Male vs. Female – General Behavior?

[njbunny]

I am looking to rescue a bunny and confused about what gender to look at.

Everyone keeps telling me to try and get a neutered male because they are more affectionate / loving / social.  I keep hearing that females are more independent /moody / hormonal.

Do you all find this to be the case? If I am looking for a more outgoing and loving bun should I avoid the females?

Sorry, if this was already posted. I tried looking through the search but could not find my answer.

[Stickerbunny]

You want to visit with rabbits and pick one that fits you, perhaps foster (or get one from a foster) so you can learn its behavior in a home setting. Breed, gender etc don’t matter since every rabbit is different.

[njbunny]

Yea, I know that you will have differences of course as they are individuals however I have had at least 3 rescue people tell me to get a male once I let them know I have children in the house. Was just wondering how accurate the stereo type is for buns since it is being stressed to me to check out the males. I am not counting out any bunny. In fact I am telling the rescue folks about our family and asking them to suggest buns that would be a good match. I told them I don’t care about size, age, gender, color, breed, etc. They know the buns better than me and I don’t want to be caught up by looks at all.

[Stickerbunny]

*shrug* There are people here with affectionate females and shy males and shy females and affectionate males. As I said, all that matters is the individual bunny. Unspayed females are hormonal, but I would assume a rescue has them spayed. Females can make fine pets, if they are spayed. If they feel their males are more people friendly, you could go for one of them, but there are plenty of females that are friendly. It isn’t really a gender thing so much, in the spayed/neutered ones.. though unaltered yeah females are hormonal and hard to handle more often than males.

I have both a male and a female.

My male is affectionate and mellow but that is a mix of his age + personality. He’s the jump in the bed and lay around for hours bunny. His main personality issue is he has panic attacks when caged, but he was locked in a tiny metal floored cage he could barely lay stretched out in for over a year with little time out, so I can’t blame him. He’s been free range since we got him due to that, though when I bonded him they moved to a bunny room since she was a young bun with some chewing issues.

The female is timid and skittish, but she had a very bad background – she came from a special needs child who had sole responsibility for her. She came to us with glue in her fur all around her neck (which we had to shave off, poor thing had a bald patch) and so scared of humans she peed herself (laid down flat and peed, soaking the floor and her belly) the first day because I came within arms reach of her. I’ve had her for a few years and she’s ever so slowly opening up. If I lay in the floor with them, they’ll both jump on top of me. As long as I approach her slowly, she’ll let me rub her head (and she’s a rex, so super soft fur). She’s not too into human attention since she still spooks really easily, but the older she gets the more affectionate she is becoming (trust with a neglected or abused animal is hard won, but worth it). If I hold craisins I get mobbed by them both and they’ll grudgingly give bunny kisses.

Neither of my buns have hormonal behavior issues. They don’t mark, spray, bite, etc. The female has more “rabbitude”, but my male can show a fair bit of it as well. They both love foot flicking me if I tell them to stop chewing on something.

[Irina]

My experience- very friendly affectionate girl (Shadow), kind of nervous, reluctant but “I will let you pet me if I feel like it” boy (Butterscotch), and very friendly, playful and bouncy boy (Tofu- who will always be in my heart?).

All sterilized between 4-5 months. Their behaviors did not really change afterwards.

I guess this just supports the fact that gender at have nothing to do with it- especially post neuter/spay.

Good luck & let us know what you decide!

[Kbana]

I heard that males were more affectionate and social too when I first started learning about rabbits. However, after being on this site for a while I can see that there really isn’t a general rule. I think that if you adopt a bun and find one with a personality that suits you then you should be just fine. Perhaps straight from a breeder it could make a difference, I have no idea. I would also think it would depend on the environment there. Every litter is different and has kits that stand out for some reason or another. If you are going to a breeder then I say go with the bun that the breeder thinks is the best fit for your family. If you are adopting, go with the bun you feel the most connection to, regardless of gender. (Which you already said you planned to do so good. ) My bun is a boy and he is very social and friendly, cuddly on his own terms with all fours on the ground. I have never had a female since he is my first and only bun so I can only tell you what I have seen based on others’ buns.

[LBJ10]

My boys are, well, boys. LOL They are still naughty and like to get into trouble. That is just who they are though, especially Leopold. Wooly gets into trouble too, but he’s more of a follower. Leopold does like to be pet though and will let me stroke his ears and face. Wooly lets me pet him too, but I suspect he is suspicious of me since I need to groom him more regularly. Neither one really wants to sit on the couch with me, although they will come up the dog ramp to briefly say “hi”. If I have the treats out, they will completely drop whatever they are doing and come running. They are so cute when they beg and are very bold. That is my experience with boys.

Like everyone else said, pick a bunny based on their personality and nothing else. When you adopt, you get to have the luxury of seeing them for who they really are right off the bat.

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