Silverleaf
Alpha Buck
Meeple and Nemesis are 17 weeks old tomorrow and have been hinting at hormonal behaviour for a few weeks, but I've seen a big change this last week. They are definitely acting like teenagers now - it's quite frustrating at times and it's making spending time with them less enjoyable.
I love my boys very much but right now I'm counting the days until they can be neutered (my vet apparently won't neuter until they are 6 months, so not until the new year, basically).
So in the interests of venting, here are the problem behaviours.
Peeing
Both have started peeing a lot outside their litterboxes - Meeple pees on the floor as close to the pen that separates him from Nemesis as possible. Nemmy pees along the front edge of his cage, literally two hops from his box. And it absolutely stinks - I'd forgotten how bad intact bucks smell.
Nemmy has peed on me twice in the last three days - he sits on my lap grooming my arms and then suddenly I have a warm wet stinky leg. Yuk.
Both will also pee on the sofa given half a chance, especially Meep. I've been using cotton throws so I can chuck them in the wash but I'm not having my nice sofa turned into a litterbox. Bunnies are now banned from the sofa, but unfortunately Meep has other ideas.
Failing to respect boundaries
Now Meep is a very clever rabbit who learns extremely quickly - I'm clicker training him and he's doing very well. But he just won't accept that the sofa is mine and that I don't want him on it. Every time he jumps up (about a million times a day) I shoo him off or pick him up and put him on the floor or even gently push him until jumps down, but he's just not getting the message.
I've tried to make the floor the nicest place to be - that's where all the treats and the strokes and head rubs happen. I spend a lot of time sitting with him on the floor. I think he wants to access the prime comfortable relaxing spot, and he jumps up a lot more when I'm on the sofa so perhaps he's trying to challenge me a bit or even just wants attention.
It's making it difficult to read or watch TV or surf the Internet while he's out, and knitting or crocheting is completely out of the question. And I feel bad shutting them away but sometimes I have to just to get a bit of peace!
"Jealousy" and demanding attention
In many ways, this is nice. Meeple is actually asking for strokes now which is lovely, but both can be really insistent that I give them attention, even if they don't really want to be stroked. Presumably this is because of their hormonal urges - they know they want something but they aren't sure what, and head rubs from me are not it. I'm trying to find the balance between giving them the affection they want but not allowing myself to be pestered.
And Nemmy is hyperaware of whether I'm stroking Meeple or not - he seems to be always watching! If I reach out to offer a nose rub to Meep, Nemmy immediately rushes over to the bars of the pen and stands up against it in a very clear "fuss me too!" fashion. He doesn't even really want to be fussed.
Restlessness
So previously when they were out they'd alternate between eating, racing around, and sleeping. They still eat (obviously) but I'm seeing much less running and binkying, much less flopping and snoozing and resting. They are playing with toys more now but they are also doing a lot more of that unsettled pacing around not-really-doing-anything behaviour, as well as spending a lot of time soliciting attention. They only seem to relax properly when they are in their cages.
I don't think any of us are terribly contented right now. :/
Circling and humming
Clearly sexual behaviour from both of them, but Nemesis is by far the worst for this. We used to have a nice relaxed time with him using me as a climbing frame, grooming me, occasionally accepting strokes, ignoring me (polite behaviour in bunnies) and sometimes even napping next to me. Now he just runs around me in circles sounding like an asthmatic old man, scrabbles at my clothes, and basically doesn't want to leave me alone.
So yeah. Bunny time is not so much fun right now. I know it's not their fault and they are very sweet bunnies really and I love them very much, and I feel bad that they seem to be frustrated and unsettled. I feel bad that I can't spend as much time with Nemmy because getting harassed isn't very pleasant, and I feel bad that 90% of my interactions with Meeps tonight were me being the sofa equivalent of a nightclub bouncer insistent that no-one with fur is allowed in.
Do we really have to live like this for over two months? None of my previous bucks have been like this.
I love my boys very much but right now I'm counting the days until they can be neutered (my vet apparently won't neuter until they are 6 months, so not until the new year, basically).
So in the interests of venting, here are the problem behaviours.
Peeing
Both have started peeing a lot outside their litterboxes - Meeple pees on the floor as close to the pen that separates him from Nemesis as possible. Nemmy pees along the front edge of his cage, literally two hops from his box. And it absolutely stinks - I'd forgotten how bad intact bucks smell.
Nemmy has peed on me twice in the last three days - he sits on my lap grooming my arms and then suddenly I have a warm wet stinky leg. Yuk.
Both will also pee on the sofa given half a chance, especially Meep. I've been using cotton throws so I can chuck them in the wash but I'm not having my nice sofa turned into a litterbox. Bunnies are now banned from the sofa, but unfortunately Meep has other ideas.
Failing to respect boundaries
Now Meep is a very clever rabbit who learns extremely quickly - I'm clicker training him and he's doing very well. But he just won't accept that the sofa is mine and that I don't want him on it. Every time he jumps up (about a million times a day) I shoo him off or pick him up and put him on the floor or even gently push him until jumps down, but he's just not getting the message.
I've tried to make the floor the nicest place to be - that's where all the treats and the strokes and head rubs happen. I spend a lot of time sitting with him on the floor. I think he wants to access the prime comfortable relaxing spot, and he jumps up a lot more when I'm on the sofa so perhaps he's trying to challenge me a bit or even just wants attention.
It's making it difficult to read or watch TV or surf the Internet while he's out, and knitting or crocheting is completely out of the question. And I feel bad shutting them away but sometimes I have to just to get a bit of peace!
"Jealousy" and demanding attention
In many ways, this is nice. Meeple is actually asking for strokes now which is lovely, but both can be really insistent that I give them attention, even if they don't really want to be stroked. Presumably this is because of their hormonal urges - they know they want something but they aren't sure what, and head rubs from me are not it. I'm trying to find the balance between giving them the affection they want but not allowing myself to be pestered.
And Nemmy is hyperaware of whether I'm stroking Meeple or not - he seems to be always watching! If I reach out to offer a nose rub to Meep, Nemmy immediately rushes over to the bars of the pen and stands up against it in a very clear "fuss me too!" fashion. He doesn't even really want to be fussed.
Restlessness
So previously when they were out they'd alternate between eating, racing around, and sleeping. They still eat (obviously) but I'm seeing much less running and binkying, much less flopping and snoozing and resting. They are playing with toys more now but they are also doing a lot more of that unsettled pacing around not-really-doing-anything behaviour, as well as spending a lot of time soliciting attention. They only seem to relax properly when they are in their cages.
I don't think any of us are terribly contented right now. :/
Circling and humming
Clearly sexual behaviour from both of them, but Nemesis is by far the worst for this. We used to have a nice relaxed time with him using me as a climbing frame, grooming me, occasionally accepting strokes, ignoring me (polite behaviour in bunnies) and sometimes even napping next to me. Now he just runs around me in circles sounding like an asthmatic old man, scrabbles at my clothes, and basically doesn't want to leave me alone.
So yeah. Bunny time is not so much fun right now. I know it's not their fault and they are very sweet bunnies really and I love them very much, and I feel bad that they seem to be frustrated and unsettled. I feel bad that I can't spend as much time with Nemmy because getting harassed isn't very pleasant, and I feel bad that 90% of my interactions with Meeps tonight were me being the sofa equivalent of a nightclub bouncer insistent that no-one with fur is allowed in.
Do we really have to live like this for over two months? None of my previous bucks have been like this.