What are the chances of getting a mean bunny??

[pixiemom]

on the pug board i am on one of the girls just wrote me that she loves bunnies but not from pets. She said she had one that she spoiled, let run the house, and was so nice to this bunny but he was mean. Said he would bite and everything. She made me nervous but then again reading all your posts all the bunnies here seem super sweet!

[Minty]

I’m not sure what she means by ‘mean.’ People who don’t understand rabbit language can think rabbits are being aggressive or mean when they are simply trying to communicate. I have rarely met a rabbit who is aggressive just because they enjoy it, they are usually trying to tell us humans something. For example, I have known bunnies who will lunge or bat with their paws when approached from the front when inside their cage or cornered. This is simply because they feel threatened and obviously most bunnies don’t enjoy being picked up. Of course, some bunnies just have a more dominant personality.

[LizzieKnittyBun]

I really think it just depends… bunnies are sort of like people in that respect. There are going to be some bad apples in the mix, but if you try to do a good job raising them, and give them lots of love and affection, then you’re likely to end up with a sweet bunny!

The bun that you read about may have had a traumatic experience that kept him from trusting humans, which was why he was mean and bitey. We raised both of ours from babies and they trust us, which is why we get along so well together!

[pixiemom]

she said the bunny would growl and thump and when she would clean the cage the bunny would just stare and thump its feet. If they walked by it out of the cage the bunny would jump and kick her or her kids. Said he was very smart and litter box trained very fast. She said she was petrified of the bunny. Im nervous Pixie will be afaid of my dogs…. : (

[KatnipCrzy]

I am going to guess that maybe the bunny was not spayed or neutered- and that can cause some territorial or aggressive seeming behavior.

Before Cotton was old enough to be spayed her hormones kicked in and she would grunt/growl and lunge at me when I cleaned her cage.  It scared me even when I knew she was going to do it.  Funny to imagine a little fluffy bunny can be so scary.  That has totally resolved and the only time i ever see he growl is when we are feeding and if I am just dropping her greens into her pen- she will sometimes grunt/growl if a piece lands next to her and she is already eating and focused on her eating.

The only time I see any aggression in my 3 bunnies is towards each other (they are not bonded)- never towards humans.  They love people and beg for treats and attention.

But when hormones are involved- a human can bear the brunt of their misdirected frustration or mating attempts- like circling, spraying, etc.

Some bunnies naturally explore things with their mouth and if that is the case- they just need to know that it hurts you.  Or in the case of Cotton when she was young- she nibbled holes in my pajama t shirts as she used to cuddle with me on the couch- just redirect or take away the object she wanted to nibble on- I used a blanket between her and my PJs and she lost interest.

[Minty]

If the bunny was unaltered this can result in unwanted hormone driven behaviours. He could have just been territorial of his space which is pretty common. I also think if bunnies know you’re scared or not comfortable handling them then they sense this and take advantage of it! I know I used to be scared of handling bunnies because they would squirm and this would make them thrash even more! Now that I am comfortable and confident to handle buns, they usually calm down pretty quickly. It’s the same for petting or any type of interaction too though, if you are nervous, the bunny will be nervous.

[Andi]

I have a bunny who lunges at people (and animals), grunts, and nips (not me, b/c we worked out I am the dominat bunny). She’s protective and a bit scared, so this is how she acts. But if i want to pay attention to her or come into her house, i come in with good strong energy and being positive. I have found if I am negative and complain how bad she is then she acts worse.
So I believe depending on the bunny, how it was rasied and our own behaviour influences how our pets act. That said I had a gerbil with 3 legs I rescued as a baby b/c it’s family attacked & ate her leg off … I think she family knew something was wrong and that’s why they attacked her. She was vicious, attacking everything in site, u couldn’t touch her, she bit through my thumb nail once and i had to pry her off.

[Lintini]

That sounds like a very unhappy and scared bunny.

I agree with Lizzie. And in my experience so far, even my bratty dwarf who used to lunge and growl at me, after being spayed and getting a much larger cage in between her bedroom playtime, became a much nicer bun. Infact, she is even better about being held and snuggled than my other rabbits now.

[LizzieKnittyBun]

And really… even sweet bunnies can get aggressive sometimes, like SullysMum said. Momo, for instance, licks my nose and face every single day, and she will play with me endlessly!

But… when I pick her up to groom her, she really doesn’t like being high up and will bite on my shirt. As soon as I put her back down, she’s back to her sweet, goofy self and will start licking and playing again.

