New Bunny...So Confused!

I got my first bunny a little over two weeks ago, and I don't understand her behavior! I waited almost a year reading about and planning for my first bunny and now that she's here I'm so confused!! She's a three month old Holland Lop, & I know it's only been a few weeks that I've had her, but her behavior seems so erratic - is this normal?

I've had a few "confrontations" with her so far. The third day I got her I tried to hand feed her a treat when she was in her play pen and she lunged/attacked me for it! She didn't actually hurt me, but she made an aggressive move. It wasn't the first time I had tried to hand feed her either, I had handed her timothy and pellets before and she happily ate them.

The day after this happened she started to lick me occasionally, and sat quietly on my shoulder and chattered her teeth when I petted her. Then though, a few days later, I was letting her out to have a run around my apartment and when it was time to go back in her cage my boyfriend tried to pick her up and she attacked him too! She actually got him, drawing a little blood. She preceded to growl at us, and even though she didn't try to attack me when I picked her up she was still growling a bit when I put her back in her cage.

Everyday she seems to go through cycles of loving/hating us...she'll "bunk" around us when she's playing, but she hates to be "caught" when she's out romping around and she's occasionally aggressive. Is this behavior because she's new? Is it normal for bunnies to act this way? I'm at a loss of what she's thinking...can anyone give me any in site??

what's her history? do you know much about her home life before you got her?

sounds like she is a bit hormonal.... neutering will help this but its not an instant fix it takes around a month for hormones to settle after the op. also you may find that she is less agressive if you let her come to you however some buns are just aggressive regardless, particularly females who are not speyed you find that they get very possessive and territorial.... even now and dora is speyed she will attack me over food if i hand feed in her hutch... but if outdoors she doesnt mind... this is much better than when she used to go for me if i so much as put a hand in her hutch or within 2 ft of her and yes some days she would let me stroke her (pre op) and then all of a sudden spag me like a cat....bless her she is fine now tho.

the other thing i would suggest is a vet check some buns are like this when there is a problem they are trying to hide..ilness infection etc etc...so just pop to your local rabbit savvy vet and get a quick check up at least then you will know if its a problem with her temperment or a problem with her. good luck at fixing this

I don't know a lot about her history, unfortunatly. I was about to purchase a mini rex from a breeder in my area when my boyfriend's little sister told me that she had bought a bunny in "secret" and now that her mom had discovered it she was having to give it to the human society where she was afraid it would be put to sleep.

I had a rabbit cage and all the supplies already as I had been planning to get a bunny for awhile and I decided, on the spur of the moment, that the breeder's bunnies would go to good homes but that this one had an uncertain future.

All I know about her is that she was purchased from a petstore three days before I got her. When I came to pick her up she was being kept in a decent cage, a little small, and she was hiding in a plastic igloo inside of it. Abby, my boyfriend's sister, didn't mention anything out of the ordinary about her behavior or things that had happened with her. I had my vet check her the same day and she is supposedly in good health.

If it's hormonal when do you think I should get her spayed? I briefly asked the vet about this but he brushed it off saying it wasn't anything to worry about for a few months... but since we saw him the day I got her he didn't know about her "attacks".

Thanks for the info! I've tried to read as much about bunnies as possible but not having anyone to talk to who actually owns one makes it so hard!! Everyday she does new things and I constantly wonder what everything means haha

Xanthum said:

If it's hormonal when do you think I should get her spayed? I briefly asked the vet about this but he brushed it off saying it wasn't anything to worry about for a few months... but since we saw him the day I got her he didn't know about her "attacks".

Thanks for the info! I've tried to read as much about bunnies as possible but not having anyone to talk to who actually owns one makes it so hard!! Everyday she does new things and I constantly wonder what everything means haha

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welsome to the complex world of bunnys...im still learning 12 years later!!!!.. some vets will do it dependant on weight(spey/neuter) some will do it dependant on age...if age i think(tho always had adult buns so not 100%sure) that they say around 5-6months? eek in whihc case you have to wait it out!!! but some vets will do it earlier too... have you got a good rabbit savvy vet(just a lot of them know so little about buns as they get like a weeks training on them unless they do additional rabbit training) if you havent got a vet you know is rabbit savvy then i would get a recommendation off here... if no one in your area then try a horse vet as they (horses) have a similar digestive tract and so the horse vets often know more than others about buns... still good luck with getting the attacks sorted out... maybe try getting her a cuddly toy to snuggle up to in the mean time so she feels secure...and make sure she has somewhere to hide/run to ie box within a cage? so she has somewhere that she can class as hers ...maybe then outside this area she will be less territorial? not sure tho good luck xx