please help asap

[DawnT]

our bunny that we had for three weeks.   my son was sitting on the floor playing with his cars.  oreo (bunny) walked up to him and sniffed his face then she went after him.  he face and lips are scratched.  i thought he had provoked her in the past. apparently not. 

 

does anyone have any insight on this?

[bunnytowne]

how old is your son. maybe bun doesn’t like his smell? hard to tell what is going on here maybe someone else knows more than I do hopefully

maybe bun sees him as a rival in a pack cuz of his young age if your son is real young? I really dont’ knwo I am just guessing here.

[DawnT]

my son is 10 years old.  any ideas.  this is may be way off base could this be because he is a boy and she isn’t spayed yet?

[sarah bowden]

That sounds horrible!
I know my bunny has walked over or jumped on my daughters hand/leg before and she hates getting scratched. I hope your son is ok.
Has your bunny been spayed/neutered? It could be hitting that hormonal stage.

[DawnT]

no she hasn’t actually we go to the vet tomorrow first time visit.  when she did that I grabbed her by the scruf of her neck and she was put in her cage.   she actually growled whe she did it.  do think that is possible that it has to with not being spayed

[Scarlet_Rose]

It sounds like hormones and a territorial face-off. In bunny language, facing off like that means a tussel is iminent. I hope your son is OK and I would keep the bun in an enclosed run until after the spay.

[MooBunnay]

I have one bunny who frequently grunts and lunges at me when she is startled (she is blind, so she startles easily!). Generally, when I encounter this type of behavior with a bunny, it is because they feel that their territory has been invaded, or because their are feeling threatened for some reason.

How old is your son? How did he get into the position that she was able to get at his face? The reason I am asking is because I sometimes play with my bunnies by quickly shooting out my hand and tapping the floor in front of them, this will generally instinctively get them to grunt and lunge at my hand. If your son moved too quickly towards the bunny, it could have easily startled the bunny into lunging and grunting. Remember that because bunnies are prey animals, and can’t really be played with in the same manner as dogs and cats, they are much more sensitive and become frightened much more easily. I’d recommend working with your son to teach him how to best play with the bunny so that both your bunny and your son are enjoying it. Sometimes bunnies ears can be sensitive and while some bunnies like them played with, others don’t. Recommend that your son pet the bunnies forehead, or shoulders gently. For the most part, the bunnies don’t like their feet or bums touched, so steer him away from petting there.

I know that this was not a good behavior from the bunny, but I’d highly recommend not picking up your bunny by the scruff of her neck. She could easily break her back this way by kicking out of fear. Bunnies are not really meant to be handled this way, and she won’t really associate that with the bad behavior. It more likely will make her feel afraid or threatened by you, and then more likely to have the grunting and lunging behavior.

[DawnT]

My son (10 years)  was sitting on the floor playing with his cars.  She went up to him and was was just sniffing his face.  He did nothing to her.  I was told by several people that you are supposed to pick them up by the scruf of their neck.   as soon as I picked her up I supported he back feet.  I left her in her cage for about 30 mintues.  I had my son leave her out.  She walked up to him sniffed and layed beside him.   The he gave her a treat.   

He was playing beside a place she goes in between the end table and the couch.  She has card board that she plays with and digs at.  Even at that she was able to still access where she wanted to go.

[babybunsmum]

i’m so sorry that your son got hurt.  that would be very upsetting!

perhaps your son’s motions while playing with his cars was what theatened your bunny.  even if he wasn’t trying to involve her in his playing, she may have seen a movement he made and felt threatened by it.  especially since it happened near her place with cardboard. 

i have heard people mention picking a rabbit up by it’s scruff before too, but dispite that some people believe this, it is not a comfortable way to do it.  instead of grabbing the scruff with one hand just take the same hand & slip it under bun’s chest.  use your other hand just like you mention… to support the back feet and you’re all set!

i’m glad that you’re going to see a vet… you can talk to them about this behaviour and ask them about their spaying practices with rabbits.  like others have mentioned, spayed bunnies are far less territorial and they are healthier too.  good luck

[Toki+Pumpkin+Elmo]

Is your son ok? Is must’ve scared him.
Sometimes Pumpkin bites me when I give her treats. I guess she gets too excited and bites my finger and the treat.

Maybe oreo hasn’t made friends with your son yet? I would try more bonding times.

[MarkBun]

My bun Maryann just bit me on the foot as I walked behind her. I am chalking it up to that she was paying alot of attention to something else and I suprised her. I guess I need to wear a bell on my ankle.

I would suggest that when you go to the vet, have them show you how to pick up a bunny not by the scruff of the neck. It is nicer and more comfortable for the bunnies.

However, I actually do pick up Maryann by the scruff because she hates having her belly or chest touched. I have seen her jump out of the hands of trained bunny handlers, let alone people who only do it a couple times a day. She’s never kicked when I pick her up by the scruff as long as my hand is immediately under her butt and hind legs.

