!!!!!OH NO!!!!!

[PixieMillyMommy]

I put Pixie in her cage after bringing her in from outside so she can get a drink and something to eat. I took her little ball and rolled it around to play with her and she followed it. Then she suddenly dug at me and scratched my hand really bad. And then she kept moving the ball with her nose. I dont know if she was trying to play with me, or if she was telling me "thats my ball, dont touch it". Please help. I dont want to have a greedy or aggressive bunny.

 

[PixieMillyMommy]

I also forgot to add that after she scratched me, I would pet her so she knew it was ok and everytime I would pet her, she would make a weird noise. :?

 

[naturestee]

Sounds like your girl is hitting puberty. She is getting a rush of hormones which is helping turn her from a baby bunny into a sexually active, territorial "teenager." None of my girls liked it when I put my hands in their cages when they were there, and they would sometimes get mad and grunt or smack my hand when I touched their stuff. It's actually pretty normal.

The wierd noise is probably a grunt or a whine. She is upset with what you are doing, probably because you were messing with her stuff and touching her when she's in her "safe space."

The best way to help this is to get her spayed once she is old enough- this will reduce the hormones that are making her territorial. Give her as big a cage as possible, and don't touch her or her stuff while she's in it. Let her have her space, and do all cleaning while she is out playing. This will make both you and Pixie much happier!

 

[PixieMillyMommy]

Ya, but I dont want her to be like this. I want her to be nice, so we can play together.

 

[PixieMillyMommy]

I cant imagine what will happen when I get Milly. :?

 

[naturestee]

Like I said, get her spayed and respect her space. She'll still love you and play with you, you just have to play by her rules a bit. This is totally normal.

 

[binkies]

There is nothing you can do about it until she she is spayed and her hormones calm down.

 

[naturestee]

Keep Milly separate- it's best to quarantine new bunnies in case of illness anyway. I don't recommend introducing rabbits to each other at all until they've both been spayed/neutered.

PixieMillyMommy wrote:

I cant imagine what will happen when I get Milly. :?

 

[PixieMillyMommy]

That was a grunt that she did. But, I thought "dont bite the hand that feeds you" would take place here, but I guess NOT. Then how can I play with her if she dont like me touching her toys. You know whats funny is I had a feeling she was being mean because I have a new kitten that went to play with her and she would get on top of the kitten, dig her hard, and make that grunt noise like she was mad. Why is she so mean? :X

 

[naturestee]

Don't be mad at her, this is totally normal animal behavior. Humans included. "Teenagers" of any species are hard to deal with! "Don't bite the hand that feeds you" is a phrase that humans use, not animals. And she didn't bite you, she just wants respect. That is HER stuff and HER cage and she thinks that she's going to have babies there eventually and she has to protect it for them. Pure, normal instinct.

 

[PixieMillyMommy]

When can I play with her then and why does she not know her name very good? I see lots of people call their bunnies and they come right to them. Everytime I take her out to play or let her run in the living room, I will try to pet her and she will run. Does she not trust me?

 

[PixieMillyMommy]

Yes, she did that when I touched her ball, but she dont when I reach in just to pet her. When I say her name, she dont come, but she will look around when someone says Pixie SOMETIMES.

 

[Flashy]

she probably responds to a certain tone of voice more than her name. To get her to respond to her name, you need to work REALLy hard with her, you can't just expect her to know it.

She sees the toy as hers, and you shouldn't be touching it. Imagine if someone went into your space and took something of yours without permission, bet you wouldn't be overly happy. She's just thesame.

If you want to play with her, try letting her out of her cage and then sitting on the floor and letting her come to you and play with you, as opposed to going to her.

She's behaving normally, so please don't get angry or upset, this is just how bunnies are.

 

[undergunfire]

When I first got Madilyn, my black Lionhead doe, she wasn't spayed and would grunt at me and lunge for my hands when I would try to get her to play with a toy. It's just natural for all animals to go through this.

When you get a baby bunny, you nred to expect that one day...the baby bunny is going to go through it's puberty and not be that sweet little bunny anymore. Spaying will help solve that problem.

Right now, Marlin (my 16 week old Lionhead) is going through his first stages of puberty and this is my first time experiencing it with a baby bunny....it can be scary and heart breaking to you at the same time.



Personally....I wouldn't bring another rabbit into the home until Pixie is spayed. She may smell Milly and that could trigger her hormones more and cause her to be frustrated and more aggressive. Before I bring a new rabbit into the home, I make sure all of mine are spayed/neutered first....they are more of a priority than a new rabbit.

 

[PixieMillyMommy]

" She's behaving normally, so please don't get angry or upset, this is just how bunnies are."


Im not mad at her, Im mad at what shes doing.

 

[undergunfire]

I am moving this to the Behavior section for you .

