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Jodie - The pyscho rabbit from H.E. double toothpick

Hi Gang,

I am going to start a thread about my latest and on-going challenge.

Jodie. <sigh> :?

She is a gorgeous, black half lion head/half netherland dwarf (I think)
She is also a witch.

I originally brought Jodie home with Heidi and I had very romantic ideas about the two of them becoming good friends with Neville and Bob. All four buns living together in communal bliss. The girls were young, the boys neutered so what's the problem? :?:

No problem at first. Nev and Bob were very chivalrous and generous with their food and space. Soon they were all lying in a big heap together and grooming each other for hours. Lovely! :D

As the girls got older, the true horror of Jodies personality started to shine through. She was "bonded" mainly with Heidi but she started to snip at her whenever she came over in the run for a visit. Heidi stopped bothering and just hung out with Bob and Nev. Nev is the "Alpha rabbit” in that gang and he is also quite big. Jodie clearly, either having no fear or just incredible stupidity started to snip and Nev and Bob. In fact any animal or person that approached her was attacked. Sometimes (like when it was raining) she would attempt to join the group but it was pretty obvious that she had been sent to Coventry. :(

I finally had to stop letting her go out in the run. Frankly I just couldn't catch her. It could take up to two hours to pick her up. I needed to pick her up for several reasons.
1. She needed to get used to being handled more.
2. It's summer and I check for fly strike often.
3. Bob had a skin infection and I wanted to check that no one else had it.
4. I had to do her nails.
I finally caught her and was broken hearted to find every inch of her covered in little scabs and scratches. (nothing very bad or deep, just a lot of them) I'm guessing these are courtesy of Neville telling her to back off away from him and the other rabbits, although I've never seen him do it. She is also a big digger so I'm not sure if she has had a bad experience with some chicken wire that I haven't seen.

There was nothing for it. I couldn't let her stay in the run and hutches with the others even if she was her own worst enemy. I didn't want to take the risk that she would get really badly hurt. She moved into the office with me. :)

We have been trying to make friends for a couple of weeks now. It's not very rewarding to be honest. She grunts and screams like I've never heard or seen before in a rabbit. I thought she must have some kind of terrible internal bleeding or illness the first time I heard it. I took her straight to Karen my vet. Nothing wrong. She is fine. Just crabby.

When I or anyone else approaches her, unless she is terrified (in the car, at the vet), she freaks. She grunts, screams, and head butts your hands. She runs from side to side in her cage and tips over all her food and spreads it around the cage. I now have to use over mitts to pick her up and check her scabs. She bites and will fly from one end of her cage to the other to attack. You can’t even put yummy carrot tops in. :(

Yesterday she was spayed so she is feeling pretty miserable today. I honestly don’t know what is going to happen. She is still as grouchy as ever. Maybe she just likes to be on her own. I am going to keep her away from other rabbits and in the same room as me for 8 hours a day. Hopefully things will change and she will calm down and realize how much James and I love her, would never abandon her, and never ever hurt her.

We have the next 4 days off so I’m hoping for some quality time with the lady, that is, iIf she doesn’t fly away on her broomstick in the middle of the night :wink:

Story in progress… I’ll keep you posted.

Andrea
 
Hi Andrea

Hopefully the spaying will help calm her down, although if this was just yesterday, maybe it will take a little while. She does sound a 'challenge', but you certainly sound like you are going to give her the time, patience and love that she needs - she's a lucky lady :)

Keep us posted with how she is doing.
 
If you wanted you could try an animal communicator............just a thought and there are some really good ones out there.
 
Hiya,

Bare in mind spaying isn't an instant change, it takes several weeks for the hormones to go so your more likely to see a gradual improvement. After that you have hopefully got rid of the some of the reason the behaviour developed but you may still have to deal with the learned reactions. Even if her hormones have stopped saying attack hands coming into the hutch she may remeber that thats the appropriate response. All is not lost though, without the hormones you can 'retrain' her so she learns new responses.

The Rabbit Behaviour Advisory Group might be able to help you - http://www.rabbitbehaviour.co.uk

Tam
 
Hi Andrea

As soon as I saw the word "spay" I smiled. She will almost definitely calm down and not be so hormonal as she has been. Like the others say it will take a few weeks but the change should be such that she can re-enter the group, hopefully.

Rosie was a witch to Billy (not to me though) and I honestly thought I had made a big mistake. But 2 weeks after spaying she started being a COMPLETELY different bunny.

PMT bunnies (like us humans :lol: ) are NOT GOOD!!

GOOD LUCK

PS I asked my boyfriend to check out your pictures on your site and he said "Is that a hint? Do you want me to build you something like that then" ha ha.....!!! Mine are house bunnies but it would be nice for an outdoor haven on sunny days!!! Down to Homebase .. :D
 
Hello, just a quick wee question now that she is in your office is she confined to her bed or does she have free run?


