aggressive bunny

[miffy1970]

I have 2 buns 6-7 months old. One is getting really aggressive when I or my daughters try to pick her up. Its really qujte distressing to see her bolt around the hutch and grunt and bite nastily. So what ive been reading the best option is to get her desexed? This is unfortunately a costly exercise here in australia. So what im wanting to know do I have any other options? When shes grunting at me when I haven’t even touched her should I persist or leave it alone? Once I do manage go get her she does quieten down and makes clicking noises with rubs. Any advice greatly appreciated! 

[Linette]

It is not uncommon for females to behave that way upon reaching sexual maturity. They get territorial and they want to be mated and taking  care of babies.

I know of no way to change this behavior other than spaying. Do NOT “force” attention on the doe or put your arms into her area, you are likely to get bitten, and it will anger her.  Sometimes a female with a large run and earth to dig in will be less aggressive due to having a lot to keep her busy. 

Spaying helps females healthwise, and it eliminates the frustration they feel from not doing what nature intended. It really makes for a happier rabbit. It IS costly, but over time is worth the investment.

[miffy1970]

So if I do decide to spay should I do both or just the miss who is aggressive? The other bun is really placid and not displaying the same behavior.

[Linette]

Ultimately it would be best if you can do both, but if you can’t afford both now, do the aggressive one first.

It really can lengthen their lives by eliminating cancer in their girl bits and other things that can go wrong with them.

You can wait and see if the other one develops any behavior issues or not. I have had pairs of females where one was fixed and the other was not and they were fine together. The rabbits personalities play a part.

Scary when a sweet bun goes all moody teenager! This is the age a LOT of rabbits are given up because people think they went psycho. Sometimes it eases down a bit after they get older.

[Hazel]

As Linette said, they should both be spayed, otherwise they have a 85% chance of getting cancer by the age of 3 or 4.

With that being said, you have to be prepared for this particular behavior (not wanting to be picked up) to persist. Rabbits are prey animals and almost all of them hate being picked up. Nature tells them “You’re about to become someone’s snack!” and they will fight to get away. If I reached into my bunny’s cage and tried to grab him, I would get the exact same reaction as you do and my bun is a neutered male. Also, females tend to be a bit more territorial, weather they are spayed or not (although spaying should decrease that somewhat).

Spaying isn’t a perfect fix but as I said, it is a necessity simply because of the cancer risk.

[Author]

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