 

[seniorcats]

That's really normal rabbit behavior especially for a rabbit hitting puberty. Once you get another rabbit and IF they bond, Pixie may show little interest in having a human friend. I've found my rabbits prefer playing with their rabbit friends over playing with a human. From experience, I can tell you bonding 2 females is very difficult and in some cases, impossible. One of my rabbits came from a friend in Canada. My friend tried for over a year, every day to bond the 2 spayed girls (sisters) and they still fought. Your bunny may try and hump your kitten to show dominance. It's not uncommon. She may also circle the kitten repeatedly, leave lots of droppings and possibly spray urine.It's all very natural bunny behavior.

You best solution, and possibly only solution,to the aggression is spaying. Have you priced spaying with your local vets? WhereI live in Ohio, it's around $200 to $275 for a female.

http://www.rabbit.org/behavior/index.html

This page has a lot of really great articles on rabbit behavior, rabbit aggression and on bonding rabbits. I really urge you read the articles because they contain great information.

 

[SOOOSKA]

Hi, I agree with everything everybody has said.

Our sweet Daisy Mae will be 2 in a couple of months (and has been fixed)and she still grunts at me when I go into her cage. She also tries to box with me, she never bites though.

I take it Pixie is still young so I would assume her little nails are still very sharp, that's the one thing I noticed with baby bunnies they have very sharp nails. Have you clipped her nails yet? Now that Daisy Mae is older she doesn't scratch me as much actually hardly ever.

Daisy Mae will play with us but on her terms, we play ball with her, she will actually throw the ball at us and we roll it back to her, this will continue until she gets tired and wants to stop. On the other hand Wilbur & Jackie do nothing with us as they have each other. Once in a while they will let us pet them, but I still LOVE them so much.

Hopefully once you get her fixed she will settle down some what. Good Luck.

Susan:bunnydance:

 

[TinysMom]

She's not being mean. She's doing two things.

a. Showing dominance (which is normal)

b. Showing she wants to breed (also normal).

I have does that will live together and get along well - but when they want to breed - they'll chase each other and try to mount each other and take turns on being the top doe. Sure enough - every time I pick up the "dominant" doe and check her privates - she's ready to breed and that is why she's doing that.

One thing that really concerns me about lots of rabbit owners - not just you - is that they think rabbits think like people or that rabbits are "fun" pets that they can play with. Both of these thoughts are wrong.

First of all, rabbits don't think things like we think things. Oh...we might say things about the rabbit and attribute human thoughts and emotions to it - but most of the time - we're probably wrong. Rabbits have their own instincts and their own way of handling things....for instance - now that she's hitting adulthood - she's becoming territorial...which is the way does get. They HAVE to protect their territory and they HAVE to show dominance to others - in order to protect the area for their future kits. She doesn't know you're going to spay her. She has to protect things and keep them as "hers". This is all part of being an adult female rabbit (until she gets spayed and those hormones die down - and even then - she may still be a bit cage aggressive).

Secondly - rabbits aren't "toys" for us to pet and play with the way WE want. They're animals with their own feelings and preferences and stuff. There's an old saying about how you can call a dog and it will come - but call a cat and they'll say, "Take a number and I'll get back to you when I can..". In some ways, rabbits are like the cat....they want to play on THEIR terms..when they are ready to play. They even have certain times of day when they want to play (usually early in the morning and around sunset). The rest of the time - they sleep.

One thing I've learned with having over 100 rabbits - is that they are all individual and they all have their preferences. Some like me and will come to me when I call their names. Some tell me to take a number and they'll think about it - others will flick me off. Some of the sweet ones have their days when they want nothing to do with me and some of the not-so-sweet ones have days when they run up to me and I think, "What in the world happened?" cause they will rub up against me.

When you have a rabbit as a pet - you have a relationship on their terms. Yes, I do pick up many of my rabbits and I make them learn to be picked up so that if I have to give them medicine - I can do so.

Tiny is over 2.5 years old and I can probably count on both hands the times he has willingly come to me to initiate petting and stuff. Sometimes he'll let me pet him - other times - he wants nothing to do with me. Sometimes he will almost snuggle - other times - he flicks me off and will even turn down a treat 'cause he's mad at me.

I guess I'm trying to say that your rabbit is now acting like a rabbit...an adult rabbit. Love her as she is. Learn to work with her....to play with her on her terms. Let her know she's loved no matter what. When we first got Tiny - he was about 12-16 weeks old and I spent many many hours laying on the floor reading a book and hoping he'd come over and explore me and nudge me. I gave him time to show me how HE wanted to play (he didn't - but he did grow to like pets on his ears).

Learn how Pixie wants to be loved...and love her that way.

It will really all work out.

Peg

PixieMillyMommy wrote:

You know whats funny is I had a feeling she was being mean because I have a new kitten that went to play with her and she would get on top of the kitten, dig her hard, and make that grunt noise like she was mad. Why is she so mean? :X

 

[Flashy]

Peg's just reminded me that reading something like 'The Language of Lagomorphs' might be worthwhile.

It will help you see what a rabbit sees, and also how to communicate with them in their way. But be prepared to feel like a fool if you try it. I found it hilarious.