Aggressive bun

Hi everyone....
im in need of some help regarding my bun.
He is a neutered 8-9mth old and i have had him for 6 weeks.
He has started being aggressive when i go into his cage to give him food/change litter tray.
He lunges his front paws at me and im sure i can hear him growling....this maybe my imagination!!!
Last night my 2 year old daughter was sitting on the floor and tried to stroke him...he gave her a really nasty bite(cut skin and bruise). Im now rather reluctant to go near him myself .
I have posted about him before as he bites/chews EVERYTHING except toys and boxes i provide him.
In a few weeks he is getting a 6X4 shed adapted for him with shelves and a run as he is chewing my living room to bits.
He never wants to play he just chews things or lies on the living room floor during the day.

I need him to be friendly for mine and the kids sake....was possibly thinking of getting him a playmate but am reluctant due to his recent behaviour!
Please, any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Leesa.

Hiya,

Where did you get him from and did you have him neutered yourself? It's always worth checking it is a neutered male you have and not an uneutered female

Rabbits are most active in the evening/night time/early morning. Does he get excersise time during these periods?

What sort of toys does he have? Food is the best 'toy'. Instead of putting his pellets in a bowl hide them around his cage... scatter a few on the floor, putting some in a little box, under a flower pot, mixed in his hay etc.

Instead of giving him hay in a pile divide it up and stuff some in a toilet roll, other on top of his cage so he has to stretch to reach it or wedged in the cage bars. The idea is it should take him as long as possible to find and eat his food. In the wild much of a rabbits time is spent finding food but with pet bunnies its all within reach or concentrated into dry food so they have much more time on their paws. Bored bunnies and much like bored children... little monsters.

What things does he bite/chew at the moment? It's very difficult for a bunny to understand that one thing is okay to chew and one not. As far as he's concerned everything is far game. You just have to work out somethings that are okay to chew and also are more exciting than the things that aren't okay. It can take abit of tril and error though.

You can also start telling him when he's chewing something you don't want him to. Say no in a firm voice, if this doesn't work a plant spray bottle with water in when you catch him in the act can work as a deterant.

Best wishes,
Tamsin

hi

the rabbit I had as a child used to growl at me so no - it's not your imagination! He wasn't neutered though (30yrs ago) - are you totally sure your bun was neutered before you got him/her?

Other than that it sounds like your bun has only had a few weeks to get to know you and your family so is still unsure whether or not he is safe - my 2 didn't really relax for about 3 months - and during that 3 months I kept them in a quiet environment, with a fixed routine, and spoke quietly to them all the time, even when they destroyed stuff, and never picked them up, except for once or twice when I had to move them out of danger - not unless absolutely necessary...I have a young and very noisy son, and I don't let him near them really - I wouldn't have them in the house as I think it would stress them to live with a noisy and fast-moving child in a strange environment - could your bunny be finding life a bit intimidating I wonder?

I think bunnies are less confident when alone too - a pair of bunnies kind of boost each other and console each other when the going gets tough, but I wouldn't try pairing up your bunny until he's settled in his new accomodation outside for a few months, as pairing is stressful too...I think he will relax more once he's got some peace and quiet outside - plus you won't be reaching into a small space which he feels he has to defend - if he's living in a shed he will have more room and so long as he has a hidey box in there where human hands aren't allowed to go, it will help him feel less threatened (just clean the hidey box while is back is turned!)

Meanwhile I hope your daughter's bite doesn't need antibiotics - it sounds really nasty! I'm sure you don't have a bad bunny though - they have long memories and maybe he had a bad experience of being picked up by children before you got him? He just sounds like he needs some peace and quiet before he can feel safe enough to let anyone handle him much - give him time in a calm environment and I bet he will become a lovely pet.

