The Story of an Angry Bunny

[ibanix]

 It was about three months ago when the girlfriend said to me, “I’d like a pet rat again. It’s been a few years.” I joked back, “why not a rabbit?”. 

Three weeks later we were taking our new bunny, of indeterminate breed, but looking morst like a Mini Rex. We decided to name her Guenivere. I might have better chosen Morgan La Fay, as our new friend would become not so friendly. Now, this is our first bunny, but I am not unfamilar with house rabbits, having lived with one (and his owner) for quite some time. So I knew my way around the bunny block, so to speak.

Guenivere’s previous owner – who was adopting her out due to a new (human) baby – had told us that Guenivere had previously lived mostly in an outdoor hutch with a single sister bunny. Sister bunny had been the agresive alpha bunny and bullied Guenivere constantly. When sister bunny passed away, Guenivere grieved but seemed to have gotten over it. This should have been a red flag to me, but when you’re looking at a bunny to bring home all you see is MY GOD YOU WILL BE CUTE IN MY LIVING ROOM.

We clearly were going to give Guenivere a better life; the previous owner had her living in a birdcage (!), didn’t get out much, and mostly ate pellets. I built a three-floor condo for her based on the great idea from House Rabbit Network* – 42 inches long by 28 inches wide, with two other floors to jump up and look around on. I immediately switched her over to a diet of 90% fresh hay, 8% fresh veggies, and the occasional treat of apple slices or other fresh fruit. Guenivere took to this like a champ and is excited every time I pull that hay bag out. She loves to lounge in her sand digging box – the one opposite of her litter/food box.The condo has some toys, but they don’t get much use. Actually, she doesn’t seem to like any toys at all. She gets free run of our apartment living room, which has been bunny-proofed to prevent cord chewing.

Guenivere is now much more surface happy – she likes to lie out on the floor, or jump up onto the couch and pretend-dig at the blankets. WHich is great! I’m happy about that. On the other end, she is a social terror.

Our bunny does not like to be handled AT ALL. She will immediately run away if a hand gets anywhere near her – even if you’re not going to pet her, which causes her hunker down and freeze until over. Picking up – if you can manage to pick her up, she kicks and kicks herself into a terror. I know rabbits don’t like being picked up, but she’s so afraid of this she’s watching your hands.

When out and about, Guenivere will sniff at feet and fingers – and sometimes bite! We’ve learned to be careful of appendages because she will just bite into them without warning. That’s a huge issue, and I’m not sure what to do about it. I’ve tried saying OUCH! very loudly when it happens, but she doesn’t seem to care.

My attempts to socialize her have included reducing her food and then getting a bowl of tasty greens in my hand. She’ll eventually hop up into your lap – after a loud thump to show her displeasure – and then lunge and the food, get it in her mouth, and run away to eat it. She does not want to have anything to do with humans. I gave up on this because fingers got bitten once to often. When I put food in her box, she will even grunt at me! 

So there is the story of our angry bunny. I’m not pretending she is ever going to be a lap or snuggle bunny, but I *would* like to figure out how to get her to stop biting, lunging, and in general be more comfortable (and less afraid) of people. What can I do?

If you managed to read through this all – thanks!

-Joshua

(PS: Bunny is not spayed. It’s close to $400 here, and saving for it is going to be a while. I know it might help; it’s on the to-do list, but I’m not expecting miracles).

 

 

* http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/NIC.shtml

 

 

 

 

 

[MoveDiagonally]

Thank you for rescuing Guenivere! It looks like you did a lot of research and have realistic expectations.

I do think spaying will help. Unspayed females are usually a lot more aggressive and territorial. Have you contacted local rescues and shelters to see if they know of any lower cost options? Also, if you have transportation you could look at surrounding areas to see if the cost is a bit lower. Where I live a spay costs $200+ but if I drive an hour I can find a rabbit savvy vet that spays for $80.

I’m looking forward to pictures!

[mia]

My buns are fixed and what you’ve described are the same behaviors my buns exhibit when I first adopted them. It’s been two years and some of the behavior is still there but it’s been greatly reduced. My female was the one with the more “harsh” behavior but now she can be incredibly affectionate when she wants to even with the other behaviors still existing. If post fixing this is still the same behavior, I don’t think thinking about you bun as angry helps; she’s just more cautious, needs more time and work, and probably more individualistic.

Let her know that biting isn’t going to affect you; I spent my first year with band-aids all over and scratches up and down my arms.
Force her to be around you without touching her. I confined myself in an area that was only big enough for myself and the bun; if she wanted to move, she would have to walk on me (make sure you wear thick clothes or double up). Sometimes I took a fake nap in their room.
When I pick them up, it’s because they have to be transported somewhere or for grooming. They are not snuggle buns any most likely will never be. I also make sure I hold them as tight as possible wrapping both arms around them and even putting my chin on top.
Continue to feed by hand even if she grabs it and runs away. Do even more feeding by hand if possible (have you tried pellet feeding by hand or at least placing one by one on the floor?)
Let her be; she’s her own bun. Just another roommate with her own busy life doing bunny 500s, binkying, digging at blankets, etc. Hands off and enjoy watching.

