Baby Bunny Attacked Me?

[Kailaeve1271]

For the first time ever I let my youngest bunny (who is just under three months old) go outside to play and enjoy the grass. She was so happy and excited until after an hour and a half, I decided it was getting late and it was time to put her up. She kept running (as I expected her to do) so I coaxed her with some pellets (I don’t know if she’s old enough for veggies yet). She came over for a nibble and I let her eat before slowly picking her up. She started growing, scratching and biting me! She’s never hurt me. In fact, I thought she really liked me with all the kisses and smuggles I got before this. Then she began thumping her feet and making a low chuffing noise. Eventually we had to trick her into climbing into a carrier. I don’t understand what happened. Is she just to young to go outside or is this normal for their first time?

[Deleted User]

It sounds like her hormones have started. It sounds like picking her up must have set her off, as bunnies really don’t like being picked up. A lot of times when hormones kick in, bunnies that didn’t mind it before can start having problems with it. And yes, at 3 months you can start slowing introducing veggies.

[Kailaeve1271]

Will they calm down once she is older? Also is there a way to keep her calm when I pick her up, if this is going to be a problem? I adopted both of her parents when I adopted her (the family didn’t want them. They were planning on eating them so I adopted them. Of course, they are in seperate cages). Her mom doesn’t seem to care what I do. Even when I pick her up she just kind of sits there. Her dad will get mad if I hold him for too long but is generally pretty calm. I don’t know if that will pass down to her but if it does then that’s their personalities

[Kailaeve1271]

Oh! And is lettuce a good veggie to start slowly introducing her to vegetables?

[Deleted User]

Hormones only calm after they have been spayed. So until she’s spayed she’ll probably continue having episodes of nipping and being territorial and other things of that nature. Making sure all of her feet are “stable” if that makes sense. So having her back and front feet are on your arms. Generally we advise bunnies only be picked up for emergencies. If you need to transport her, its best to do it via a litter box or carrier. I know it’s a pain to do it, believe me I have to do it with one of mine, but it’s not worth them potentially hurting themselves from being picked up. With some bunnies being picked up is a truly terrifying experiences.

[Deleted User]

Lettuce is perfect! Start with romaine for a few days and monitor poops, then you can introduce something else after 3 days, if her poops are normal. Then repeat that process.

[Kailaeve1271]

Okay! Thank you! What age should a spay her? Also I’m looking for a new vet so it’s already going to be about 2 weeks probably to find one reasonably close. Until then can I perhaps give her more excersize to calm her down? Like with training maybe?

[Deleted User]

Most vets will usually spay at 6 months. Exercise could work, but unfortunately it really is just one of those instinctual things nothing will really solve. Kinda like if she loses her litter habits. It’s also part of hormones and won’t get better until after. This period just requires lots of patience as they adjust to growing up.

[Kailaeve1271]

Well, it’s a good thing I have a lot of time and patience for my animals. I love the little girl so much. Does this age depend on size too? She’s super tiny. I thought she was a peanut when I first saw her. I don’t think she will be anywhere near the size of her parents. When do rabbits generally stop growing?

[Deleted User]

What’s her breed? Most usually stop going through any growth spurt type stuff around 6 months, but they can still put on a little more weight and change shape until 1 year old. My boys just turned 1 and they haven’t changed much since 6 months. I have holland lops. At 3 months old they weighed about 3 pounds and now at a year they’re around 4.5 pounds. They were also big because they’re false dwarves.

[Kailaeve1271]

She’s a lionhead according to the original owners, but I think the mom is half Dutch due to her fur pattern so perhaps the “teen” bunny that I’m concerned about is 1/4 Dutch and 3/4 Lionhead. The bunny is less than half the size of the father who is a full lion head from what I know

[Wick & Fable]

Wick was half the size of his brothers and sisters in his litter, so I call him a runt. Wick’s a netherland dwarf and he’s at his max size, which is just barely 2lbs.

Rather than comparing with the parents, just make sure he seems like a healthy weight to both you and your vet.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Kailaeve1271]

She is a perfectly healthy height and weight. I’ve had a vet look at her in the past and confirm it I was just stating that so that you could understand her size for her age compared to her adult full sized parents. This was just because I don’t know how the size works with spaying since she is fairly small

[kurottabun]

Bunnies have different personalities but most generally hate being picked up so it’s likely because of that that she bit you.

My bun absolutely detests it and he once bit me super hard for even attempting to pick him up. I was surprised it didn’t bleed lol, but buns do have the potential to bite till we bleed.

[Wick & Fable]

Wick is a male and neutering is less invasive, but generally speaking as long as the vet is comfortable with it, size shouldn’t matter. If a vet states they won’t do it because of size, that is the vet being frank about their comfort level, and the best course of action is to find a vet who is comfortable and experienced with doing it.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

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