Bunny has mood swings & gets nasty

Hi

I've had my 2 baby girls over a year now and whilst one of them is happy as larry the other one has mood swings.

One day she is really happy and likes to be stroked etc and is happy to be picked up. Then her mood will change and I can't pick her up, she will run off and wont let me near her. When she is out running in the garden or the house, she gets nasty if I try and pick her up and will actually fight me to stop me picking her up.

I've tried leaving her for ages in the hope she will get bored and I've tried sitting down with a book and ignoring her in the hope she will give in to no avail.

She used to share a cage with her sister, but we had to seperate them as they got bigger and she got ill. She has not had the snip yet as she has been ill quite a bit and we have been waiting for her to get a bit stronger before we put her through something so traumatic.

Can anyone think of a reason why she would be behaving like this and what we can do to help her or prevent her doing this?

Thanks
Mary

moody rabbit

hello Mary,
hopefully she will calm down after her op and with age.
best to be patient, follow her lead - stroke and brush her when she lets you, and reward her (chives/apple whatever her particular fave is). Its hard, I've had an agressive rabbit before, thick gloves help if she gets very agressive.

Re: moody rabbit

beck said:

thick gloves help if she gets very agressive.

Click to expand...

Thanks for this.

Have got some industrial gloves which I use as a last resort as I know she's not over keen on them.

I'm hoping that the vet will give her the all clear within the next month or so, so that she can have her op.

I am off for the next two weeks after tomorrow, so I'm going to hopefully spend some time with her wandering round the house and me sat in the room she is allowed in, just to get her trusting me.

Cheers
M

Hello Mary
this behaviour will be directly related to your bunny not being neutered, and may be exacerbated by the fact that she is not 100% herself. I would try the gently gently approach with her and spend time with her on her terms until she is strong enough to be neutered, from then on your relationship with her should improve. I know I can be a realy grumpy cow when I'm not feeling well....

annie

[quote="Lazylops" I know I can be a realy grumpy cow when I'm not feeling well....

annie[/quote]

I do not believe that Annie, you are lovely all the time as far as we are concerned.. except at the time of a full moon and those Warewolf tendencies appear :lol:

You are correct though, that the Does get stroppy when they come into season, and if they are feeling generally under the weather..not there fault they are just expressing themselves and trying to communicate this fact to us :wink:

I've got the next two weeks off to tidy the house and get a lot of study done, so am planning on letting her out to potter round the conservatory and the back room like she is does a lot and I'm going to sit on the floor with my study stuff and let her come over when she wants.

I do want her to have the snip but don't want to put her at any added risk just yet until the vet gives her the all clear......spent more on her this last year than I have on myself!

Has your other one been neutered already? If so, this is probably the reason for the difference. I agree with the others that her grumpiness is down to the fact that she is not neutered. Honey is just the same - she gets hormonal - even my husband will come in and say that Honey has PMT as she has just attacked his feet (it is always him she attacks) - then she will have a phantom pregnancy and nest build. Honey is booked in for her spay tomorrow - so that should all be coming to an end.

HI MARY



hi mary,

i have a little girl rabbit called daisy. she can be very moody. we rescued her from awful conditions when she was approx 3 mnths old. she was neutured at approx 6 mnths. although i fully agree with neuturing rabbits I know that it does not always cure moodiness. for example she growls at us when she' in a mood. out of my 4 she is the only one that is vocal and sounds like a little tiger. when happy she is wonderful & real fun, wanting to play & chase.

unfort daisy does not mix well with other rabbits. we now accept that she has a unique personality so please do not worry if even after her op she does not change as we would not change Diasy for the world and actually like the fact she can be a madam.

xx

I agree that neutering is not always the cure all method. I have a rabbit (boy) that was neutered at the age of about 5 months - and is still moody and has a temper. He is the cuddliest rabbit I have ever had, but every so often he can shy away from you for no obvious reason and every few months he will lunge at you to bite, again for no obviour reason. But that's just him! But in most cases, neutering does greatly improve a rabbit aggressive behaviour.

Vera