[pixiemom]

so I guess my question is can you all cuddle or hold your bunny or do they not like to be held most of them?

[Minty]

My bunnies really like to be pet, but do not necessarily like to be held and carried around. They will tolerate it, but I can tell they don’t enjoy it and would rather be on the ground. This is pretty typical of bunnies though. I have never really met a bunny that enjoys being picked up.

[Lintini]

It really depends on the bunny, but since you are getting a baby just make sure you make time for her everyday and give her lots of attention and hold her a lot. When you watch tv or hop online – have her on your lap with you. Some buns don’t like to be held at all but you can do your best as she grows to get her used to handling so hopefully she won’t hate it.

[LizzieKnittyBun]

Most bunnies don’t “enjoy” being high up off the ground… I think it’s probably an instinctual thing, since they are prey animals by nature. But a lot of them will tolerate it, for grooming and short cuddles.

It’s difficult to force a bunny to cuddle. Sometimes you’ll get lucky and your bunny will get in your lap and lick and play, or even hunker down for petting. Remy does that. Momo stays on the floor almost entirely, unless we’re asleep when she gets on the couch and tries to dig to China.

[pixiemom]

I wont really mind if she does not want to cuddle although I would love for her to. I am more afraid of aggressive behavior and biting.

[Beka27]

Posted By pixiemom on 05/12/2010 11:13 AM
so I guess my question is can you all cuddle or hold your bunny or do they not like to be held most of them?

In my experience, No.  My girl loves pets, not so much being held or “cuddled”.  My boy sometimes likes pets, and never wants to be held.  The majority of rabbits do not like to be held or restrained in anyway.  Since they are naturally prey animals, to them this is the equivalent of “being caught”.  Very few bunnies LIKE to be held, altho many will tolerate it for short periods of time.  I will pick up my buns from time to time for one minute snuggles.  I know they don’t like it, but I crave some skin to fur contact with them.  when I put them down they flick their feet at me as they hop away.  This is the bunny translation of “flipping someone the bird.”

 

[pixiemom]

awww lol flipping the bird! That is funny. I guess I will just have to wait to see how she is when we get her! Im counting the days and hours!

[Monkeybun]

Moose doesn’t like being picked up, but he tolerates it as long as he gets his ears pet during it. Monkey despises being picked up and held, or touched in any way really lol. It varies from bunny to bunny, but the mean aggressiveness is usually caused by hormones, or illness, and you have to be sure to let them have their own space where you don’t go if they are in it. Leave cage cleaning for when they are out running around, so they don’t see you in their territory. Definitely helps

[usagi]

have you considered going to a local shelter and seeing who you bond with? the buns are already speutered and have developed their personality, and the people at the shelter should know they pretty well. you could see whichbun seems to really connect with you and your family.

[usagi]

oh, sorry pixiemom, sounds like she is already on the way, so ignore previous post.

buns can be really unpredictable, which is one of things that i love so much about them. dogs, they will always wag their tail and love you and love yo and love you, but a bunny really needs to gain trust before they open up.

lemony never liked to be help. since his neuter, he has been a little bit more tolerant of this, and now will even hop up on the bed and come up to us and nuzzle our noses looking for grooms.

ask petzy about dogs and buns – she trained her huge pups to be fine around the buns. there is a picture on here somewhere of neigey sleeping on one of the dogs noses. do you have more than one dog? i remember her saying that you would want to train each dog separately with the bun, as to not overwhelm him, and also to be able to have the most control over the training process. my parents have four dogs – i have yet to figure out how that is going to work when we bring lemony home to visit this summer.

[Sarita]

I don’t think that there are mean bunnies. I tend to agree with Andi on this.

I think when a rabbit reacts this way it is due to fear and possibly pain. Honestly neutering and spaying is not going to make a rabbit trust you more or fear you less but it will help with some of the hormonal related behavior and frustration that comes with not being altered.

Sometimes you need to look at things through your rabbits eyes not through yours to see why they are reacting in a “mean” way. I’ve seen even altered rabbits react fearfully and act mean when they feel threatened. I think a person who takes on the challenge of gaining a rabbit’s trust who acts this way is doing a wonderful thing trying to teach the rabbit to trust them.

My rabbit Pepe bites me still and it’s because I sometimes don’t behave in a manner that he trusts but I still love him alot. I know I have to learn to change my behavior in order to get him to change his behavior. It takes courage and persistence but it’s worth it.

