Resuced Holland is bitting REALLY hard, what can I do?

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toji53

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Over a month ago I resuced a male Holland Lop from an owner who had decided to release the poor rabbit outside because she no longer wanted him. I took him in and for a long time he was very sweet, only nipping at cloth ocasionally, never hands.

Well, I started to treat him with Romain and rabbit treats while I had him out of his cage, and he started to get really aggressive about it. He would bit bare skin, hands, and arms if he didn't get what he wanted. He's well fed but he's never satisfied, and if you don't feed him while he's out he gets mean. I decided to stop feeding him outside of his cage and tired a trick I was told about yelling loudly whenever he nipped. This didn't seem to work very well, and today when I reached down to pet him he atacked my hand, got a finger in his mouth and refused to let go for 5 seconds. It was extremely painful, but I managed to flip him and got my finger out. Unfortunitely he'd broken through the skin and I was bleeding. My 10 month of Dwarf/New Zealand mix has never bitten me, no matter how much he wants a rabbit treat.

I don't know what to do, this Holland has become so aggressive that I'm afraid to touch him. :(
 
Here's a picture of him. He's over 6 lbs, a big boy...

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I don't know if this suggestion will help, but I did find that when my rabbit became somewhat aggressive (rushing at me and attempting to nip) whenever my female rabbit was around, I began doing this: When he'd try to lunge and bite, either at myself or my dog or cats, I would pin him down to the ground by the shoulders, just putting enough pressure so he couldn't move. At the same time I'd tell him "NO!" forceably, and wouldn't let him up until he'd stopped struggling to get away. This helped a fair bit, as he learned to no longer nip...as soon as he'd begin his rush toward me (or the other pets) I'd yell his name and shout "NO!" and that would be enough to stop him. I also praised and pet him whenever he was being calm and well-behaved. Perhaps, when you are handing your bunny some food, try speaking gently and saying something like, 'easy...easy' when giving it to him, and if he does take it gently, then praise him lavishly for doing so, but always in a calm, gentle voice.

Another consideration too might be neutering - if he isn't already - to help tone down the hormones that could be causing part of the aggression. With surgery there is always some risk, but if you feel comfortable that you have a rabbit-savvy vet, you might want to consider it as an option. :)
 
He's not aggressive ALL the time, just some of it. He'll be really sweet for a half hour and then all of a sudden be all over your hands looking for food. He's not bitting because he scared or angry, and he'll crawl all over me even if he's not looking for food. But when he does start bitting it's 100% about getting something in his belly. If I do give him some rabbit food he'll eat it and settle down for a while, but I'm concerned about over feeding.
 
Does he have hay? Maybe having some hay stations around might help.

Rabbits are grazers, so they eat all the time and it's very important for them to have something in their tummy all the time.

Maybe if he has somewhere to find something to munch on, he won't bother you for food as much? And if he does come looking for food you can redirect him to the hay pile...

--Dawn
 
That's probably a good idea. If I had some hay out with him I could bring him over to it if he got nippy. Thanks for the idea!

 
No problem.

Do you have some litter boxes out with him? I normally put a big hand full of hay in my litter boxes and my guys will go sit in the litter box and munch on hay.

Timothy hay is good because it's high in fiber but lower in protien and calcium. Won't make them fat so they can have all the hay they want!

--Dawn
 
I have found that my bunny nips when she wants to get my attention, I don't really get nipped though. As for the yelling, you might try sucking on your hand, it makes a squealing noise that sounds like a bunny scream. Then loudly sniff at him (this tells him that you are mad at him), Push him away (not hard), and don't give him anymore treats. That is sort of what I do when I get growled at, my bunny tends to get cage-territorial.

Good Luck, I hope it is just that he has bad manners,

~Star~
 
My only concern with the hay thing is he'll most likely sit there and eat until it's all gone, no matter how much I have out. :shock:
 
If he sits and eats the hay till it's all gone, then give him more! The more hay a bun eats, the healthier they are.

I buy hay by the bale, and it's really cheap. About $14 for 90 pounds of hay. That would last one bunny a good year. Or you may be able to find a horse barn near you willing to sell you some hay for a good price, then you wouldn't have to buy the whole bale. Some feed stores will also sell half or partial bales.

I store my hay in a big rubbermaid bin, so it's easy to get to but doesn't make a mess.

You can try some bitter apple spray on your hands. You should be able to find that at a petstore. It's supposed to be for spraying on items you don't want them to chew on, very bitter tasting. Although some buns actually like the taste, so maybe you should test to see if he likes it before you put it on your hands?

Hot sauce may also work, but I don't think you'd want to be rubbing that all over you hands. Might be a bit uncomfortable.

--Dawn
 
He lost interest in the hay pretty quickly and decided my hands looks more appetizing. I tried putting some soap on them and that deterred him from biting. Instead he runs off flipping his heels. I don�t know if that�s really a solution, though.
 
has this bunny been neutered? if not, I'd definitely find a rabbit-savvy vet and get it done. That should help immensely with many of these behaviors - they sound very hormone-related, and the poor guy can't control that.
 
toji53 wrote:
Myonly concern with the hay thing is he'll most likely sit there and eatuntil it's all gone, no matter how much I have out. :shock:
Click to expand...
That's a good thing if he does. Bunnies should have free choice of hay and they need the fiber it provides.
 
I guess he perfers the taste of my flesh to my girlfriends because he'll ignore her and come after me! I'm not sure what to do, he only goes after my skin, never cloth like he used to. I guess I need gloves! He's really starting to scare me! :(
 
Thats so weird, my rabbit does the EXCACT same thing to my older brother. He is such an angel to the rest of us but will lunge, bite, scratch my brother. My brother is this big hefty football player and he's actually really scared of him to the point where he wont even touch him anymore!! Good luck!! Silvie & Phinn
 
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