My Daughter Said Bunny Bit Her

[mindy10]

So my 6 year old told me bunny bit her today. Im hoping this is not true because I will not keep a bunny that is going to bite her.  She was putting her hand in where bunny sleeps in the morning which is under my console tv shelf and she is very teritorial there.  Thats the first place she was when she grunted at me.  So Im hoping it was a one time thing.  I told my daughter not to touch her when she is under there.  I hate to have to give her away because I know I treat her well and who knows what will happen if I have to give her away.  Send good vibes her way that this was a one time thing!!

[Sarita]

It sounds like you are giving your daughter good advice. Most rabbits are going to bite if they feel threatened and feel you are invading their territory. Could also be that Blossom was startled and bit out of self defense.

Don’t think about giving her away just yet…one incident shouldn’t be the deciding factor (and I know it’s not for you).

[Monkeybun]

Agreed, bunnies can be rather territorial, and can startle easily. She needs to have her sleep spot a No-Touchy zone it sounds like

[Sam and Lady's Human]

There are areas that my girls are not allowed to go (in the bunnies pen, for one) and the litter boxes out in the house as well. If the bunny is in either space, my girls are not to go near. If they get bit, it is their fault, not our bunnies, as my children are the smarter of the 2 and know better. They are 2 1/2 and almost 4. Bunnies are not mean by nature, but don’t understand little hands coming at them in their “safe” spot, and also need a place that they can get a reprieve from their humans, including the adults.

[Beka27]

I agree 100% with Sam and Lady’s Human. It’s your responsibility to educate your daughter and set boundaries. Rabbits are very different from cats and dogs (which she may be more used to interacting with), and they definitely need “No Children” zones.

My mini rex bit my son (and other family members) several times during the first 12 months with us. He was 4 when we got her. Some of that was due to hormonal aggression prior to being spayed. The others times were b/c she was approached the wrong way. He is now 8. I’ve taught him exactly when and how to pet her and now he can feed them and help clean out litterboxes and the bunny pen with no problem.

[MayaConsuelo]

 I agree with the others here, it’s more important for your daughter to learn how to behave around animals respectfully (which is something that no child naturally knows!) When I was younger apparently I pulled the cat’s tail and the cat scratched my face. Lesson learned… at least with rabbits their little teeth can’t even break the skin, it’s safer than a cat or dog even in that respect.

Kids just naturally want to reach out and play with animals and it’s better to teach them that they can’t do that. I see kids in the street reaching out to strange dogs passing by all the time, and that’s a terrible idea. With rabbits, lunging and nipping when their space is invaded is their only option when they think they have to protect themselves.

[Stickerbunny]

Agree. My rabbit would bite me if I disturbed her sleep in a dark area like that, I mean… even my dogs / cats would have nipped at me for it. When I was a kid, I learned quickly the boundaries of animals, because our dog would give warning nips if we annoyed her too much. Show your daughter how to tempt blossom out with a treat, kids naturally want to grab or touch and that just doesn’t work with a bunny. Blossom is going to need to come to her, not the other way around, especially since she’s young I believe not spayed yet? (which means the likelihood of being bitten gets higher as she gets older if you annoy her, until her hormones calm)

Did Blossom break the skin, or was it just a warning nip? (I get those from Stickers all the time.. like “hey you’re in my way, move” or “get away from my stuff” but she never aims to hurt).

[mindy10]

Thanks everyone. I did tell maddy not to go near her when she is under the tv becasue thats when she wants alone time. Pretty much she always wants alone time. She is not a very social rabbit. The only time she flies out of her cage is when the cat comes in the room!! But unfortunately my cat does not want to play with her. Im sure she is getting hormonal. She is 4 months old so to young unfortunately to spay. My daughter is very gentle with her. I think she was just trying to pat her. im sure blossom got scared. Thanks again everyone. Mindy

[Joyfull_music]

Blossom is still young and the hormones are probably getting started. Momo was VERY anti social during her teen years, even after her spay. But now that she is past the 1 year mark, she is starting to settle down some and be a little more open to pets. She is still not the most affectionate creature in the house though. But I am ok with “look but don’t touch” critters.

[LBJ10]

I remember when my niece was young. She was teasing my dog and my dog was growling at her. She thought it was funny and kept doing it so she could hear my dog growl. I went to stop her but my brother-in-law told me to let her keep doing it. He said she wasn’t going to learn her lesson until she got nipped. Sure enough, my dog finally nipped at her. She didn’t do it again after that.

I think Blossom’s behavior is completely normal. She could be hormonal or she could just be a typical bunny that is grumpy. I don’t think her nipping because her boundaries have been crossed is any reason to give her away. I would hope that you wouldn’t do that.

[kamdynandsunshinesmom]

I understand where your coming from and you shouldn’t give bunny up yet. My rabbit has bitten other people such as my sister and mother. It was there fault for the reason my rabbit bit them. My sister was aggravating my rabbit so the rabit bit her. When little kids do come over to my house I tell them not to put there fingers in there because she might nip a little bit. Some rabbits are territoral and my rabbit is. Teaching your daughter is a good thing. Just don’t give bunny up yet!

[equalsign]

 Our little girl would bite us sometimes. I don’t think it’s always out of anger. Sometimes she would be super happy and grooming us and then bite us. We would make a little screech to let her know we didn’t like it. We also would use some things we read on the site “The language of lagomorphs.” Walking away and looking over our shoulder and such. This behavior stopped when we had her spayed and as she got through the teenage years. Unless you are willing to work through behavioral problems as they arise you should not adopt an animal. It’s about as realistic to expect perfect behavior from a rabbit as it is a human child.

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