Bunny Behavior after spay

[Antha]

When my rabbits do get spayed (I plan to, they are just not old enough yet), will they be more affectionate toward me? They like me, but they won’t let me pet them no matter how I approach them. They like to climb on me and put their faces right up to mine. They eat out of my hand. When I come to the cage door they run up to it (probably because they think I’m bringing food or letting them out to play, but whatever &#160. 

Neither is aggressive or mean at all. I just wonder if some of their fear has to do with being so young (they are 3 months now; had since they were 5 & 6 weeks old). I would be fine if they never liked to be picked up, since that goes with the territory, but is there any chance that when they are older they will be more calm and affectionate, or if they are spayed at 4-6 months they will be more calm and affectionate? Just curious. I love them regardless.

One other thing: every so often, 1 of the bunnies sneezes. Is this normal or could she be sick? It’s not too often, just occasionally, but the other one has never sneezed so that makes me wonder.

[tanlover14]

Hey there,

It really depends on the rabbit. My girl was terrified of everyone and everything before her spay – she would cower in fright whenever we would come near her. Which was really hard to watch as we have never done anything to hurt her. After her spay, she was a lot less terrified and would come and check us out specifically on her terms. We got her to begin letting us pet her by bribing the pets out of her with treats. We would hold the treat in our hand so she would be forced to eat it out of our hands and then slowly rub her back (and then eventually her head) while she munched on a treat. She eventually began seeing this as a positive thing and we can easily pet her now although she’s not cuddly or likes to sit still in the least. She will come up and flop down next to me though although petting while she lays is usually off limits also and she will move if you try. Haha. I will suggest some information from an article that we read right before my girls spay – I personally think it helped us and maybe it will help you also! I can’t find the article at the moment but I remember it talked about being the “healer” after the spay. Spending lots of time with your girl and letting her know you are there to help her. Helping her through this difficult time will help her learn to trust you as you are comforting her in her time of pain. So what we did – I would sit outside her cage (as for the first few days you don’t want them to move around a lot) and just talk to her, read, and just BE there. Every so often I would try and entice her with veggies. As soon as she took a few bites I would continually try hand feeding them to her (to help her see me as a positive help to her). We spent SOOO much time with her, just talking and being close to her, during her spay and I think it helped her view us as trustworthy. It can’t hurt to try!

Also with the sneezing – do you see any discharge around her nose when she sneezes? I was terrified of buns sneezing as it CAN indicate something wrong. So when I got my fourth bun and he sneezed, I had a slight heart attack. Talked with our vet, as long as their is no discharge then either the bun could be prone to sneezing sometimes OR theres just something such as dusty hay, food, litter, whatever that is causing the sneezing reaction every so often. If you do see discharge though, particularly anything not clear – schedule an appt immediately with the vet!

[Antha]

Thank you for the suggestion. I fully intend to follow your advice of being the “healer” after their spay. Sounds like it’s a good thing regardless of the outcome. They’ll need extra attention after their alteration and I’ll also feel better keeping an eye and them and making sure they are okay, so if they begin to trust and like me more as a result, it’s a bonus!

No discharge around the nose. Glad to know that it could just be a sneeze. I’m going to have them checked out soon at the vet anyway, just to make sure they “are who they say they are” (female rabbits).

[Sarita]

Moving to Behavior

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