question about agression and neutering

[Laura]

Hi,

I still have the 3 foster babies. They are 4 months old now.  I separated them about 2 months ago because of all the humping and spraying and I didn’t know boys from girls.  Now I know they are all boys.  I am raising money to have them neutered and will return them to the shelter after they are neutered.

My problem is that one of the babies is, and has been, agressive. He bites me every time I put my hand in the cage.  I have his food and water bowls right by the door so I’m not actually putting my hand in the cage when I need to give him food or water.  But today when I went to change the water bowl he came after me, bit my finger and I was bleeding like crazy. I let him know it hurt, but I have before.  When I let him out for excersize time I give nose pets first, then put my hand on his head and take him out of the cage (which is on the floor so I just have to lift him up for a second.  I put him on a towel right away, keep my hand on his head (or he will turn to bite) and wrap him in a towel so I can take him to the kitchen to run around.  I also take him out so I can fix his blanket or clean his litter box, but I can’t take him out every time I need to do something.

The other 2 babies aren’t like this at all.  One is actually super sweet, like his momma, and loves to be petted.

So I know not to put my hand in the cage, but I think it’s going to be hard to find him a home.  I’m hoping the neutering will help.  Is there anything I can do to train him or teach him better behavior?

Oh and I was thinking of having them neutered all at the same time.  Can I put them in the pen tegether right after the surgery? I thought it would be good to have them rebond, just incase someone wanted to adopt 2 or 3 (but I doubt that will happen).

Thanks,
Laura

[Sarita]

As long as they are together and getting along before the surgery then they should be fine to keep together right after the surgery.

As for aggressive behavior, I would normally wonder first if it’s due to something medical, but I would imagine that’s not the case for this baby but then again, you never want to rule this out, so possibly a general check up with the vet would be a good idea.

I usually find that the aggressive rabbits are incredibly smart as well. Sometimes too the aggression is really fear – they see a big person coming at them and invading their space – so aggression is always being aggressive, it’s sometimes being fearful which is something to think about when you are working with him as well.

I do think that giving an aggressive rabbit lots of space is very necessary too – space to explore and play.

Also try a treat and then start petting – he may be annoyed but it will allow him to see how good it feels to get petted.

[Beka27]

And when you are reaching in to give food or something, can you go straight down and start petting his head with one hand (also holding him in place) and with the other hand put in food?

Or another short term option: would you be able to go into the cage from above (I’m assuming it has a top that opens?) and create a cardboard divider betw/ the bun and your hand? This way he can’t see you in his space and he may not react aggressively.

[Laura]

I have the 3 separated right now because of all the humping and spraying, and I didn’t know if they were boys or girls. So I was wondering if I could put them all in the same pen right after surgery to rebond them. Or will they just try to fight after surgery?

Cage he is in only opens on one side/front.

I do give him nose pets which he tolerates, I just don’t always have time to do it, sometimes I just want to give him fresh water or hay and move on to cleaning the other cages.

Each baby gets an hour (not together) each night for playtime in the kitchen. Which leads to lots of cleanup for me with spray and poop. Sometimes I’m cleaning up pee and get peed on! I’m hoping the neutering will put an end to that.

I will start using cardboard to block. But I’m still worried about his future.

[Sarita]

If they are fighting now then you will want to keep them separate after the neuter as well…you can start trying to re-bond.

Hopefully the neutering will help with the litterbox training but you’ll still have to be diligent about training.

[Laura]

Posted By Sarita on 12/23/2009 03:03 PM
If they are fighting now then you will want to keep them separate after the neuter as well…you can start trying to re-bond.

Hopefully the neutering will help with the litterbox training but you’ll still have to be diligent about training.

 

They are very good about using the litterbox when they are in their own pen/cage.  But when they are out they spray (and poop). I know it’s territorial.

[jerseygirl]

So I was wondering if I could put them all in the same pen right after surgery to rebond them.

If it were me, I’d play it safe and not do this. If they get too fiesty it could cause injury to surgery site or stress when they’re already somewhat stressed. So that could lead to complications during the recovery too.

On bonding them, I guess discuss it with the shelter they are going back too and the likelihood of them being adopted together. Would they ensure they are taken together? It would not be good for them to be permanently bonded then split up because someone wants to take one but not the other. They could end up grieving for one another otherwise.

[Beka27]

Have you given any thought to keeping the baby? If the shelter was willing to keep a bonded pair together and require they be adopted out together, you could try to bond the two calm brothers… this might ensure they went to a good home if both are very well-behaved. You could then keep the aggressive brother and work with him on his issues and either adopt him out at a later date, or keep him permanently so you know he will have a loving and supportive home.

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