Biting

[Cocoa]

Every time I reach into the pen Cocoa attacks my hand. At the moment both of my hands are bleeding and are bruised. I just got home 20 minutes ago and since then she has attacked my hands twice and attempted to one other time. What should I do?

[sarahthegemini]

Stop reaching into her cage for the time being. Maybe she can smell something on your hands that is different/she perceives you as a threat.

[Bam]

I agree with Sarah. Some girl buns are really possessive about their cages. If your hands have some smell on them that she doesn’t recognize or dislikes, that could cause her to attack.

[DanaNM]

Agree, buns can get quite territorial over their cage. Do you best to not clean or rearrange it while they are in it. You can lure them out with a treat, then do what you need to do in the cage.

. . . 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.  

[Cocoa]

I actually realized I hadn’t changed clothes yet. I had been out riding so I smelled like my horse. We moved their pen so I can fit through without being in Cocoa’s way. They are actually in their cage constantly, they have a 2 story hutch connected to their pen. This set up allows me to only pick up Cocoa roughly twice a week since she hates it. I do have to pick her up to trim her nails and brush her occasionally. Lily I do pick up around once a day because she likes being held and she loves sitting in the kitchen while I cook because I give her pieces of the food. And what is an easy way to brush Cocoa? she tries to kill me when I brush her but she is shedding so bad

[sarahthegemini]

So, they don’t ever get out of their pen? How big is the pen?

[Cocoa]

No, they live in the 2 story hutch which is connected to the pen. I went online to see if I could find the pen I bought and I think this one is it.
https://www.chewy.com/frisco-dog-exercise-pen-step-through/dp/125049

[DanaNM]

Just checked out the pen, and that isn’t very much space, which could explain why she has gotten cage-aggressive.

That said, I know you’ve been working to improve your buns conditions and you have made so much progress already. And, the amount of space they get is (sadly) far more than so many buns, who end up in a backyard hutch their whole lives and never even get a pen to stretch out in.

I know you were having issues with your parents and were working on having the buns inside, but I can’t remember what the verdict was.

You mentioned Cocoa hates being picked up, but Lily likes it, so you bring Lily to the kitchen for play time. I wonder if you might be able to train the buns to go into their carrier, then bring them both to the kitchen for some time outside their pen. I am sure it’s great bonding with Lily that way, and I bet it would help your relationship with Cocoa a lot for her to have the same experience (getting special treats and pets sounds like most bun’s favorite acticity).

I’ve recently been able to get my buns to run into their carrier by feeding them their pellets in it. They run right in. I bet yours would too, especially if you don’t pick them up in it the first few times they go in. Basically every meal, I give them their pellets in the carrier. Then once they are used to it, you can bring them to the kitchen and let them hop around together. Since Cocoa is so hard to pick up, this would prob be a good thing to do anyway.

My mom is VERY clean and didn’t like having animals in the house, but even she would let the buns hop around in the kitchen because there wasn’t a danger to the carpet, and they would be supervised so they wouldn’t chew the cabinets or anything.

Most buns don’t like tile, so a few towels or a blanket on the ground would help them be more comfortable exploring.

. . . 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.  

[sarahthegemini]

The size of the pen…that’s what I was afraid it was going to be It is far too small to be used for 2 bunnies to exercise.

[Cocoa]

Cocoa wont listen/behave at all if she is in the kitchen. The hutch is 48×20 then the top story is the same size. They have access to both at the same time

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