New bunny attacked my daughter!

[Skye727]

I got a small lionhead buck yesterday. He is very sweet and has been pretty cuddly for a new bunny. He even did teeth grinding with my husband petting him. He has been a house bunny and will continue to be. He was left alone with my defenseless disabled 7 year old on her bed for one minute. When my other daughter went in there were bruises and some broken skin all over one arm! Would he have bitten her for no reason? She just lays there and would not have done anything to him. He hasn’t bitten anyone else or shown any aggression. I have an appt. Friday to talk about getting him fixed. Will this help or is he a lost cause? He will never be alone with her again! He is chasing my doe around too who is not happy about it. Not sure if he just wants to say hi or wants to mount her. Think he’s too young to make babies, but don’t know. She was just attacked by a big lop that I had to rehome after that and then she attacked my chicken when she got in their run. Not to sound gross, but can you tell age by ball size? His are large but he is very small. Thought he was a baby, but maybe not.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Getting him fixed will definitely reduce aggression. Also as rabbits age they slow and mellow.

 

I’m really surprised, the scenario as you laid it out does not make sense. Rabbits aren’t like dogs, where you could see maybe she pet him to roughly and the dog might bite. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a rabbit do that, they usually run away from that kind of thing. The more I think about it, maybe he was humping her arm?? Males often hump (even females do) when they aren’t fixed, and they sort of bite to hold on when they do it. That’s really the only thing I could see that would cause bites when left alone.

Definitely in the meantime I wouldn’t leave him alone with your daughter, in fact maybe never just so whatever happens doesn’t happen again-that must have been scary for her.

And yes, no more hanging out with your doe until they are both fixed! Rabbits breed like rabbits, young and prolifically!

[Stickerbunny]

Would she be able to respond to him at all if he was say, trying to get her attention, or try to get her to move or pet him? I ask because my male is cuddly and if he is on the bed, he will nudge me for attention, or to move if I am in his way and if I don’t respond, he’ll nip because that is just rabbit for “Hey, over here” or “Hey, get out of my way” and he has left bruises on my foot before if I didn’t move it. They don’t realize we don’t have fur to protect us like a bunny would and need trained to realize nipping humans that way isn’t OK.

If his testicles have descended, he may be older than you think. The vet will be able to tell you. In the mean time… if he has been with your doe at all and she is not spayed, she could be pregnant. It only takes mounting her for about a second to impregnate her, rabbits do it quickly. If the vet thinks he is old enough to neuter, you may want to think about getting her done first just in case. For one, a male keeps viable sperm for up to 4 weeks after neutering, so less risk of an oops litter if she’s spayed.

I would certainly not leave him alone with your daughter though. A young, hormonal bunny can leave scars on even adults, so it’s best to keep them away from small children that can’t defend themselves. He will still be hormonal up to a month after his neuter, then should begin to settle down and be trainable.

[Skye727]

She wouldn’t respond if he was trying to get attention. Maybe he was humping her arm. My poor baby! He will never be alone with her again!

[Eepster]

He might just have been hopping on her arm. Their back legs are very powerful and they have claws. A bunny doesn’t have to be being aggressive to inflict pain. Our bunny is extremely sweet and never aggressive, but when he is grooming on our clothing he tugs at the fabric and can painfully pinch skin. So even if you are correct that he is not aggressive, no animal should be left unattended with someone unable to retreat from them or tell them to stop.

If his testicles have descended, he can get your doe pregnant. They need to be kept apart till you can get them spayed and neutered. Lionheads are a dwarf breed, so they can look babyish even as fully grown adults.

[Katscarpena]

YES on the testicles and the dwarf looking like a baby! Licorice is a Jersey Woolly (dwarf breed.) When we got him (found him) he was younger than we or the vet realized. When his testicles descended he did some circling and a little humping – but worst was he nipped me HARD – left a scar. =( He is much mellower since his neuter. Still looks like a sweet baby. =)

[LBJ10]

I agree. He was either A. going to town humping her arm, or B. nipping and nudging to get her attention/make her move. I doubt it was true aggression. He just sounds like a teenage bunny. Since she could not respond, he probably didn’t realize he was hurting her. Young rabbits have to learn not to bite down hard when interacting with humans. Like someone else mentioned, we don’t have a thick coat of fur to pad the bite. It would be a good idea to not leave him alone with her, simply for the fact that she cannot communicate with him that he is causing pain.

As the others suggested, it would be a VERY good idea to separate your rabbits and get them spayed and neutered. It will put a stop to the hormonal behaviors and prevent them from breeding like, well, rabbits.

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