• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Poor Barney. Molly has issues U/D been to vets

ripminnie

Wise Old Thumper
My poor little Barney is so sweet and lovely, but Molly seems to have some kind of mental health issue :? She did have a bad start in life so I suppose it's only to be expected. You might remember all the problems I had with her keep trashing her litter tray. Well she's started again. She's fine when not in the litter tray, but she jumps in, and turns into psycho bunny :( she gets a wild look in her eyes, and digs frantically, whether Barney is in there or not. If he is in her way, she will bite him until he moves, but he doesn't understand why she's doing it to him :cry: he looks so so sad, and puts his nose down for her to wash him, and she bites at him :cry: I just shouted at her and grabbed her out of the tray before she hurt him, then Barney jumped out too and they both went and snuggled up in their house :? I'm doing something wrong here. Nothing I do seems to work. Barney was such a happy little boy when he arrived here, now he looks really sad and it breaks my heart :( I didn't want Molly to be lonely, and now she's not, but she's making Barney miserable and confused :(
 
Last edited:
I'm sure you aren't doing anything wrong (hugs) wonder if it might be worth having more than one tray if you haven't already? How about a separate digging box with towels or newspaper instead of soil as they are indoors. How about trying a different litter in the tray? My buns eat more hay if I feed it in big racks, they don't seem to like it in their trays,they dig at it, so I'm now using woodbased cat litter pellets in the trays, instead of newspaper and hay, I only need a very thin layer just to cover the tray bottom and they've got the hay racks over the trays.
 
Last edited:
Thanks guys, I'm just getting so stressed out with it all :( it's like she's Jekyll and Hyde! Thing is, she doesn't do it for a few weeks, then she goes crazy for a few weeks, then stops again! :? The litter tray is an underbed storage box so not tiny. But i am going to put another one in a different corner and see if that helps. Or should i put them side by side? :? They also have piles of hay in other places, not just in the tray. I thought getting her a friend would stop her destruction, but she's no different. And now she's worse, because she pees and poos on my bed - she NEVER used to go anywhere other than her litter tray! :? At wits end!
 
I haven't followed any earlier threads.

I assume she has been spayed? If not then this could be grumpy female hormonal territorial/nesting behaviour.

If she has been spayed, have her ovaries also been removed?
 
I am sorry that you are having such a roller coaster of a time with Molly and Barney. I was going to suggest more than one litter tray too. How about considering using some of the Bach flower remedies - this link has useful information

http://bananasforbunnies.org/?page_id=255

Is moving them outside next year an option?

Huge hugs, I hope Molly settles down soon xx
 
I haven't followed any earlier threads.

I assume she has been spayed? If not then this could be grumpy female hormonal territorial/nesting behaviour.

If she has been spayed, have her ovaries also been removed?

She was spayed in April. I thought they always had uterus and ovaries removed when spayed :? Do they not?
 
No there is nowhere outside, Daisy and Digby are out there x and barney is definitely a people bun, he loves everyone :love:

I am sorry that you are having such a roller coaster of a time with Molly and Barney. I was going to suggest more than one litter tray too. How about considering using some of the Bach flower remedies - this link has useful information

http://bananasforbunnies.org/?page_id=255

Is moving them outside next year an option?

Huge hugs, I hope Molly settles down soon xx
 
Try not to over catastrophise about this- it's probably more annoying for you than it is for either of them.

Add other litter trays- my pairs have up to 5, and even my singles have 2-3. Try different things in different trays, different sizes (like a washing up bowl, vs, something wider, lower, flatter), different places.

Also, chart it, there may be an obvious correlation- maybe with the moon, maybe with your periods (seriously- however odd it sounds), maybe with the weather, maybe with shift patterns (if anyone else in your house works shifts), maybe even with yours and his moods, - chart it with those things and see if anything transpires.

Look for triggers- there will ALWAYS be one, even if it doesn't make sense to you, or you don't know what it is or you don't understand it. Look at what happens just before, what message she might be sharing, what she might be feeling, the WHY behind the action. Be patient with her- and work to untangle and translate what she is communicating.
 
Thank you, I'm filling up just that you replied :love: i will try all of that. I've missed your insight so much. Thank you xxx
Try not to over catastrophise about this- it's probably more annoying for you than it is for either of them.

Add other litter trays- my pairs have up to 5, and even my singles have 2-3. Try different things in different trays, different sizes (like a washing up bowl, vs, something wider, lower, flatter), different places.

Also, chart it, there may be an obvious correlation- maybe with the moon, maybe with your periods (seriously- however odd it sounds), maybe with the weather, maybe with shift patterns (if anyone else in your house works shifts), maybe even with yours and his moods, - chart it with those things and see if anything transpires.

Look for triggers- there will ALWAYS be one, even if it doesn't make sense to you, or you don't know what it is or you don't understand it. Look at what happens just before, what message she might be sharing, what she might be feeling, the WHY behind the action. Be patient with her- and work to untangle and translate what she is communicating.
 
Try not to over catastrophise about this- it's probably more annoying for you than it is for either of them.

