Need help with very aggressive little girl

[Jonathan]

 Hi,

Sorry for the long post but i what to get all the information in and I really need help. I have two 8 month old netherland dwarf female rabbits that I have no problem with what so ever they stay at my house most of the time but for the last fortnight they have come to my girlfriend flat and they have been they operation about 2 months ago. My girlfriend has a 6 month old lop eared cross, my girls have there own cage in the spare room and only run around in there while my girlfriends rabbit, Summer has the run of the rest of the flat. We have always thought Summer was bossy  but one day I open her cage to pick her up and she latched onto my hand hard and kept hold as I tried to back off, she also attacks my feet and has gone for my arm while i was lying down playing with her. Most of the time we are ok but sometime she just goes for me. So we thought as she was 6 months now, we should get the op done. The vet said it could be going for me cause she fancies me. We got the op done yesterday and she is coming around great my girlfriend strokes her no problem. But guess what she has gone for me again, all i was going was putting food in the cage. So my question is, is she going for me because of the smell of my girls, if so how do we get over this as we do want them all to play together, or is it the fact she does fancy me and just wants to mate with me, in with case after a while she will stop this.

 

Thanks for anyhelp you can give me

 

Jonathan

[Sarita]

Hi Jonathan.

There could be a number of reasons for this. The smell is a possibility and another is that she doesn’t like you in her territory.

I think you are going to have to wash your hands very good to try and get the smell of the other rabbits off of you and you should try not to mess around in her cage when she is in there.

Also don’t approach her from the front and try talking to her before you stroke her.

Aggressive rabbits I find tend to need a lot of space and freedom. They also tend to be extremely intelligent.

I have a rabbit name Pepe who is aggressive and the only way he has calmed down somewhat is to have total freedom. He also has dental problems and gets more aggressive when his teeth hurt which is an indication that he needs his molars trimmed. So even sometimes rabbits are aggressive for medical reasons (not saying Summer is but it’s something to consider).

As for letting your rabbit play with your girlfriends unless you are going to actually bond them and keep them together for life you should not to this. Rabbits are generally not like dogs who can do playdates and stuff together. Rabbits bond for life and bonding a rabbit takes alot of time and commitment. Are you 2 netherlands bonded?

[Karla]

Hi Jonathan,

If the op was done just a few days ago, it will take a while before she calms down – if her reaction is due to hormones.

I was told my female had a tendency to bite when I got her. Especially if she had not had any attention for a few days or been out of her small cage, she would apparently be a bit aggressive. She has total freedom here and lots of attention, and I have never seen her aggressive in any way. She is really gentle, so I agree with Sarita that total freedom might be the solution.

[Jonathan]

 We are looking to eventually bond summer and my two girls. The netherland dwarfs are sisters and have always been together. Thinking about it when Summer is running around and in control we have no problems, With the bunnies that you have, have you managed to bond them with other rabbits? She is fine with my girlfriend its just me she goes for 

[Karla]

Is it when she is in her cage that she is aggressive towards you? Could be that she is not accepting that you are invading her space, but she knows your girlfriend and trusts her, so that is why she doesn’t do it towards her.

[Jonathan]

No she attacked me when we were in the lounge. I think it is a trust thing just need to work with her

[Sarita]

It’s true – she may just not yet trust you especially if she’s okay with your girlfriend – so she can obviously learn to trust. Maybe if you just ignored her and let her come to you that might be good. You may be coming across as bossy or aggressive to her (not that you are) but that may be how she feels – why she would feel that way, you just can never tell.

I have a few rabbits that are still scared of me and don’t trust me and I’ve had them for about 6 years and since they are a bonded pair and seem quite content with each other I just let them be since it makes them happy.

[jerseygirl]

With her cage, definately let her come out on her own – she may still be smarting about this and it could affect your bonding with her. I wonder is she feels you are competition. She has a strong bond with your partner and you take some attention away or she’s jealous? Other members have mentioned similar issues with their partners rabbits. Has she behaved like this toward you before when you visited without having brought your two?  Time and trust is probably all it will take. Time to develop a bond and for her hormones to settle.

A little trick when feeding her is offer a treat thru the bars on one side of the cage and while she is distracted by that, slip the food in with your other hand.

[Author]

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