Change in personality

Hello everyone,

Need some advise.

I have a 1 year old doe rabbit called Toffee....(Toffee is an outdoor rabbit) Over the past few weeks her personality keeps changing for good and bad...

she was always quite a timid rabbit for the 6 months, i actually thought she was a chilled male rabbit till she went in for her spaying. Since being spayed she's changed on several occasions, at first she got friendlier, less timid, which I loved. I was hoping to get another rabbit to bond her, just after Christmas, but i wanted to take some time to bond with her myself, however a few weeks ago she went through this really needy stage which i loved, I introduced her to a soft toy and she seemed to really love it, i know about spring madness and their hormones can be all over the place this time of year, but the last few days she seems to have gone the complete opposite way now, she doesn't want to be fussed, she's lunged at me on several occasions and growled a few times too. she doesn't seem to want any fuss when i see her like she did at first. She's eating fine, still taking her treats and once I've got hold of her, she's loves a cuddle! she's still very active and doing no signs of illness.

i am planning on getting another rabbit next month to start the bonding process as I was told Spring time would be a challenge, will a partner help with her behaviour? i don't want to do this at the wrong time and cause more harm, especially if she's having behavioural issues, or is she acting up because she needs a partner?
I feel like she's become more bratty since being fixed.

Any advise would be great!

thanks,

Mart

You don't give any information on her living space. If she's confined to a standard hutch all the time, she's protecting 'her' area. Rabbits need a lot of space, and need to feel safe in their area, on their own terms. Females in particular can get v possessive of their nest area, especially if they don't have anywhere else to go.

How long has it been since she was neutered? It takes a couple of months or so for hormone levels to readjust. She may need more time, it could be Spring Fever, or she may need a vet check to make sure everything has healed OK.

There's a lot of good advice here:
https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/

Shimmer said:

You don't give any information on her living space. If she's confined to a standard hutch all the time, she's protecting 'her' area. Rabbits need a lot of space, and need to feel safe in their area, on their own terms. Females in particular can get v possessive of their nest area, especially if they don't have anywhere else to go.

How long has it been since she was neutered? It takes a couple of months or so for hormone levels to readjust. She may need more time, it could be Spring Fever, or she may need a vet check to make sure everything has healed OK.

There's a lot of good advice here:
https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/

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Hello,

Sorry i had meant to put that information down.

Toffee is in a two level 6ft long hutch, but has access to a secure 20ft x 20ft outdoor space too....She has access to outdoor between 7am-8pm everyday, She also comes into the house too when she feels like it as i work from home full time.

She was fixed back January 2022. She was showing no signs of aggression till about 3 days ago...I went away for work few days, (my dad came round to feed her etc) and i felt like she had changed in personality. She is very much use to my dad too, he also said she had thumped at him too.

thanks,

Mart

Rabbits don't seem to understand when us humans go away. I have read about this kind of scenario before, so hopefully she will forget you went away and get back to her normal self. When she has a friend she probably won't miss you so much if you go away again. They do get attached to their nearest and dearest!

tonibun said:

Rabbits don't seem to understand when us humans go away. I have read about this kind of scenario before, so hopefully she will forget you went away and get back to her normal self. When she has a friend she probably won't miss you so much if you go away again. They do get attached to their nearest and dearest!

Click to expand...

aww I hope that's the case....She's making me suffer for it now if so! haha...She still loves her soft toy panda, just hating me right now! haha!

Thanks,

Mart

Aww Toffee sounds lovely, I hope you can get her a little friend to be bonded with, and I'm sure she doesn't hate you really