food territorial

[oscar1658]

My rabbit whos named twinkle, female, shes having issues with food, if you hand her the food its fine but say if you go to add to it she kicks you rapidly with her front feet and sometimes knocks the bowl over in the mean time but then goes as far as to nip her cage mate on the face if he goes for food! both are rescue rabbits and i only know her previous owner passed away though her paws are misshapen from neglect on her nail trimming so who knows what else she had to cope with i have a feeling the food agression is linked to her previous owners too possibly...but how do you tell a rabbit they are doing wrong without giving them a heart attack? Many thanks

 

[cara]

My two rabbits are very competitive where food is concerned. Even the anticipation of food arriving sets them off. I don't use a bowl but sprinkle the (few) pellets they do get.

 

[oscar1658]

thats a good idea, i worry her cage mate wont get enough as shes beening greedy! ill have a go thanks

 

[freddie&daphne]

Just me opening the tub of pellets sets my two off chasing each other and the doe always tries to knock the buck away. As pp said, I scatter pellets to avoid a tantrum.

 

[Aly&Poppy<3]

I have to feed mine separately as Lola is very much food aggressive. So poor Donny gets humped of she thinks someone has food! She eats quickly, he eats slowly so he gets bullied a bit by her at food time!

Donny gets hand fed in the afternoon and Lola gets a few pellets too, in the evening they have a small amount scattered in the shed for them so I know they both get fed :lol:

 

[Julialarubia]

Just read what you said about scattering pellets; what a good idea! Will try that with mine as Cookie is being naughty and tries to prevent Capser (her new husband) from getting near the food! Thanks for that. Jill