[usagi]

also, you have to get accustomed to bunny language. sometimes when lemony goes to groom us, he will scatch or bite at our clothes. He doesn’t realize that this hurts.

nails will always be a problem. when the bun first gets home, make sure you have a sweatshirt on to cover your arms and your chest. or, perhaps, pick the bun up in a blanket so he feels secure. as you get to know each other better you probably won’t need this, but it is definitely something to keep in mind.  those nails are sharp, and will always be sharp.  

[Elrohwen]

I agree with many of the others that her aggressive bunny was probably unspayed and unspayed females can be very territorial and demanding. Everyone I know who has had an aggressive bunny has had an unspayed female (or occasionally an unneutered male).

There are a few bunnies at the rescue who are quite aggressive. In some cases it’s only in the cage and they’re fine out of it. For others, they’re not friendly in or out of the cage. However, all of these bunnies have severe trust issues with people and were spayed later in life, after bad habits set it. In my experience, much aggression, assuming it’s not hormone related, is linked to fear. Very very few animals are mean just for the heck of it – more often than not it’s a reaction to being so afraid they don’t know what else to do. Since you’re getting a baby and socializing her early, the chances that she will be terrified enough to be mean are very slim.

Both of my bunnies can be nervous from time to time, but because they’ve been well socialized they have never bit or acted out when nervous because they know, ultimately, that I’m not going to hurt them. They’d rather run away from me than turn on me. A very scared bunny will bite in an attempt to get you to leave them alone because they are too afraid to do anything else and have found that biting works.

[Elrohwen]

I forgot to add – neither of my bunnies like to be picked up. They hate it!! Even the vet techs have issues holding them sometimes. Because of this, I just take them to the vet to have their nails trimmed. My husband and I aren’t great bunny wranglers and with tough buns like ours, it’s just easier on everybody. Plus I can work on gaining their trust without ruining it by picking them up. Otto will remember being picked up for weeks and won’t let me pet him, so I really try to never pick him up.

As for cuddles, all bunnies are different. Hannah really enjoys pets as long as they’re on the floor (she’s learning to enjoy them on the couch too). She’ll flatten right out for pet and close her eyes.

Otto is a bit more aloof. He likes to be petted in enclosed spaces, like in his maze, I think because he knows I can’t pick him up or bother him too much. Out in the open, he will sometimes let me snuggle and give him kisses on the forehead. He used to be better about this, but since getting our second bun he’s back to hopping away when I pet him 🙁 I got him as a baby and spent tons of time with him, so it goes to show that you really can’t predict a bun’s personality. I guess he didn’t like being petted much as a baby either, so his personality hasn’t changed from baby to adult, but it makes me think that his ingrained personality is more important than whatever socializing I did.

[Nibbles_NZ]

Most of the bunnies I’ve met don’t like to be held. Mine love to be pet. Bunnies like to explore…they don’t have time to be on someones lap. lol. Atleast that’s how mine are They love pets though. If I pick them up they tolerate it but I only do it when I have to. When I first got them, I picked them up a lot. They will tell you what they like and what they don’t. Bunnies get “mean” for a reason. Maybe she just thinks that bunny was supposed to like her. If she lets it run her entire house, I can’t see her getting much bonding time with it. She gives it all of that freedom and then probably has to chase it down to put it in it’s cage. She is the enemy. I personally want my buns to be free roam but I don’t think it would work out well if I just let it run the whole house from the start. Unaltered bunnies would do that also. Reaching your hand inside a bunnies cage is asking for trouble if the bunny is the bunny is at all territorial (which hers obviously was). That also makes her the enemy.

I wouldn’t let that worry you at all When you let your bunny out, keep it in one room to explore. Lay on the floor. Eventually it will explore you. When it does, give it a treat and some pets. It will very soon learn that you are it’s friend. If your bunny is too young for a treat, use hay. That’s what I did. I have even tought my kids to do this and my buns are not spectical of them now either.

[pixiemom]

I already picked Pixie out and I could never say now I dont want her. As soon as I saw her I knew she was mine. I know the breeder handles her every day and holds her. She is only about 5 weeks so Im hoping with getting her so young I can connect some sort of bond with her. If she does not want to be held that is fine. I just dont want a mean aggressive bunny that is not friendly!

