Calling bunny experts..

This post needs a bit of explanation, i posted some bunnies in 'rabbits in need' and on RR for a foster lady in Waterlooville. I am pm'ing everyone who showed interest.

The lady is saturated with aggressive bunnies at the moment and needs posts of all of our best advice and tips about helping them so they can be rehomed. I will print the posts and give them to her on the saturday after next cos she doesnt have time to do the internet and join us online.

Tamsin kindly offered to possibly release some RR funds to neuter the female buns. She vaccinates all bunnies before they join the bunny sheds and all the males are neutured asap but I dont think she neutures girls because she isn't sure it will stop the aggression.

Please donate your best advice here and ill print it in a weeks time.

Spaying the females will definatly help with aggression.

Ditto what Phill says!

Just to clarify for Elaine when she reads this can you put in your bunny experience, like Phill you obviously have loads of bunnies and experience and Donna you work at a rescue dont you?

Well i have one aggresive bun! Pan she is and old english and she is huge! She was always very aggresive towards other rabbits and people, so we had her sayed this has clamed her down emensly, she still isn't keen on being handled by humans but she no longer bites and doesn't fight with the other buns. Before we had her done she would only live with toffee and afterwards she lived with Toffee Holly and Velvet XXX

Both neutering and spaying is essential for rabbits' welfare. Neutering helps to curb destructive behaviour in bucks and urine spraying, plus obviously the desire to mate things. Spaying females is also essential, before your female is spayed, upon reaching sexual maturity she may aggresive, can become territorial over her cage and lunge at you. She will feel miserable due to the hormones raging in her body. Spaying is necessary as it can cut the risk of rabbits getting uterine and ovarian cancer by 80%.

Neutering can be done at 4 months of age, providing the testicles are obvious enough and spaying should be done by 6 months age.

Once buns have been fixed they will be much happier, and things such as litter training will become a lot easier

couldnt u get hold of a leaflet on aggressive rabbits from rwa, after all rabbits arnt born mean its there natural intstincts and if they are frightened they will bite

lisa

Good idea i will get the leaflet as well.

You can download the leaflets from their website.

http://www.houserabbit.co.uk/rwf/information.htm

Janice

I have an aggressive bunny and I rehomed her by accident really as Zeus chose her. I guess it was easy for me to accept an aggressive girly because I already had a cuddle-bun. She was more than your usual moody, unspayed doe aggressive though, she didn't just growl and lunge to protect her territory she fought with teeth and claws whenever you went near her.

Spaying helped with Athena but it didn't cure her completely I figure she had been pretty messed up by her previous home. Being with Zeus calmed her down as she looks to him for the way to act. For example if Zeus is getting a nose rub she comes over and copies his pose so I rub her nose too but as soon as Zeus jumps up she does too and when Zeus was scared at the vets she defended him and attacked the poor vet nurse too.

I use a carrier to move her between her run and her home and she has learn't as long as she gets in the carrier when it is put infront of her she doesn't get picked up or hassled.

I have had her a year and we have made progress but there is still a way to go.

I think spaying is definately the first port of call as with most aggressive does this completely cures them, with the seriously entrenched more time and patience is needed. Obviously the sort of attention they need is quite time consuming so little progression is likely to be made in the rescue environment .

The only thing I can suggest is try and find an experienced bunny person with a lonely buck rabbit as they are probably the best adoptive parent for an aggressive rabbit, that sort of bunny wouldn't be suitable for kiddie homes of course so you are looking at an adult home. If you can pair an aggressive doe with a chilled out male you may find this helps and will make them more adoptable because there will be at least one cuddly bunny in the family.

Caz

Thanks everyone I printed this today and passed it over, with leaflets and books and all sorts.
Thankyou very much.