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How do you keep the rabbit from pulling at his cage bars.

jackson

Young Bun
how do you keep a rabbit from pulling at his cage bars? I am a long time rabbit owner but this is the first time any of my rabbits pulled at them. Im not sure what to do because it will yank his teeth out of place and give him malloclusion :?
 
Hello :wave:
In my experience when my bunnies are tugging at things; cage bars, floor mats, etc. they are either bored and need exercise or there may be something else annoying them. (With bunnies this could be anything from their own health being poor to a dog barking outside.) I don't know that pulling at cage bars will necessarily hurt their teeth, I guess it would depend on how hard the bunny is doing this or if his teeth get stuck on the bars and he can't get them loose.
Has your bunny been to the vet recently? Perhaps a check up is in order if his teeth are bothering him? Otherwise I would think he would like some attention or company. Does he get exercise outside his cage?
 
Normally it means that the bun is frustrated with being locked in and does not have enough space!

Buns need at least a 6x2 hutch connected at all times to a run.
 
how do you keep a rabbit from pulling at his cage bars? I am a long time rabbit owner but this is the first time any of my rabbits pulled at them. Im not sure what to do because it will yank his teeth out of place and give him malloclusion :?

Not enough enrichment in the cage or (most likely) extreme boredom.

Yes it will cause malocclusion. How much running out time do your rabbits typically get?
 
to be honest they don't get very much because we have a shed designated for the rabbits and my parents don't appreciate cages and runs all over the property :lol:
 
to be honest they don't get very much because we have a shed designated for the rabbits and my parents don't appreciate cages and runs all over the property :lol:

Your rabbits probably don't find it quite as funny as you do :?

Do you breed rabbits in your shed?
 
maybe find a place that you can take them ... or clean up after them my parents are the same way but i still take my rabbit out but i clean after her.
 
to be honest they don't get very much because we have a shed designated for the rabbits and my parents don't appreciate cages and runs all over the property :lol:

Even if your Rabbits are bred for meat they should still be kept in conditions that do not cause them psychological distress. Bar pulling is a sign of extreme frustration and boredom- the Rabbit is unhappy.

Breeders have a duty of care to any animal they breed for whatever reason- ie be it for showing, for meat or as a 'hobby'. Perhaps your parents need to take a look at some Animal Welfare Laws in the USA.

https://awic.nal.usda.gov/government-and-professional-resources/federal-laws/animal-welfare-act
 
Definitely think of ways you can keep them mentally stimulated and physically exercised, I'm sure if you need any help with that people on here can offer some suggestions:) Nobody likes to be bored - imagine how you'd feel.
 
One of my rabbits - Coco - regularly bites and pulls at the bars on the run which is attached to the shed but she isn't bored nor unhappy and has plenty of exercise. In fact, she begs/pesters to be let back into the shed after about half an hour of free ranging in the garden and will do anything to sneak back in; she almost tripped my husband over this morning sneaking back in when he went in to get some loppers so I could cut the ivy roots. She then went straight into the run and started pulling at the bars. Prior to this she'd been very happily munching the grass, binkying, running, playing with her sister, washing herself in the sun and also washing her sister. That doesn't sound like an unhappy or bored rabbit to me so why does Coco do it? She was at the vet very recently and had her teeth checked as part of their normal health check (they're fine) and she eats very well, is very healthy. It's just something that she does. If anything, she's doing it because she's cross that Thumper's still outside :lol:

I don't wish to disrespect what has been said, but I'm just saying that bar pulling for some may be just a habit.
 
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to be honest they don't get very much because we have a shed designated for the rabbits and my parents don't appreciate cages and runs all over the property :lol:

I don't see anything funny in that. I see you breed rabbits and wonder whether this is why you don't bother to give them much opportunity to exercise? All rabbits deserve a good quality of life - and that includes space to exercise. Couldn't you adapt things to allow them that?
 
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yes I do breed rabbits in the shed

The advice you get here about enrichment for your rabbits' lives will not be appropriate if you are keeping a fairly large number of rabbits confined to cages for most if not all of their lives.

Here in the UK we believe that 'A Hutch is not enough' and that the minimum size for a pair of rabbits is 6 foot long by 2 foot wide with a large run attached so they can permanently exhibit their rabbity tendencies of hopping etc ...

With that in mind, I can see that your rabbits will get bored with their environment and bite the bars in desperation to be let out. You could try giving them lots of different sorts of hay to help pass their time?
 
The advice you get here about enrichment for your rabbits' lives will not be appropriate if you are keeping a fairly large number of rabbits confined to cages for most if not all of their lives.

Here in the UK we believe that 'A Hutch is not enough' and that the minimum size for a pair of rabbits is 6 foot long by 2 foot wide with a large run attached so they can permanently exhibit their rabbity tendencies of hopping etc ...

With that in mind, I can see that your rabbits will get bored with their environment and bite the bars in desperation to be let out. You could try giving them lots of different sorts of hay to help pass their time?
I give them grass hay and alfalfa hay. I also have each rabbit in a large dog crate and a second level with a box and several entrances to the box. any more ideas for x-boredom?
 
I don't see anything funny in that. I see you breed rabbits and wonder whether this is why you don't bother to give them much opportunity to exercise? All rabbits deserve a good quality of life - and that includes space to exercise. Couldn't you adapt things to allow them that?

im sorry. I do try to give them exercise but with school and dogs and several cats running around it can be sort of frustrating to give them safe yet plenty of exerscise. also we are totally surrounded by woods so we have to be extra careful of bears owls ect. I have already lost a rabbit to our dog :cry:
 
im sorry. I do try to give them exercise but with school and dogs and several cats running around it can be sort of frustrating to give them safe yet plenty of exerscise. also we are totally surrounded by woods so we have to be extra careful of bears owls ect. I have already lost a rabbit to our dog :cry:

But you are still breeding more? If you are unable to give them regular, extended periods of exercise then I feel it is cruel for you to keep rabbits. They are living, breathing creatures who have the right to a good and enriched life.

If you are unable to provide this for them then it would really be in the rabbits best interest to rehome them to someone who can give them a better quality of life.
 
But you are still breeding more? If you are unable to give them regular, extended periods of exercise then I feel it is cruel for you to keep rabbits. They are living, breathing creatures who have the right to a good and enriched life.

If you are unable to provide this for them then it would really be in the rabbits best interest to rehome them to someone who can give them a better quality of life.

I agree with this.

Rabbits are not made to be kept in small cages/hutches, whether for pets or breeding or otherwise, they would run up to five miles approximately in a day in the wild and are built to run, jump and explore. Keeping them confined for many hours of the day will not be helping their condition, it leads to muscle wastage and problems with joints, then there's the psychological angle as well. x
 
Stop breeding them maybe ? Could you get them re homed to someone with more space ?
 
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I do agree that you may need to reassess your breeding programme and priorities here.

Are these for meat? Show? 4H? Just because?

Rabbits need the same amount of space and stimulation as your dogs and cats. A crate is not enough at all, even an XL one. If you could build each rabbit a proper spacious pen (at least 6ftx4ft) with lots of levels and a roof to protect them, that would be a step in the right direction.
 
my bun did this when i put her out on the grass with a makeshift small run which consisted of 6 panels in a circle. Not very big at all! while i cleaned her cage out, especially when i put her pellets in her bowl she started tugging at the railing wanting to see what i was doing :love:
 
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