Digging - is she unhappy?

Our new rescue bunny Angel digs around in her hutch so much I'm wondering if she is unhappy and 'trying to escape". She digs very violently at the sawdust and turns her food bowl over (then she can't get her excel either). She is in the hutch on her own as we have only just taken her in and is a 'territorial bunny'. She is also still trying to bite us when we put our hands in the run, although sometimes she seems to love a head rub. I am really trying to do the right thing for her, but she seems so unhappy...

My girl mady does that. she has a ikea pillow in her cage (only about 70p) and she loves digging at it. moses our boy doesn't seem to be a digger but he loves sitting on it and laying on it and stuff. mady does that too and moves it about the cage. i would get something like that for angel, or get a big litter tray of dirt to play about in.

My rescue girls have started digging for england in the garden recently too. We couldn't even let them out this morning unitl we had blocked up yeaterdays hole otherwise our neighbour would have had a surprise:lol::lol:

I read somewhere that girls are more likely to dig as in the wild the females are the ones who dig the burrows.

I think you need to remember that digging is natural rabbit behaviour ( the vet laughed and told me that when I complained about mine!) and I am planning to put a big pot of soil/sand out for mine to dig in as this is meant to satisfy that urge.

Maybe if she is a rescue which you have only just got she is still settling in.

how about getting her some toys to occupy her if she doesn't have any

Has she been speyed?

I have found inatct females far more likely to demonstrate 'disruptive behaviour' becuase of their hormones. Some of it is out of frustration, some territorial and other related to phantome pregnancy.

She may be trying to build some kind of nest.

Something else to do may stop/or lessen the behaviour. You could put a cardboard box in with her - cut a couple of small holes in it and she may satisfy herself by tearing it to pieces or jump inside it and demolish it from the inside. :lol:

Maria x

have you watched watership down in thier they do actually say ''Digging is doe work' :lol:

Rabbits dig Its just something they do :lol: Now someone has said that its usually the girls who dig, I hadnt really thought about it before but my boys dont actually dig very much at all compared to the girls

Buu is terrible for trying to dig into the neighbours garden, its secure so she can only get back into our garden but I dont want her going in so I am constantly filling up holes under the fence :lol:

Can you provide Angel with a digging box? I give mine a large box filled with soil in the runs for them to dig about in. Or a cardboard box filled with shredded newspaper Does she have anything in the hutch to keep her occupied? I put things like pine cones and apple sticks in the hutches so they have things to chew and throw about

As for turning her bowl over and not being able to get to the food, I hide my buns pellets around the hutch so they have to look for them It keeps them busy for ages. I hide the pellets in their hay and they will spend ages digging about trying to find more :lol: Or have you tried a treat ball? Mine didnt really get the hang of them but I think some people on here use them so their rabbits have to do something to get their dinner rather than just eating out of a bowl x

Thanks for the replies

I feel a bit better about the digging knowing that lots of others rabbits do it. I think it's because me other 2 don't dig much that I thought it was not good! She has some toys and cardboard tubes which she likes to play with, but I will definately try some of the other suggestions!