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New Member With A Problem

md7242

New Kit
Hi There,

I just found the forum and joined in the hopes of getting some help as im at my wits end :(

I have two beautiful bunnies, one is about 9 months old, the other is 3 months old. They both came from the same breeder and are related. The older is female the younger is male. The female is my baby totally, she is a complete sweetheart and I can do anything with her, as can my kids who I bought her for initially (though I have got rather attached myself :oops: ). She never ever bites, she never kicks or stratches, she goes really calm and limp when you pick her up, she is wonderful. I decided to buy a second bun so the kids werent fighting over the one :roll: Obviously, with the success of the first I decided to go back to the same breeder. They had a litter available, with a few boys left. I went along, we picked a lovely little baby and brought him home a few weeks ago.

I have done everything the same as with the first one but this little guy is just a nightmare to handle. He doesnt bite or kick which im sure is the problem most people have. What he does is pee. And poo. And he does it a LOT! Everytime you pick him up. If one of the kids has him on their lap on the sofa he will just pee all over them. Its got to the point where neither of them will handle this new bun. I dont know what to do with him. I dont want to just rehome him as I feel that any pet is a commitment, and i dont want to teach my children that you can just get rid of something if it doesnt do what you want it to. But at the same time, the rabbit is a house rabbit and is a pet and he needs to be able to be handled. The last couple of weeks since the kids have refused to pick him up i have been trying to handle him myself but he is just soiling himself as much as ever. He never appears stressed or upset, he just messes everywhere. I have visited the vet and they can find no physical reason for this happening, they said he just doesnt like being handled.

Has anyone had this before? How did you deal with it? IS there any way of dealing with it? I really am at my wits end with this little bun!
 
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Neutering him in a few months time may help with the peeing a bit but unfortunately buns do do this a lot, they arent really cuddly animals for sitting on your knee.

Is your female spayed yet? She is old enough to be done now and this will help protect her against uterine cancer. Once they are both done you could try bonding them together which will be nice for them to live as a pair
 
He isnt neutered yet. I will be getting that done but the vet did advise that it wont make any difference to him messing everywhere :(

The female is spayed, she was done at 6 months, but she wont tolerate the other bun around her, im pretty sure she thinks she's a person :roll: We have them out at different times as she just likes to have all the attention for herself when she's out.
 
hello. :wave:
you will find loads of help on here. :D
i am no expert but NONE of my rabbits like being handled....you have a very rare rabbit with your girl. :)
getting him neutred will help but he still proberly wont like to be handled. i only pick mine up when i have to. ie, when they need checking over and for illnesses. :)
hopefully someone with more experiance will come along soon. :)
 
sorry cross posted....
if you put both rabbits together it has to be in a neurtral space where none of them have been before.
look up some threads on here about bonding as there will be chasing ect. :wave:
 
Do your male and female share areas? It's possible he is marking his territory if it smells of the female. Neutering should help with this too.

Welcome to the forum btw :wave:
 
He isnt neutered yet. I will be getting that done but the vet did advise that it wont make any difference to him messing everywhere :(

The female is spayed, she was done at 6 months, but she wont tolerate the other bun around her, im pretty sure she thinks she's a person :roll: We have them out at different times as she just likes to have all the attention for herself when she's out.

The neutering may make a difference, its definately worth it. Re bonding it does need to be done on neutral territory once both buns are done and have been done for a few weeks
 
He isnt neutered yet. I will be getting that done but the vet did advise that it wont make any difference to him messing everywhere :(

The female is spayed, she was done at 6 months, but she wont tolerate the other bun around her, im pretty sure she thinks she's a person :roll: We have them out at different times as she just likes to have all the attention for herself when she's out.

That sounds like your vet is not totally up to date with rabbits.

Neutering can help their behaviour generally, although specifically some rabbits may not lose all their detrimental behaviour.

In due course potentially you could look to bond the pair of them (but only when he is neutered and recovered and his hormones died down), which again may help with his messing if it is territory related. It is also more likely to make them boith happier :)

I just bonded my very own human rabbit with another rabbit and he has learnt social skills from her and they are a great pair, so it is very possible to do.

I think its also important to realise that rabbits are a prey species, so, as a rule, do not like being handled, however you get your exceptions who do. the average rabbit, however, does not.

I think neutering is your first port of call.
 
how long have you had him? we have this problem when we get another bun..i find it improves greatly as they get more used to the surroundings.hes still very young and is probably scared and discombobulated...
im sure in a month or so he will stop doing it:D
 
how long have you had him? we have this problem when we get another bun..i find it improves greatly as they get more used to the surroundings.hes still very young and is probably scared and discombobulated...
im sure in a month or so he will stop doing it:D

This is a wonderful word.
 
how long have you had him? we have this problem when we get another bun..i find it improves greatly as they get more used to the surroundings.hes still very young and is probably scared and discombobulated...
im sure in a month or so he will stop doing it:D

Did you have a bet with someone to see if you could drop that word into a sentence? :lol::lol::lol:
 
hello :wave: welcome to rabbits united!!

Even though your vet has said that neutering won't affect your male bun's bad habits, I don't agree. Obviously there are no guarantees in life (and your vet was probably covering his back too) but in several cases I've seen they become more regular about peeing and pooing when they are neutered. My male bunny buzz came to me as a very messy, pooey boy, he would circle me and poo in circles around me, spray me with his wee etc. As soon as he was neutered, it all stopped. It was because he no longer felt the need to mark his territory.

Where abouts do you live? A local rescue could bond your two buns for you for a small donation and then they could live together? Once they're on the same territory, your male bun would have no reason to profusely mark his territory because it would be "their" territory instead.

One thing you should stop yourself doing if it starts to happen, is just leaving him in his hutch/cage while the other bun gets all the attention. If you find you can't handle him after taking the steps suggested, then please pass him on to a rescue before you let him live out the rest of his life in his hutch.
 
Mine hate being picked up but they're still very friendly. Can't you just enjoy him on his own terms on the floor?

Mine will sit on my knee on the floor while they have a treat and then hop off. It took me nearly a year to get to this stage though. :roll:
 
Mine hate being picked up but they're still very friendly. Can't you just enjoy him on his own terms on the floor?

Mine will sit on my knee on the floor while they have a treat and then hop off. It took me nearly a year to get to this stage though. :roll:

^ This. Mine doesn't like being picked up at all, but right now she is curled up next to my foot, and wouldn't move if I snuggled up next to her. She sits next to you on the sofa quite happily for a cuddle - but not on you.
 
Thanks for all the replies.

I do really need him to be handleable as i dont really want him peeing all over my carpets all the time and with winter well on its way spending time with him only outside wouldnt be much fun. He will pee wherever he is sat when he's out - including the sofa and floor!

He certainly wont be living out the rest of his life in a hutch, that would be entirely cruel and certainly not something I would do to one of my pets.

I will be getting him neutered asap. Hopefully that will help.
 
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