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Nipping

My boys are 11 weeks old now and house rabbits until the better weather and they have recovered from all their health issues. They are still underweight with poor body conditions but are growing in confidence and "rabbitiness" each day. They have loads of toys in their run which they fling about with joy but Dillon has started nipping me - just having a taste of my foot, my trousers, my arms as he hops past - in fact last night he bounced onto the sofa to "taste" my arm :( flipping ouch!

They do now come running over when I come into the room for food and snuggles but the nipping is painful and I would like to know how to stop it please?
 
Making a shrill noise the instant you feel a nip might help - its worked for me in the past
 
My boys are 11 weeks old now and house rabbits until the better weather and they have recovered from all their health issues. They are still underweight with poor body conditions but are growing in confidence and "rabbitiness" each day. They have loads of toys in their run which they fling about with joy but Dillon has started nipping me - just having a taste of my foot, my trousers, my arms as he hops past - in fact last night he bounced onto the sofa to "taste" my arm :( flipping ouch!

They do now come running over when I come into the room for food and snuggles but the nipping is painful and I would like to know how to stop it please?


Oh dear!

I often find it's attention seeking behaviour!

I reckon neutering will make a difference. But a feisty rabbit will always be feisty. Obviously withdraw the bitten limb asap .. sometimes pressing gently on the 'scruff' area will assert *you* as pack leader/dominant person. Sometimes this doesn't work long term, but you can try :)
 
Behavioural nipping ..

http://rabbit.org/faq-aggression/

The biggest behavior change happens at 4 months, and this is the time to visit your rabbit veterinarian to talk about spay and neuter. There is very little chance of having a calm, non-biting/scratching bunny after 4 months of age if not soon fixed. Think of the human teenager. Your rabbit is growing up; hormones are in control, and your rabbit is changing.
 
Oh dear!

I often find it's attention seeking behaviour!

I reckon neutering will make a difference. But a feisty rabbit will always be feisty. Obviously withdraw the bitten limb asap .. sometimes pressing gently on the 'scruff' area will assert *you* as pack leader/dominant person. Sometimes this doesn't work long term, but you can try :)

Neutering is booked for around January when the specialist vet returns from her leave, when the boys are their proper weight and healthy and when they will be 5 months old. Do you think that is too long to leave them please? I dont want them "done" until they are back to a good level of health and I really wanted the specialist vet rather than "just" a practice vet ?
Thank you MightyMax for your reply
 
Neutering is booked for around January when the specialist vet returns from her leave, when the boys are their proper weight and healthy and when they will be 5 months old. Do you think that is too long to leave them please? I dont want them "done" until they are back to a good level of health and I really wanted the specialist vet rather than "just" a practice vet ?
Thank you MightyMax for your reply


For both those reasons - a good weight and a good vet - I would absolutely leave it until January :D

I would also invest in gauntlets and a suit of armour :lol:
 
One of my boys is a nipper, it can be a bit of a shock when you’re not expecting it! Sometimes it’s a ‘get out my way’ type of nip but mostly we have concluded that he’s actually just trying to groom us and isn’t very gentle about it. I mostly wear a fluffy onesie when sitting on the floor with him so I don’t feel the nips as much!

Hopefully yours will get better once he’s neutered.
 
One of my boys is a nipper, it can be a bit of a shock when you’re not expecting it! Sometimes it’s a ‘get out my way’ type of nip but mostly we have concluded that he’s actually just trying to groom us and isn’t very gentle about it. I mostly wear a fluffy onesie when sitting on the floor with him so I don’t feel the nips as much!

Hopefully yours will get better once he’s neutered.

Nawww a fluffy onsie - perhaps he then thinks you are a bunny too
 
One of my boys is a nipper, it can be a bit of a shock when you’re not expecting it! Sometimes it’s a ‘get out my way’ type of nip but mostly we have concluded that he’s actually just trying to groom us and isn’t very gentle about it. I mostly wear a fluffy onesie when sitting on the floor with him so I don’t feel the nips as much!

Hopefully yours will get better once he’s neutered.


Photo? ;)
 
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