Advice Please..............................

[Williams New Mum]

Hi Everyone

I have recently taken on rabbit, last friday to be precise. He was unwanted and so cute that I could'nt say no, only 1 problem...............I have never owned a rabbit before. There are a few things that he is doing, im not sure if these are normal rabbit behaviour or whether he is not happy, please could you help ??

Little bit of background first..................he is approx 4 months, all grey, he sleeps in a hutch in the porch at night and is then moved outside to a bigger hutch during the day.

1) When I put him on the living room to have a run about he darts all over the place, very fast and then jumps and kicks to the side - does this mean he is scared ?

2) Sometimes he lies very close to the floor on his side and just lays there, I read somewhere that rabbits lie flat to the floor when scared, but would it be on their side ?

Also I am a little confused about whether to have him castrated or not. I have been told that if not done male rabbits can get quite aggressive and that its best to be done as young as possible, but he has not shown any signs of aggression and I really dont want to get it done if it is'nt necessary.

Hope these q's dont sound too silly, I look fwd to hearing you advice.

Thank you !!

 

[Kerri C]

Im sure loads of people will be along shortly to offer some great advice, but in meantime, the darting all over the place is called a "binky" and rabbits do this when they are extremely happy and energetic!!

The second thing is, the rabbit must be very relaxed to flop on the floor like that - it just means a happy content rabbit.
One of the members on here called "Romy" has a bunny called "Darcy" and she has put some pics up on the fouum (she titled it "easy like Sunday morning") and he was flat to the floor with his eyes shut!! A very happy chilled out bunny indeed. :wink:

Also, it is usually females, I believe, that are the most agressive, but people usually have the males neutered to stop them spraying urine, which they do to mark their territory. A female is spayed to stop being aggresive and to prevent ovarian cancer. :wink:

 

[Tamsin]

1) When I put him on the living room to have a run about he darts all over the place, very fast and then jumps and kicks to the side - does this mean he is scared ?

The opposite, it means he's happy and enjoying having a run around

2) Sometimes he lies very close to the floor on his side and just lays there, I read somewhere that rabbits lie flat to the floor when scared, but would it be on their side ?

Again, this means he's happy and relaxed A scared bunny will huddle. They more spread out and difficult to get up from the position the more comfortable the bun is

Also I am a little confused about whether to have him castrated or not. I have been told that if not done male rabbits can get quite aggressive and that its best to be done as young as possible, but he has not shown any signs of aggression and I really dont want to get it done if it is'nt necessary.

At fourth months old he'll only just be starting to get all his hormones. When they kick in is when you may see behaviour like mounting, marking by spraying urine, etc. Although females can become aggressive over their bed its less common in males.

No question is too silly we'll be happy to try and answer any you have. Its great your prepared to learn all about your new bun Here's a link which will help you understand more of his behaviour: http://www.muridae.com/rabbits/rabbittalk.html

Welcome to the forum!
Tam

 

[Williams New Mum]

Advice Please.....................

Thanks very much for both replys...................I feel much better now knowing that what he's doing isnt a sign of him being upset.

 

[bunnylove]

arh hello

running around very fast and kicking to the side is normal HAPPY behavior, in the trade :lol: its called binkying!!! hes happy!!!

laying on his side is also a sign that he is relaxed, if he was scared he would sit ina position that he could excape quickly...

and as for castration its a very good idea but most good vets recommend waiting until they are at least 5 months old and in bucks it normally curbs spraying (territorial behavior)!!!

and just like to say welcome to the world of rabbits

eve x

 

[Williams New Mum]

thanks for the advice, I need all I can get.

 

[Williams New Mum]

I do have 1 more question that I forgot to mention................in the sleeping section of the hutch should I use straw or hay. When I went to the pet shop they advised me to use hay which is what im using at the moment but on a website I was looking at it said straw should be used as bedding and hay for feeding................does it make a differance ?

