Advice about rescuing a territorial rabbit!

I've just been to our local Pets at Home and they have a rabbit for adoption (rescue) and my husband and I would like to take her, but we have a couple of reservations that the staff couldnt help with, so I wondered if anyone on the forum could give us some advice.

The rabbit is an un-neutered 2 yr old female lop who has 'territorial' behaviour problems. She was returned due to not get on with her hutch mate. We would keep her in a separate hutch, but would be in close proximity to our other 2 female lop sisters (aged 3). Does anyone think this would be a problem if they were in sight of each other? Is a territorial rabbit always like that, or would neutering help?

If anyone can offer some advice it would be much appreciated - as we don't want to leave her and risk her being adopted 1st!

Poor thing - the reason she's probably got 'territorial issues' is because she isnt spayed! :? Why do people blame things like this on the poor bunny when spaying would usually sort it out!?

I would have her spayed first before introducing her to another bun......I wouldnt have thought that there would be problems if she was in close proximity of your other buns, as long as you dont introduce them properly just yet.

I say go get her!

I had a very stroppy rabbit and she is a year old, but once she was spayed shes gradually easing out of it. id say go get her and get her spayed, and give her some love and tlc

Spaying will help with the hormonal behaviour and also safeguard against uterine cancer. Does are often territorial over their hutch and possessions - its just something you learn to live with and as her hormones decline so should her aggressive behaviour improve. It may never go away completely though. Peppermint was spayed 4 1/2 years ago and she still bunny punches me when she feels like it :lol: :lol:

Being within sight of other rabbits shouldn't be too much of an issue, but I would really leave any bonding sessions untill about 4-6 weeks after spaying.

I had exactly the same with Bella, who was a P@H adoption bunny. She had been sold as a pair and returned because of her behaviour. I was told she had to remain a single bunny.

She was very very territorial - lunging, growling, biting, scratching, and all but impossible to hold. She was spayed at just over four months and a lot of the aggression has gone, although she is still territorial in her cage and I don't ever put my hand in without distracting her. Outside her cage she is a bundle of fun and races around having all sorts of fun and destroying everything in sight. She loves coming and having nose rubs and ear tickles, and on her terms she is a very loving and lovable rabbit, and I wouldn't have her any other way.

After she'd recovered from the spay we tried bonding her with Tarquin, who because of his previous bonding experience needed to be with a rabbit who could stand up for herself. Unfortunately neither of them would back down and so they live very happily side-by-side. They can touch noses through their cages and they have shifts out of their cages and will quite often choose to go and sit near the other.

If you're happy to take her on knowing that she may not be able to be bonded with another rabbit then go for it. I know that my two are very happy as they are - it would be even better if they could live together, but what we've got works for them and so I'm happy with it.

Just a little note, although spaying will probably help with the behavior there could be another cause making her unhappy and thats why she acts that way. My rabbits isn't spayed and she's never had any behavior problems. Same with my pair of female rabbits I used to have when I was a teenager, they weren't spayed either and lived perfectly happily.

If you do go ahead with adopting this bunny, I would definately recomend that she is speyed and thoroughly checked over by a vet ASAP to see if there are any other causes for her agression. As previoulsy mentioned neutering will protect her from uterine cancer which affects a large proportion of unneutered rabbits.

I would be a little cautious keeping her within sight of your other female rabbits as this may upset the relationship they have with each other if they can see and smell her. This is known as referred aggression.

There are many interesting articles which you can read, these include http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rwf/articles/biting_hand.htm
http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rwf/articles/neutleaf.htm
http://www.houserabbit.co.uk/rwf/articles/uterine.htm

Zakura was also very aggressive before she got spayed.
She may still bite occasionally, but she's become lots better
Before she got spayed I would hold her down with one hand whenever I fed her, or give her a food bowl to place on the cage door, so when the cage door opened the bowl followed it.

She now gets along with my male rabbit, however she hates Aroma, my other doe:roll: (Neither of those two are neutered, so Sasuke does try to mate with her but with no results as she is spayed, they're only together when they are supervised)

I agree 100% that spaying her should be a priority but although spaying helps in a lot of cases it doesn't always solve the problem. I had one bun who used to bite quite badly and when we got her spayed she stopped ...... for two days!! She then went back to her old ways so just be aware that spaying her might not be a simple and easy solution it might take more than that. Like others have said there might be other underlying problems and she might just need some time and tlc - good luck!

Speying will most likely help but should be coupled with careful handling taken at her pace.....you will need to gain her trust. Having her inside will help with this and if she is to live alone should be a necessity.

It is also advisable to have her thoroughly checked by a rabbit savvy vet.....pain and illness are known to cause defensive aggression in rabbits and an undiagnosed problem could be the cause.

When Caspian arrived he was headshy, territorial, cage and food aggressive and impossible to handle. With care, kind words and a hell of a lot of patience he is now a wonderful little cuddle bun who is unbelievable affectionate. I suspect he will be even better when neutered.

Update!

Our third bunny is here!

Thanks for all the advice - we decided to go straight after work and pick up our new addition! She stamped her foot when the assistant went to pick her up, but once held she seemed perfectly calm, and then I held her and she was still quiet. We have decided to name her Angel, as she has angel wing white marks on her fur at the shoulders.

Currently she is in our extra hutch in the garage where she has plenty of peace and quiet, and has started eating straight away. We will get her neutered after she has settled in a bit, and then out into view of Merry and Pippin - not sure what they will make of her!

Anyway - once again thanks for all the advice, and we hope we can make her new life and happy one!