Biting

Hi all,

Ive had a look at the old topics but cant find anything.

I have 2 french lop bucks, almost 4 months old now. The last few weeks both my buns have started nipping people, which in the last week has turned to biting, and by biting i mean it hurts and leaves a bruise or draws blood. I have tried shouting no when they do it and putting them back into their cage but it continues. Its not constant bites all the time, just a few times a week. Im not holding them against their will, they are free to jump off my lap and run away when theyve had enough stroking etc.

I am wondering if this is just hormones as they reach maturity soon? I am definitely going to have them neutered so hopefully if it is just hormones and them asserting themselves it will settle.

Am i right or can anyone suggest something else i might be missing?

Many thanks

Steven

It could be hormones. Do they have their testicles yet?

Biting is a method of communication for rabbits so it's pretty common. What you need to do is work out why they are doing what they are doing and if they are communicating with you, just experimenting, mistaking something for something else (such as food) and once you have worked out what is going on and why they are doing it, you can look for ways to hopefully improve it.

It's important though, that you don't react. Not to the bite, or anything. No noise, no movement (easier said than done).

Definitely easier said than done, it hurts hehe.

Thanks for the advice.

I agree with Sky-O, biting is a form of rabbit behaviour, so it's important to work out what they are trying to tell you. What causes them to bite? What are you commonly doing when they give you a bite? Are you trying to get something out of their hutch, or are they playing around your feet etc.?


I've found this website really useful (http://language.rabbitspeak.com/), by trying to understand what they are telling me, it's makes it easier to understand the message of the bite. Recently my very soppy rabbit gave me a very nasty bite - but it was just because I smelt of other rabbits, so she was trying to defend herself, her hub-bunny and her space - so the cause of the bite was really my fault.

The other thing I've found really helps is if the biting message is not a nasty message, then a very loud high pitched eeeeee helps to let them know it hurts - since then she doesn't do this anymore - I don't think she knew it hurt.