I wonder

:?

Just something i've been wondering for a while. I have had three rabbits since I was little. Not a lot so I can't really prove or disprove my theory so I'm asking you lot :wave:

My first rabbit was a black normal sticky up eared rabbit (not sure of the correct name for such a rabbit but imagine a wild one but black) It was ANGRY all the time!! It hated me and everyone else. Nothing bad had ever happened to it and it had free run of a shed. (mainly because we were all so terrified it might attack us if we tried to put it in the hutch) anyway its set up was not ideal but certainly better than a lot of rabbits got about 13 years ago!

Next was a nethie dwarf also black and female. She also hated me! honestly i don't know what it is about me. :shock: She would bite any chance she got. She had a good set up as this was only a year or so ago. She had a huge run and a big hutch. I did get rare glimpses of affection from her. If I picked her up and put her on my knee and stroked her i would get a lick every now and then. Unfortunately she died of flystrike (I was still pretty ignorant at the time and didn't even know what flystrike was untill it happened)

Finally I now hax Dex (another sticky up eared) and Lilly dwarf lop. Dex is friendly enough but prefers her own space thankfully not a biter! but Lilly is so friendly. I really was starting to think all rabbits were destined to hate me before these two. Having said that this site has helped with understanding dex and knowing why she reactes the way she does to certain things. Lilly is fab though she's like one of my cats for snuggles and kisses.

Anyway massive post (I do this a lot )
My friend had a dwarf lop when we were little and that was also very friendly and snuggly.

So do you think that certain breeds are more friendly and laid back than others? Are some just naturally highly strung ????

im not convinced its a breed thing.. more a human interaction before a certain age.

Alvin my lop was in a hutch with his brothers and sisters at the age of 8 weeks no sign of mistreatment when i went to buy him, but i assume he was not handled at all. in my search to find out why i was hated i read that bunnies not handled before the age of 5 weeks dont ever truely warm to humans but IF you handle them and get them used to the human smell before 5 weeks they wont fear us so much.

i do think alot of Alvins attitude is due to him either being totally deaf or very hard of hearing as well as the lack of human contact as a baby

Pearl is an uppy eared bun and i assume she was handled from a baby because altho she is a nervous girl she adores a snuggle with her human

i dont think its the breed...

Its the bunny itself

You're probably right. My first two were from a certain huge pet chain and god only knows what had gone on before I got them. I bought them before I was aware of rabbit rehome and this forum. Lilly was a rehome and probably came from loving owners if her attitude is anything to go by. Dex is not so friendly but she was the last of a lot in a smaller pet shop and no one would buy her because she was getting big. Actually the more I think about it the handling before five weeks makes a lot of sense. The time scales for all the buns certainly fits. Just wish I could build a closer relationship with Dex

Mrs Ord said:

You're probably right. My first two were from a certain huge pet chain and god only knows what had gone on before I got them. I bought them before I was aware of rabbit rehome and this forum. Lilly was a rehome and probably came from loving owners if her attitude is anything to go by. Dex is not so friendly but she was the last of a lot in a smaller pet shop and no one would buy her because she was getting big. Actually the more I think about it the handling before five weeks makes a lot of sense. The time scales for all the buns certainly fits. Just wish I could build a closer relationship with Dex

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you will eventually.. Alvin is almost 3 now and he deffo loves me in his own hates human ways... im allowed to stoke him for atleast a minute now before i get shown the bum :lol::lol: and he buzzes me every time he sees me (for food tho) and if a stranger goes near him he certainly reacts very badly to them which also shows me how much progress ive made with the stroppy git.

he will never allow me to pick him up i dont think, even when hes poorly i get a huge fight at syringe time. he was compared to a ferral cat at the vets once :shock:

wouldnt have him any other way, im not really into mega fussy clingy animals anyway my arm aches stroking them :lol::lol::lol:

They can be yes. I also think hormones have a lot to do with it. Were the rabbits you had years ago neutered?

With dogs, I think there are traits associated with particular breeds.....with rabbits, no. It's far more down to the individual rabbit, its life experiences and whether or not it's neutered.

Although I have heard people who deal with a lot of rabbits say that, for example, rexes are particularly curious, or dutches are particularly intelligent, so there may be something there....not enough though to buy/adopt a specific breed in order to get that trait though, like people do with dogs.

I have had 6 uppy eared rabbits and they've al been total darlings