 

[Diddeen]

Hi.. your new bunny sounds very happy with his new home My buck is about 18months old and i kept saying i didnt want to get him neutered as he wasnt aggressive etc.. however the one thing he did start to do was mount my arm :shock: Also now he is neutered ive been able to get him another rabbit as a friend and it is lovely to see them together. Neutering is a fairly quick op and much less risky than females op.
As for the bedding..i was always advised to use straw for bedding or a thick layer of shavings(now sawdust) is also fine for bedding. If the rabbit doesnt have long fur then shavings should be ok. I used hay for bedding as my rabbit used to enjoy weeing on straw but didnt on hay.. but i think the thought is that straw is warmer.

 

[MandyM]

Hiya and welcome to the bunny mad forum. You're bun sounds a sweetie and very happy too from what you've described

 

[BinkyBun]

Sounds like you have one very very happy bunny!!! xxxxx

 

[conny]

Yep, sounds like you have a happy bun in your family!!! ......as he does this indoors, maybe he's asking to be at least a part-time houserabbit!!!! :wink:

As everyone else said neutering is a good idea .....he's a little young yet, when he is about 6 mths is about average but keep an eye on his testicles dropping!!!!

Don't worry about the questions .....we all love to hear of happy buns!! :wink:

 

[conny]

I know sometimes when buns lie on their sides they, it can be worrying as they look almost dead .......I've watched their chest rising to make sure they're still breathing more than once ............but only a relaxed bun will feel confident enough to do this!! 8)

P.S. Has he already had his VHD and myxamatosis vaccinations?

 

[Williams New Mum]

Hi, Thanks again for all the excellent advice.

He has'nt had his VHD and myxamatosis vaccinations yet but I have picked up some leaflets from the vets and I will be getting him vaccinated, hopefully one day next week. Are they a combined injection or will they be given seperatley ?

 

[bunnyhuggger]

Buns vaccinations should be myxomatosis first then VHD two weeks later, they mustn't be given on the same day, but your vet should know this, if he tries to do this to William, grab the bun, run like the wind and find a rabbit-savvy vet!

 

[sabrina]

oh here in france whe do both vaccinations same day and it's doesn't make problem!!!

 

[Caz]

It is possible Sabrina that your vaccinatins are a different formulation because each country has different rules about what can and can't be used in medicine.

Here in the UK the VHD vaccine has been known to cause occasional reactions of lethargy and uninterest in food so we wait two weeks after the myxi jab before giving it as a double dose of antigen may prove too much if the bunny has an adverse reaction to the VHD jab.

The mxyi jab is usually given in two parts, roughly a third is injected just under the skin and the rest deeper into the scruff just after, this helps to ensure the peripheral T and B cells at the usual site of infection come into contact with the myxi antigen too.

Caz

 

[kelly-louise]

he sounds very happy with all the thing's that you said that he's doing! (all is nomal behavour for a very happy baby)
yes it's a very good idea to get him done as it calms him down and bring's out his personality as regards laying to one side thats him relaxing and taking a breather after running around. rabbits do lay flat but you'll SEE the differance between chilling and surendering

(if your baby is scared you'll see the white's of it's eye's)

hope this help's

kelly
p.s if you need any more info let me know

 

[Williams New Mum]

Hi, thanks for your reply.

Ive just had him out in the living room for about an hour, he's been running all over the place and doing his kicks then he lay down in the middle of the floor on his side for about 5 mins.....................its so much better now I understand what he's doing. Everyone on here has been a great help !

 

[Salsa]

Awww, sounds like a very happy bunny . With the hay and straw thing, I don't think it really matters but if you use straw (which is supposed to be warmer) just watch out for the husks as these can get stuck in your bun when he lays on them. A bit of hay in the area he pees is good, as buns seem to like to munch while they go to the bathroom :shock: :lol: . Also if you are going to keep having him in the house, you can litter train him to stop the puddles .

 

[conny]

Yeah, I used to live in France (Alpes-Maritimes) and my buns were always given VHD and myxi vaccs on the same day ....

The same thing for the dog - she got the rabies (rage) vaccine and her other boosters the same day.

I've got to admit that I prefer the French way - it saves the stress to the animals of 2 trips to the vets .........in all the eight vaccines they recieved with me (16 when multiplied by two buns) they never had even the slightest reaction to them and to be honest I was surprised to read how many people here have had problems with them ........none of the other bunnny owners I knew in France ever had a problem either ............it might be a different vaccine that is in the UK.