Angela
 
Howz it going with her now?

I feel for you. I have a rescues ferral bun that I got when she was about 10 weeks. She even now coming up a year can be a little horror to get out of her outside hutch!! Even inside!!

I haven`t got her fixed yet. Her buddy is a rescued (at the time male) adult and is alot tamer.

I hope its going well with her inside with you:)

bronie
 
Well I am happy to report that her spaying was a success. Her incision was very small and she is almost completely healed. Her fur has started to grow back in already.

I kept her in the house with me for about 4 days. This was a mixed success/failure. It gave her a chance to have all her bites and scratches heal over which I am very relieved about but her personality is going to take a long time to influence.

All the buns who live in the house are free to run around all day and get put in thier hutches at night. Jodie is a different story. She is frankly impossible to catch. She is destructive, she hides in small tiny places and will not come out. I have to wear oven mitts to pick her up. I couldn't let her run loose because I couln't keep an eye on her 100% of the time as I was working from home. I had to settle with every couple of hours bringing her our for cuddles and a run around on the sofa with me.

This was difficult as she hates being taken out of her hutch. If I let her run out on her own she will bolt. Once I have her in my arms she calms down and her heart rate slows. She can sit quite calmly on my lap and enjoys nose rubs but as soon as I put her back the cycle starts again.

I was feeling too terrible keeping her cooped up all day so I cleaned out one of the big 3 level hutches with large run just for her to play in. I don't get to see her all day long now but she can at least strech her legs. The run is next to another run that 2 different rabbits use. I am hoping that in the safety of her own hutch she can feel more comfortable around other rabbits.

She runs up to the edge of the run to see me when I approach but as soon as I put my hand and face down for her to see me she runs away. I am going to give it about 4 weeks to let the total effects of spaying settle in. After that I may be more assertive with her. I was thinking of trying to bond her with an older, bigger, placid male rabbit who will make her feel safe and maybe provide a calming influence. I was also thinking of building a temp run in the back garden with a bench for me to read on and she can run around in it if I'm there. Maybe she will associate James and I with fun and good times.

I am absolutley paranoid right now that she will escape and I'll never catch her. She is so fearful. I have 2 whole days coming up where I can see alot of her and all my buns so maybe this weekend will provide a breakthrough.

I am being realistic though. I think that in a year I will see a very different rabbit but it may actually take that long. Ah well, labour of love as they say.
 
Hey Andrea, Glad to hear Jodie's spay went well. Sounds like she's having a tough time of it. How about rather than you having to handle her and stress her out, when it comes to bedtime or any other time you need to move her you teach her to get into a pet carrier then you move her about that way? I have had to start doing this with Chloe as she panics and has now broken 2 toes with me trying to pick her up. I just pop the pet carrier down, open the door then turn my back slightly or turn my slighty and make it look as though im not paying attention. I have 2 nervous guys and if I make eye contact with them they panic, if I look away they happily hop in, silly sods :lol: Just a thought have you had her eyes checked, she's not blind or going blind is she?
You could also try having her inside in your office again, get a playpen and a cover so she can't jump out, lay down a sheet of tarpaulin or lino a bit bigger than the playpen, give her a pet carrier to use as a bed/safe haven. Keep her shut in there for maybe a week, let her get used to you coming and going, all the time speaking to her but not at her i.e speak but look around the room, maybe kneel down infront of her bed, say hello Jodie how are we today all the time looking away from her, ignore any reaction she gives then just walk away sit down do some work, go make a coffee whatever just not pay attention to her leave her for a while. Keep repeating this for the 7 days see if she chills out any. The way it is at the moment shes going to panic, she knows at some point on a visit your going to pick her up especially if your waving your hands about. Alternatively your idea about a pen with somewhere for you sit while she hops about is a good idea. If I know Im not in danger of being eaten alive I lie down on the floor and read a magazine or book and leave bunny to hop around and come over if it wants but I never make eye contact or say anything. Sophie was a nervous wreck when she came to me, she stil doesn't like being grabbed but will happily come over and nudge me and look for food, she will even take food from my hand now. She's always happy to see me as well, which makes me love her even more shes an :angel: really, certainly in my eyes! Her previous owner says she's a :twisted: and I have seen what she was like with him, she was but seems so much more settled with me.
Sorry to blab on a bit, hope it helps and you can find the :angel: in Jodie.
Angela
 
Thumps said:
Sorry to blab on a bit, hope it helps and you can find the :angel: in Jodie.
Angela

Me too Angela. More than you know.

This is where I struggle. I have 8 other buns who are all gorgeous and just because they are well behaved, happy and affectionate doesn't mean that they don't deserve my time as much as Jods. She is such a time sink. I am trying to find the balance between her and the others.
Ah well if everyting was easy, everybody would do it. :lol:
 
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