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Food aggression-ideas please

Gemmapookie

Wise Old Thumper
Max is a lovely natured bun, extremely strong willed but not aggressive atall. EXCEPT when it comes to feeding time. He'll run around my feet grunting, box stuff out of my hands as I lower it to him, lunge and Ive even had a couple of nips (probably accidental but you never know.) :shock:

I try to completely ignore the behaviour and never tease him with food. I do wonder if he has issues stemming from before I got him :?

Anyway, I can deal with it but Im going to attempt bonding him with my other pair again soon and Im worried about his food aggression towards Timmy and Mimi.

Is there anything I can do to calm him down?
 
sorry I can't help but just to sympathise as my Sparkle is the same with me. She also pulls things away from Kane (and he lets her) but he sometimes takes stuff off her aswell and she is fine with that.
So although he might have a problem with you, he might be ok with other buns. Unless they are all really food-oriented (any buns that aren't? :lol:)
I scatter everything about so she can't guard any bowls or piles of food, but tbh I don't think she would ever have a go at Kane.
 
How do you feed him Gem? Is it bowled etc?

I give him his pellets in a bowl but scatter his veg, he still gets frantic :? He even does it with hay when I top him up even though he has a constant load of the stuff :shock:
Earlier I walked in the room with an apple and he charged at me, grunted and lunged at my feet. I ended up just giving him some coz didnt want to make it an issue :roll:
 
sorry I can't help but just to sympathise as my Sparkle is the same with me. She also pulls things away from Kane (and he lets her) but he sometimes takes stuff off her aswell and she is fine with that.
So although he might have a problem with you, he might be ok with other buns. Unless they are all really food-oriented (any buns that aren't? :lol:)
I scatter everything about so she can't guard any bowls or piles of food, but tbh I don't think she would ever have a go at Kane.

Thankyou :wave:
Well occasionally Mimi will run off with something Timmy was eating (sometimes she steals it directly from his mouth :shock:) and he will run after her and sometimes grunt.
So it could be a sticky situation with Mimi the food thief, Timmy the food possessor and Max the food aggressor :lol:
Might have to feed them seperately :?
 
one of the rabbits i have kinda charges at you when you fill his food bowl up and will nip the cup im pouring the food with which means he has to step over the food bowl to get the cup, but if i put veg in his hutch he doesnt do it just sits in his bed with his nose in the air almost in disgust (he doesnt eat much veg only been given it for the couple of weeks ive had him)
 
Nutmeg used to be like this, as if she thought I was taking food away from her, instead of giving it to her. She's calmed down a lot but very occasionally she will nip me when hand feeding.
 
sorry I can't help but just to sympathise as my Sparkle is the same with me. She also pulls things away from Kane (and he lets her) but he sometimes takes stuff off her aswell and she is fine with that.
So although he might have a problem with you, he might be ok with other buns. Unless they are all really food-oriented (any buns that aren't? :lol:)
I scatter everything about so she can't guard any bowls or piles of food, but tbh I don't think she would ever have a go at Kane.

one of mine is a bit dominant over the food but she does allow the others in there. she is the first in there and 'pulls faces' at the other but never attacks. Bud tends to dash in and grab a load then dash off to eat it in a corner!
i must admit i scatter piles of veg and hay about just so they all get a fair share and all 3 aren't fighting for bowl space. :roll:
 
Nutmeg used to be like this, as if she thought I was taking food away from her, instead of giving it to her. She's calmed down a lot but very occasionally she will nip me when hand feeding.

Aww Nutmeg strikes again :lol:
Yeh thats exactly what Max is like, its asif he doesnt realise Im the food source, he just thinks Im nicking his food :?
How is Nutmeg with Smudge at feeding time? X
 
Aww Nutmeg strikes again :lol:
Yeh thats exactly what Max is like, its asif he doesnt realise Im the food source, he just thinks Im nicking his food :?
How is Nutmeg with Smudge at feeding time? X

Not too bad now. Sometimes they have a little bit of chasing. I actually found scattering made it worse. I've also tried separate bowls, which was ok providing they stuck to their bowl. Now though I just use the shallow big bowl as I get Mum to give them their morning pellets so that they get them the same time each day. They're fine with that, plenty of space to share. She's not fussed by greens much now so she lets Smudge eat and then wanders along for some later on.
 
Not too bad now. Sometimes they have a little bit of chasing. I actually found scattering made it worse. I've also tried separate bowls, which was ok providing they stuck to their bowl. Now though I just use the shallow big bowl as I get Mum to give them their morning pellets so that they get them the same time each day. They're fine with that, plenty of space to share. She's not fussed by greens much now so she lets Smudge eat and then wanders along for some later on.

* makes not to buy big shallow bowl *

Im going to have to stop using my food 'command' aswell I think. I say "whats this" in a specific (ok silly!) voice :oops: and they all appear from nowhere! Ive already stopped using it with Max because the minute I utter the words he goes berserk.
 
* makes not to buy big shallow bowl *

Im going to have to stop using my food 'command' aswell I think. I say "whats this" in a specific (ok silly!) voice :oops: and they all appear from nowhere! Ive already stopped using it with Max because the minute I utter the words he goes berserk.

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

I use these things (not specificaly this website, you can get them in garden centres)

http://the-plant-directory.co.uk/pl...s-19cm?zenid=fced378dac7060b2df946170198a17f5 (Oh I've just realised these ones are plastic but they do them in ceramic too)

They are saucers for plant pots but they are ceramic, shallow and very difficult for them to move. (Make good beds though)

_IGP6912-vi.jpg
 
aw poor bun! i wonder if he had to fight for food before:(

all i can suggest is scatter feeding - he can't scoff everything from everywhere at once (although it sounds like he may try:lol:)
 
aw poor bun! i wonder if he had to fight for food before:(

all i can suggest is scatter feeding - he can't scoff everything from everywhere at once (although it sounds like he may try:lol:)

Oh he would dedinatly try :lol: I did try scatter feeding for a while but it didnt make much difference, hed just lunge at my hand instead if the bowl :roll:

Poor boy :( I hope he learns soon that hes never going to want for food ever again :)
 
to be honest, i get that with esme. even if she has food in her dish (or wherever she's chosen to throw it!) and she thinks i'm getting more out, she goes mad:roll: no idea why unless its to do with how she was looked after before. eric never does it - yes, he goes mad for a crunchie or at pellet time but there just isn't that 'urgency' iykwim?

not too bad for me now as they don't live together but when they did, i went through a phase of feeding separately as eric was so laid back he missed out!
 
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