Add other litter trays- my pairs have up to 5, and even my singles have 2-3. Try different things in different trays, different sizes (like a washing up bowl, vs, something wider, lower, flatter), different places.

Also, chart it, there may be an obvious correlation- maybe with the moon, maybe with your periods (seriously- however odd it sounds), maybe with the weather, maybe with shift patterns (if anyone else in your house works shifts), maybe even with yours and his moods, - chart it with those things and see if anything transpires.

Look for triggers- there will ALWAYS be one, even if it doesn't make sense to you, or you don't know what it is or you don't understand it. Look at what happens just before, what message she might be sharing, what she might be feeling, the WHY behind the action. Be patient with her- and work to untangle and translate what she is communicating.

What a great post.
 
Try not to over catastrophise about this- it's probably more annoying for you than it is for either of them.

Add other litter trays- my pairs have up to 5, and even my singles have 2-3. Try different things in different trays, different sizes (like a washing up bowl, vs, something wider, lower, flatter), different places.

Also, chart it, there may be an obvious correlation- maybe with the moon, maybe with your periods (seriously- however odd it sounds), maybe with the weather, maybe with shift patterns (if anyone else in your house works shifts), maybe even with yours and his moods, - chart it with those things and see if anything transpires.

Look for triggers- there will ALWAYS be one, even if it doesn't make sense to you, or you don't know what it is or you don't understand it. Look at what happens just before, what message she might be sharing, what she might be feeling, the WHY behind the action. Be patient with her- and work to untangle and translate what she is communicating.

This is interesting as Ive suspected for a while that Mimi responds to my periods. She becomes slightly aggressive to Timmy when Im hormonal. I thought I must be imagining it though.
 
All my buns go through phases of digging the tray. It doesn't sound like it's really an "issue". If she's not digging the litter out of the tray, then I'd just leave her to get it out of her system. Mine decide that 4am is a good time to start digging in the tray and usually just a sharp "OI! GIVE OVER!" stops them. If not, then I just remove them from the tray.

Also Barney bowing his head to her is him DEMANDING to be groomed. If she is dominant, then this is an insult to her. My buns are always having "tiffs". Xena is the dominant bun and Shadowfax always has the cheek to ask for grooms from her and usually gets nipped for her trouble. :lol: All three of mine will nip to move another bunny...it's just how rabbits are. Some are more boisterous than others. Xena and Fiver are both very boisterous bunnies, but Shadowfax is so gentle, she tends to get bullied a little by Xena, but it doesn't make her unhappy. She is happier now than she ever was on her own, she binkies all the time and happy flops. She even goads Xena into chasing her so she obviously enjoys it. :roll: :lol: Don't worry about Molly nipping Barney...Barney has legs and he can just move away from her. :thumb: They are obviously quite happy and bonded if they are snuggling with each other most of the time.
 
No it's not just normal digging. She's frantic. Wild eyed and very angry about something. And Barney doesn't always move, he sits there and let's her bite him, looking really sad and confused. I don't know what's going on, but there is definitely something amiss.

All my buns go through phases of digging the tray. It doesn't sound like it's really an "issue". If she's not digging the litter out of the tray, then I'd just leave her to get it out of her system. Mine decide that 4am is a good time to start digging in the tray and usually just a sharp "OI! GIVE OVER!" stops them. If not, then I just remove them from the tray.

Also Barney bowing his head to her is him DEMANDING to be groomed. If she is dominant, then this is an insult to her. My buns are always having "tiffs". Xena is the dominant bun and Shadowfax always has the cheek to ask for grooms from her and usually gets nipped for her trouble. :lol: All three of mine will nip to move another bunny...it's just how rabbits are. Some are more boisterous than others. Xena and Fiver are both very boisterous bunnies, but Shadowfax is so gentle, she tends to get bullied a little by Xena, but it doesn't make her unhappy. She is happier now than she ever was on her own, she binkies all the time and happy flops. She even goads Xena into chasing her so she obviously enjoys it. :roll: :lol: Don't worry about Molly nipping Barney...Barney has legs and he can just move away from her. :thumb: They are obviously quite happy and bonded if they are snuggling with each other most of the time.
 
In tears again :cry: I'm really struggling with this. I put another litter tray in a different room, and she's trashed that one too. If I try to stop her she growls and lunges - she does that to Barney too. :( I have always frowned upon people giving up their pets, I believe they are for life. But I feel like I'm going to have a nervous breakdown. I just want them all to be happy, and I've done so so much to try and make them happy, and they're just not :( I'm a failure :cry: I should've given Olly longer before adopting a friend for him, then I would've seen he was ok and didn't need one, then all of this would never have happened :( if I have to take Molly and Barney back to their respective rescues it will haunt me for the rest of my life. I could never forgive myself :cry: I can't carry on like this though, I work full time and I'm so exhausted :(
 
Sometimes abnormal behavior from a rabbit can be a signal there is a health problem making them uncomfortable. Have you investigated that possibility at all?
 
Back
Top