[Bam]

They can need lots of time. The above advice are great. My bunny Bam wasn’t aggressive towards me, but he certainly wasn’t social for his whole first year with me. He sat under the coffea-table. He’d come out for treats, otherwise not. He did not like to be touched, petted or held. Weeks apart he’d venture out into the living-room but never longer than three yards from the coffea-table he had made into his home. He had free roam of the apartment, but he just wasn’t interested. I don’t know what his life had been like before I found him.

Then after a year he suddenly fell in love with my dog. That was like the beginning of a new era. He changed his behaviour, became bolder, more adventurous and much more social. Demanded petting, took to flopping beside me when I watched tv. Because of the infatuation with the dog I had to have him neutered, he wouldn’t let her alone. That took care of the dog-obsession and the markings he’d been engaging in, but his social skills were unaffected. He can cuddle for an hour now. He can enjoy lap-sitting, especially if it’s my mum’s lap. The above pic is from two days ago, June 8, it’s Bam in my mum’s lap.

[TamarizRabbit]

I’m so sorry to hear you’re having troubles. We just got a bunny, she’s younger than yours but we had her spayed and it made a lot of difference to her confidence. She’s a lot less timid now (presently bouncing around the sofa as I type) and more affectionate. She hates being picked up but in the last few days has started to come and sit next to me and enjoys nose and cheek rubs. This all started with nudging and nibbling our toes.

Tizzy has always been more wary of my boyfriend who is over 6ft so probably a giant in her world. He found lying on his tummy in our small study with her in there worked. She had to jump over him to go places and started sniffing around him a lot. She’s still not as attentive to him but will now let him stroke her and says hi. I think her preference for me is now only based on the fact that I do all the food giving!

I hope it gets better for you. We’re discovering patience does pay off and I’m sure we’re going to see more personality develop as she gets braver.
Fingers crossed for you.

[supierce]

My answer is craisins…LOL We have had Rosco for almost a month and many on here told me to be patient. And I have to say they were right. He was never aggressive or mean but basically, like bam, would just lay around under a table. Big old bump on the log. We had him fixed and really no difference. But he will get very curious and brave for a craisin. He has made such progress in the last week. I do lay down in his room with him. He has his own room where there is a lot of activity, which doesn’t seem to phase him at all. But he just loves craisins. He will climb all over me for craisins and he weighs about 15 lbs. I have started holding them with my mouth and he takes them right out of my mouth. Some may think that is gross but I love it! And the fact that he trust me that much is amazing. I was laying with him yesterday morning and was rubbing his nose and moved my hand a little and he nudged it with his nose so I would rub it again. Now he still does not like to be picked up but that’s okay. He is so big that I don’t need to be picking him up. He will also lay his head on my lap and let me pet him and doze off. He has really come a long way! So I might try to find that treat that she loves and see if that will entice her to be a little nicer and like everyone says, be patient.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Your Guenevere’s situation sounds similar to my Olivia.

5 years ago I walked into a pet store and saw her in a small glass fish tank, she could barely lay down it was so small and she had an eye infection. I gave them $10 and brought her home, I couldn’t leave her there. She was an adult when I got her, a year old, they said and I’m not really sure about her background. I just know that she was bought and returned. I suspect she was either badly man-handled or neglected because of how terrified of humans she was. She would stand up and try to box us whenever we entered her area. And growl and grumble at us all the time.

I decided to love Olivia as she is. With her background, it’s no wonder she was afraid and mistrustful of humans. Just like your Guenevere. Being in a tiny cage and neglected. What reason would she have to like or trust humans?

I only handled Olivia when absolutely necessary. I spent many hours sitting on the floor, reading and ignoring her. And giving lots of treats (healthy treats, of course). It took about a year before she was to the point where she would enjoy us petting her. As more time went by, she began giving us more liberties. At first, she would only let us pet her nose, then her head and now I can pretty much pet her all over.  She will often let me lay down next to her, we cuddle and she will tooth purr.

She’s still very moody and, occasionally, pummels me and growls when she’s startled or angry. But I love her for herself and I understand that this is just who she is.

So my point is, give her time. Lots of time. She needs to realize this is her new home and that you are a friend. And, in the meantime, enjoy her for who she is, along with understanding her behavior.

Spaying will most likely help. Hormones can cause territorial aggression. Olivia was spayed as an adult and I did notice some improvement.

[BonnieSue]

It sounds like you are doing everything you can to help her become a more happy rabbit. Time will bring about many changes, I am sure. I have a little girl bunny named Hazel who is about 3 months old. She also kicks when I pick her up. She HATES being lifted out of her cage. I have recently discovered that wrapping her in a towel or a snuggle sack helps when taking her in and out of the cage. Once she is out, she loves to snuggle with me on the chair and watch TV.

[ibanix]

Thank you for all the kind advice. In particular, if anyone knows where to find a reasonably priced vet for spay in the Connecticut area, I would be forever greatful.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Go to House Rabbit Society’s Website:  http://www.rabbit.org

There are veterinarian listings. You can call around to find out prices. Or ask a local rescue (also listed on rabbit.org) which vet they use.

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