know, not right) but I had no other choice...they were really going for blood. So I got them separated, but not before two bunny bites to my hand and a whole lot of pulled fur. They kept trying to fight through the bars of their cages, so I ended up covering Thumper's cage with fleece for about a half an hour while Georgie was running.

So far I'm not giving up on her, but if things start going downhill, I'm considering rehoming her to someone who has more experience with "mean" or aggressive rabbits. But I haven't come to that conclusion yet.

Thanks for all the help!
Annie
 
She honestly does't sound like she's "mean" - jsut confused, scared, upset, trying to acclimate to being moved again (how many places has she lived so far?), etc.

Something that's been helpful for my bun is this: having her own ex-pen "yard." It's attached to her cage and she can be out and about in it when i'm out and/or sleeping.

I wonder if it might be possible to do something similar? (Realizing that you've got other buns and that space is probably an issue...)

Time and love go a long way, overall - with humans, and with bunnies, too. :)

Edited to add: Has she been spayed?
 
No, she hasn't been spayed. The family that had her was going to get her spayed. I wasn't expecting to get her back,and my vet fund is practically zero right now after treating a separate rabbit for digestive problems, dehydration, and eye infections (I had to give her IV fluids 3 times a day, an antibiotic twice a day, reglan, propulsid, and eye drops), so she took pretty much all of the money that was in the rescue's vet fund. I just graduated college, and am trying to find a job, so money is somewhat of an issue right now.

She is a rescue; TSC had bunnies for easter, and she was sick...I get several calls around easter about sick or injured bunnies that can't be sold. So I took her in, got her better, and adopted her out. So she went from the breeder's to my place, then to the placement, then back here. So she's had four homes, I think.

I don't want to allow her out of her cage when I can't watch her...she's not completely litter box trained.

I think things are going better, but I'll keep you updated on her/my progress.
 
Reminds me of the rabbit we adopted at the request of my vet. In his case the previous owner was moving and couldn't take "Hasi" with her. He wasn't fixed, approx. 3 years old and used to being an inside rabbit with total run of the house.

So we adopted him. He was beautiful, not much on beingcuddled but that was ok. I considered thatmight comewith time. Didn't change anything for him as far as food, free run, etc. He settled in quicklyamong the other animals. (dogs and cats and another bun we had then)After he'd been withus about a month he gotso he would charge me when I went near their room. Not just his cage....but the door of the room where his cage was. At first he just charged me, but then he started to bite. Then it got worse, and he'd hop out into the hall and try to run off the cats, and the dogs and wouldnip them as well. Thankfully I have very forgiving cats and dogs.

One evening when I was making my rounds anddoing my nightly cleaning of the cat boxes Hasi lunged at me in the hallway and grabbed my ankle and took a nasty piece of me with him when I finally got him to turn loose. It wasn't the first time a small, cute bun had seriously biten me, but the fact that these precious creatures can inflict such wounds never will cease to amaze me.

After that, more often than not, I had to take the approach that some of you have mentioned above. I would make sure he was in his cage while I cleaned the rabbit room...then let him out and close off the rabbit room so I could clean his cage. Thing was he wasn't consistant with this behavior. There were times when he roamed around here not bothered by any one or thing near or inwhat he considered his room. But suddenly, or so it seemed, he'd walk up and do a little circle and grab my ankle. Wearing socks around here became a "must" and longer pants stopped him from making direct contact.

I think I always figured he suffered from some anxiety over something. But could never put my finger on what that "something" might have been. He couldn't have asked for a better new home than the one he got. He was never alone, and had toys to play with...he loved toys. He played and chased with the cats and the dogs could care less....;) He was a healthy rabbit and we never stressed himbecause ofvet visits, or medication. We never gave up on him, but he sure had a "dark side" that made me very cautious around him. He probably sensed that in me, and took advantage of it thinking he would one day truly run "me" andthe house. :p
 
I do understand about your financial situation, but... spaying should help this girl a lot. I'm sure a lot of her aggressiveness (protecting her food and space) is directly related to hormones.

It can take some time for them to dissipate post-op, but I'd bet $ that she'll settle down considerably. I know it can't be easy, but please try to keep in mind that she is actually doing what rabbits of her age are *supposed* to do, in that her instinctual reaction to protecting her territory is part of her mom - and prey animal - wiring. (Even though there are no babies.)
 
I agree with EC, I have seen does do a complete turn around after being spayed. It does take a while, though. Have you tried asking your vet about payment plans? Make sure you mention this is a rescue rabbit. If your vet won't take payments, mabye start putting back a little, even if it's just a few cents at a time. Also, some rescues/shelters will offer low cost spay/neuter programs.
 
Just wanted to update!

Thumper is doing MUCH better! She hasn't drawn blood in about a week, and has calmed down considerably. Her latest thing to get on my nerves is digging out her litterbox. She kept moving it around, so I got her a large plastic box that covers the width of her cage. But I did the treat thing, and I thinked it helped. I started putting a small amount of oats in the palm of my left hand while I was working in her cage with my right. At first she would take a bite then go after my hand, but now she just eats the oats and lets me do whatever I need to get done.

My vet (and the only one remotely close to me that treats rabbits) broke her shoulder, so she's not doing surgeries at the moment. There is another vet in practice with her, but she's treated mainly large animals (cows, horses, some dogs and cats), and I don't completely trust her with my small animals. My vet has treated all of my chinchillas and rabbits, and I trust her. I'm waiting until she is doing surgery again before I have her spayed.

Thanks for all of the kind words and suggestions!

~Annie
 
Thumper is scheduled to be spayed in a few weeks. Doc's shoulder has finally healed enough that she has started doing minor surgeries in larger dogs and cats. She had several patients waiting for surgeries, so she's just trying to get caught up now. Once she does, Thumper will be going in for her spay.

Her behavior has drastically improved, though. She isn't scratching as much or as hard now. She is still digging out her litterbox, but I've kind of remedied the problem by putting plexiglass around that part of her cage. It still makes a mess out of her actual cage, but my floor stays a little cleaner now.

Thanks again for all of the suggestions; I really appreciate it!
 
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