is she playing or being aggressive

[alexhsgwag]

today it was pretty normal during “playtime” she (princess is her name) circled my legs and chinned at both my hands and started running around the area, so i wasn’t worried and sat down and waited for her to regard me. i sat on my couch/futon and she hopped over and started running i between my legs, weaving and circling. this was new but i was happy to see her having fun! she jumped onto the couch, jumping onto my lap then circled my body and sat on the back of the couch and did the cycle over again a few right times; again, this was new but i wasn’t worried i just thought she was being playful since she had her ears up and flopped down beside me a few times. but then, i had to stand up and grab something quickly, when i stood and started walking she latched onto my leg and started kicking, her ears where up and she still displayed all signs of happiness but she was being pretty aggressive with my feet. when i left and came back she was flopped onto her stomach with her legs kicked out, but after i a little while she kept fighting with all the stuffed animals that are around here? is she just being “protective” or is she just an aggressive player??

(sorry this is a pretty long explanation :,))

[LBJ10]

Is she spayed? What you’re describing sounds like hormonal behavior to me.

[Bam]

I fully agree with LBJ. The behaviors you describe are hormonally driven. They’re neither aggressive nor playful. What I can say is that there’s no malice in it.

Wild rabbits live short lives. They are important as prey in the food chain. This means they need to procreate (have babies) as quickly as they possivly can, for the species to survive.

Our house rabbits live longer (and hopefully happier) lives, but their “wild” genes still direct their behavior to an overwhelming extent. An intact rabbit will have a profound urge to procreate.

 

[alexhsgwag]

oh! that would make sense, she was previously in my brothers care, and frankly he wasn’t exactly ready for a animal. he told me she was spayed but she might not be too. i’m not particularly worried abt this behavior but should i look into getting her spayed? i don’t have any male rabbits or anything so i don’t see a reason to, but i’m also pretty inexperienced (but very willing to learn!) so idk if there is any other reason to get her spayed :’)

[LBJ10]

She should be spayed, even if she is a single bunny. Hormonal behaviors can continue to escalate and become quite bothersome. There are a lot of people who cannot wait for their bunny to be spayed/neutered simply because the hormonal behaviors are just too much. Also, with females, it is important to get them spayed to eliminate the risk of reproductive cancers. The cancer risk is partially influenced by genetics, so you will often see a range online… but there is a 60-80% chance an intact female will develop uterine cancer after the age of 3. Intact females can also get mammary tumors, etc. So it’s highly recommended that house bunnies are spayed for that reason.

[alexhsgwag]

oh! thank you, i’ll look into getting her spayed as soon as i can then

[Author]

Messages