Thanks for the replies....
George was only neutered 4 weeks ago by mt vet.
He has never behaved like this before.
He is out in the living room during the day....goes in for his dinner and while i am settling the kids to bed (he would chew anything as soon as my back is turned!!!).
I try and keep the cats away from him incase they are stressing him out...and my kids.
I am moviing him to a shed and run in the garden incase the noise of my 2 kids is stressing him.Have just came back from the pet shop with some more bunny toys and some alfafa hay to temp him as he doesnt eat much hay at the moment.
I live in a very noisy house with a 4 yr old and 2 yr old. Should I move him upstairs for periods on his own?
Just dont want to have an aggressive bun....

hi

Oh I get the picture now - he chews because he doesn't eat hay! My 2 chew doors and the lot when they are waiting for their hay - but at least they love hay, which helps - If George isn't keen on hay then keep trying new sources of hay till you find one he likes - hay is a total nightmare I think, and the worst bit about bunny keeping is finding hay they like - I have thrown so many bags away that smelled of mushrooms or were just like dried grass-clippings - it's really hard to get, and when I find a good supplier guess what - they run out and the next batch they get is from a different farm and is rubbish!! AAAAArgh - there I feel better now :lol:

Seriously though - if you want him to stop chewing, and to be healthy long term, he must learn to like hay of some kind - not alfalfa as it's too high in protein although prob OK for a growing bunny like George - a bit rich for general use though.

I get West Wales Willows hay (website) for my 2 as it's healthy, long, high fibre, consistent quality - but they're not keen on it - They eat it because they're hungry I guess as I only give them 2 desertspoons of pellets each per day, plus some grass and veg twice a day - they have to fill up on hay or go hungry...After they've eaten their expensive WWW hay in the morning I let them have their favourite hay which I buy from my greencrocers and village PO - they get it from a farm that bags it up - sometimes it's rubbish though - I always open the bag and smell it :roll: (they just love me shopping there) and it should look slightly greenish with long strands not chopped up short grass...I've only ever had one decent bag from a petshop type manufacturers - I've had to bin so much I don't even buy it any more, although Wilkinsons sometimes have decent hay - the last bag I bought was rubbish but the one before that was lovely...

I have a hay obsession!!! Not sure if there's any cure either - I can't imagine shopping for hay with 2 pre-schoolers is going to be easy - have you got a car because farm shops often have nice hay? - have you anywhere dry you could store a bale? I haven't - I've just bought 3 bags from the post office, opened them and tipped them into a huge cardboard box in my pantry, as they seem to go mouldy if left in plastic bags...It's a nightmare!! I've just ordered 5 bags from WWW at £25 inc postage - £5 a bag but it lasts about 4 months (for 2 small rabbits) if they only have it in the mornings...

Re the noise in your house plus cats - I should think George is very stressed by it all - I keep thinking I'd love a house bunny, but my son kicks off with a tantrum and I think well, a bunny would probably have heart failure with him screaming and throwing stuff around - it's similar noise level to barking dogs and so unpredictable (I wear earplugs quite often!) It's really nice to go outside and look after my bunnies actually - peaceful and relaxing - I ususally take a cuppa with me and just sit with them, although my son's older than your 2 - I don't think you can stop little kids 'helping mummy' - maybe ask them to pick some grass for him?

Meantime if you have a spare bedroom he could have that would be ideal, but moving him around every day would probably stress him more as rabbits like routine and their own territory where they feel safe - what about the hallway? Whichever is the quietest area...

I'm sure you can sort these problems out and George will settle down, just try not to handle him unless necessary, only go into his cage after he's gone out of it, and find some hay he likes to stop him chewing while he's waiting for his des res in the garden - he looks really cute BTW

Hi I'm the owner of a pair of very unsociable male bunnies!!! One of them Treacle is very timid as he's bullied and bossed by Fudge and often growls if you stroke him!!!

and Fudge used to be a complete monster, he bit my mother once so badly that she needed 2 stitches! and I have a large scar on my hand from his last bite in September!!!

The pair of them also chewed the skirting boards, carpets, furniture and any toys my son left out!

It took 2 months after he was neutered before he stopped spraying and biting, and I was at my wits end with him!

On the bright side he is a lovely bunny now, very bossy and demanding but always wanting to lie next to you and be stroked! and the destructive habits have stopped as well! He's a very intelligent bunny who seems to get bored easily and needs constant stimulation! but I have been able to teach him commands that none of my other bunnies respond to! sometimes he's more like a dog than a bunny!!!

I would handle him with thick gloves for a while so that you don't worry about getting bitten and hopefully in a few more weeks he should start to calm down!

Im in Glasgow to there are a few farms in teh area who will sell you a bail of hay for around £3, pm me if you want the address of the one I use cheers