[Beka27]

Meadow and my 4 year old son, Michael, are not friends.  she has been spayed and even after the surgery she does not get along with him.  i’ve mostly taught him to leave her alone.  he only pets her head if i’m right there with them.  i think she just doesn’t like him because he’s young, and loud, and requires a great deal of my attention.  they do share the same space.  the living room is Meadow’s main running area and where her cage is set-up.  Michael also spends a lot of time playing with toys in the living room.  i’ve made sure to have a couple spaces where Mead can go that Michael can not, and her cage and enclosed area is strictly off-limits for Michael.

your son is old enough tho where he should definitely understand to steer clear of her, at least before the surgery.  things might be better after she’s altered, but it might not.  i’d provide supervision when they’re in the space together, but don’t punish the rabbit for reacting like that.  animals, esp. rabbits, can’t comprehend things like that.

[kimberleyanddarren]

maybe your son was just being too noisy and he didnt like it although he didnt actually touch him? also maybe he has been hurt by him in the past and is now affraid there could be a number of reasons just try keeping them seperate when not supervised and give ur son treats to give the bunny so he can start to see your son as a positive person

[MooBunnay]

I must have mis-understood when you said you picked her up by the scruff of the neck – I have seen people do this before without supporting the rabbits bum or back legs and that is why I was concerned about the bunny kicking and hurting herself. I’d imagine if you were supporting her weight on the back feet and legs and she didn’t seem to mind that it would be OK.

I’m glad to hear that your son was able to give her a treat and not be scared from her previous lunging. You may want to recommend for awhile that he doesn’t get his face to close to her until you can figure out what triggered the lunging – sometimes one of my bunnies will lunge at my leg when I am in his way, or if he is trying to get petted. Your bunny may have just been trying to get some pets from your son, or perhaps she wanted to keep moving foward and he was in “her way” – I’ve noticed then can be very pushy about which path they want to take

[bunnytowne]

I was thinking children are very unpredictable in their actions and movements. it can make animals nervous around them. and yes being by buns cardboard etc. may have made her feel threatened. some animals just don’t like children again cuz their movements and actions are so quick and unpredictable loud noisy spontaneous that sort of thing. sorry it happened. also when buns come face to face it can mean an attack is coming as they are threatening each other or one is threatening the other by getting into the other’s face. so maybe bun didn’t want to back down in this situation

[DawnT]

Great news.  Oreo went to the vet and her health is fine which is great news.  He said to start her on veggies.  Collard greens and anything that is a dark green leaf.  I went to the store and guess who was the first person to feed her the greens.  My 10 year old son.  Now when she sees him she walks up to him hoping for the collard greens.  How often do I give the veggies and what are the different types of veggies are there to give.

The doctor feels she went after him is becasue he was in her space.  Yesterday Justin was playing in the same spot she walked up to him and bumped him with her nose He got up left her pass and he went back to playing. 

 

She goes 4/4/08 to be spayed.  Could some one give me some insight on the cost?  The vet is going to charge $178.00 is this reasonable or is this a high price?

Dawn

[MooBunnay]

I’m glad to hear that Oreo is doing better “communicating” with your son! The “nose bump” can quite often mean that the bunny would like you to move so they can pass, so he’s doing a good job understanding bunny language.

I think that the spay fee is a relatively normal fee. While I have occasionally seen it for less, my last bunny’s spay cost $156. That was for a well-known rabbit doctor in LA, and I thought he did a great job.

As far as veggies go, I usually give around 2 cups per bunny to my bunnies, though I have heard some people do even more than that, up to 3 or 4 cups. As long at the veg is healthy veg, such as the collard greens you have, I think that the 2-4 cup range is a good one. Some popular vegetables you can feed your bunny include romaine lettuce, red leaf lettuce (but not iceberg lettuce, as there is not much health-wise for the bunny in iceberg, and it can sometimes cause some tummy upset) – some good herbs are parsley, and cilantro. All of those vegetables are quite popular with my bunnies.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Be careful with collard greens like kale, they are high in oxalates and you should give a break between fedding them. Buy one bunch and use it until it is done and break for 1-2 weeks before giving again.

I am so glad to hear that your son and teh bunny are doing well together.

[Gravehearted]

Dawn – hope your son is feeling better and I am glad to hear it sounds like he is not holding a grudge. I am very glad to hear you got her into the vet and have scheduled her spay appointment. Female rabbits fo tend to be highly territorial, but it should calm down once she’s spayed.

The price for the spay seems average and reasonable, I know some vets who charge over $300!

[DawnT]

i have gnerated a new post for this…  but i do not know what to do.  as you know we took oreo to the vet.  welli woke up this morning and there are at least 4 new babies on the side of my end table.  i have know idea what to do.  i called the emergency vet number in a panick and asked what to do.  he said do not touch them.  we didn’t. 

she had them some time during the night

i put a cardboard box with bedding on the side of it.  he said she might hurt them

i wish i would have know i could have given her what she needs.

 

any ideas

[Scarlet_Rose]

Hi Yelp, her behavior can be explained now by her pregnancy. When the babies are weaned and separated by sex, take mum in to be spayed.

[Gravehearted]

Yes, I’d agree – the territorial behavior was due to the pregnancy.

[Author]

Messages