[LizzieKnittyBun]

It sounds like you really care about her already, and that’s the main step to having a sweet bunny : )

[pixiemom]

I do care so much for her already and she is not even here!!! As soon as I saw her with the her other siblings I knew she was the one. Im gettiing very excited. So everyone says that unaltered bunnies can be aggressive. It is 6 mo that you spay?? Will I go through 6 months of aggressive behavior possibly?

[Elrohwen]

They don’t start aggressive – they become aggressive as the hormones kick in. Usually this happens around 4-5 months and then they can be spayed a month later. You certainly don’t go through 6 months of aggressive behavior or nobody would ever have bunnies 😉

And as I said before, as long as she is socialized young and not from mean parents, there is little to no chance that you will have a mean bunny. Bunnies aren’t just randomly mean. Either they are very scared or hormonal – your bunny will be well socialized and spayed, so she won’t be either of those things.

[LizzieKnittyBun]

Take heart! Neither of my buns have ever been aggressive. When Remy matured, all he did was circle us constantly to indicate that he was… ready for action, lol. But he’s never been aggressive or bitey, and neither has Momo (except when I pick her up).

Don’t worry : )

[pixiemom]

Thank you all so much for all this info. I can already tell i am going to love this board and learn a lot. It reminds me so much of the pug board I am on. I have been on that board for 4 years and have met some real great people from all of the states.
My first pug Gypsy was so sick in the hospital I did everything I could do to save her and I am still paying off that bill and she has been gone 2 yrs now. I had people from the pug board calling my vet asking to donate money to her, had people send me cards….etc. I cant tell you how many great people I have met and all the info I got to keep my pugs healthy to this day.
I hope to find the same on this board except not with pugs…with bunnies!!!
I cant wait for Pixie to get here!
Thanks again
Shannon

[Nibbles_NZ]

Honestly, I think you are worrying too much about agressive, mean bunnies. The ones that are like that are either not spayed/neutered, mishandled or misunderstood. You will learn a lot here. I have!

[RabbitPam]

As someone here said, bunnies communicate in their own way. They often use their teeth but do not even try to break the skin and hurt you. It’s just their mouths can be used like another hand, to move things, like you, out of their way, demand attention (hey up there! I’m talking to you!), or complain. It is rare that a bunny will intentionally bite you enough to bleed, but baby bunnies don’t control it as well as adults, so the bites come more often when they are very young.

What a bunny will do is make themselves sound scary, seem mean, and look mean to protect themselves. Like if a powder puff growled at you. Otherwise every animal and bird would think they were cute – and delicious. It’s just for safety. Bunnies have definite preferences, so one will hate being held or hate heights (my Samantha) and others will hate a certain kind of food. They tell you by disapproving; by running, boxing, growling, turning their backs, and lightly nipping. Pay attention to whatever you are doing when the bunny does this. Get the message, and the biting will go away.
(remember, their cage is their safe house, not a prison. You are a guest in their house every time you reach in. Sometimes, you are not invited. )

[Beka27]

The important thing is that you are willing to deal with aggressive behavior if it comes up. So many rabbits get surrendered to shelters (or worse) b/c they bite from time to time, but this is a natural protection for them. Hopefully, if it happens it will just be a temporary “pre-spay” behavior, but are you willing to work thru it is she is “mean”?

I’ve got to tell you, my female mini rex does not care for my son, and she has bitten him and will lunge towards him if he’s in what she considers her space. I’m not sure if it’s jealousy b/c she is so bonded to me, or just b/c he’s small so she think she can boss him around. And this is going on 2 years since her spay. We’ve learned how to work around it and my son understands her behaviors and positioning, and to stay out of her space. The children are the ones with human intellect, so it’s best to train them starting at a young age how to behave around rabbits. We’re committed to Meadow and we’re not giving her up for anything. We are willing to deal with less than desirable behavior to ensure she has a loving, forever home. As it is, she’s been much better in the past year or so, it helped immensely when she was bonded to Max.

[Balefulregards]

I have found that rabbits are…Subtle when it comes to their language. A cat or Dog will get right up in your face. The only time I have seen a rabbit do that is if they were scared or protecting territory ( Or blowing her coat!)

Of my two, neither likes being picked up – EVER. Jackson will tolerate it for very short amounts of time…Coco fights the moment she is picked up.

Coco is more “lovey” and will bump for rubs. Jackson is just now ( 9 months after adoption) starting to show any type of affection to humans. He always loved Coco…The humans he could do without.

So Rabbits have taught me that my time table is not their concern.

[Author]

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