Biting/humping bunny :(

Molly has always been a little bit of a biter, particularly when I'm doing bum checks, she snaps away trying to get at my fingers but she's getting worse! This morning, I was on my hands and knees sweeping out the pen and she ducked under me and bit the inside of my arm. It bloody hurt and it bruised instantly.

I don't understand why she's doing it, it's not like she's a scared bunny, she clambers all over me at other times. I didn't intrude in her space either, both her and Junior were out of the pen when I went in. It was like she came back especially to bite me.

Any tips for putting a stop to this? I've tried saying no, telling her she's bad etc but she's not getting the message.

She's been humping Junior a lot too since the weekend. Particularly when I bring them their breakfast. Poor Junior, he looks so distraught when she does it

I don't know what has got into her, but she's driving me mad and Junior seems to be a bit worn down by her. If she's biting me, I can only imagine she's biting him too

Naughty Molly!! Sometimes Tigger goes to nibble me when she's playing but it's only a little nibble, not a full on bite.

I think what you've got to do is yelp. I cannot remember where I read it but rabbits learn like puppies do, a yelp signals that they've hurt you and they aren't playing after all and they will learn from this.

Tigger is an awful humper too - sometime Jeeves looks really fed up with it and just takes it, but sometimes he does run off and say 'no I'm not having this'. Maybe Junior will learn to do that.

Yes, apparently a shrill 'pain' sound is the way to go, rather than the word 'no' which we never listen to under any other circumstances either

It sounds like Molly might be getting a bit dominant / territorial - has anything changed in their / your environment which might have caused her to feel a bit insecure? Have you moved any furniture around? Or their pen? If you haven't, I'd almost be inclined to deliberately move everything around in their area, and make it 'new' again in case she is getting a bit possessive over it. Does she hassle Junior everywhere in the house, or mostly in their own quarters? If she is doing it at food time, I would scatter feed for a while instead of putting it in a bowl.

Ive not got a lot to suggest, but i hope you can sort something out. It can be really disheartening when this happens. I was gutted when Dolly bit me!

can't remember but has she been spayed yet they can be a bit more assertive or she could just think she's playing flopsy did it once to my arm and had a small bruise when i was holdind her but she was just playful.
i have heard that a yelp is a way to let them know it hurts as well

I diagnose Molly as a teenager! When Bruce was her age he kept biting me on the nipple! I did the shrieking thing. I am not sure if that eventually worked or if he just grew out of it.

cheryl'n'bruce'flo wrote:I diagnose Molly as a teenager! When Bruce was her age he kept biting me on the nipple! I did the shrieking thing. I am not sure if that eventually worked or if he just grew out of it.

sounds painful

Corr, ouch!

Dotdot wrote:Naughty Molly!! Sometimes Tigger goes to nibble me when she's playing but it's only a little nibble, not a full on bite.

I think what you've got to do is yelp. I cannot remember where I read it but rabbits learn like puppies do, a yelp signals that they've hurt you and they aren't playing after all and they will learn from this.

Tigger is an awful humper too - sometime Jeeves looks really fed up with it and just takes it, but sometimes he does run off and say 'no I'm not having this'. Maybe Junior will learn to do that.

Oh yes! I forgot about the yelp thing! Thanks!!

Does Jeeves look really upset after he's been humped? Junior's little face is so sad

Sparky wrote:Yes, apparently a shrill 'pain' sound is the way to go, rather than the word 'no' which we never listen to under any other circumstances either

It sounds like Molly might be getting a bit dominant / territorial - has anything changed in their / your environment which might have caused her to feel a bit insecure? Have you moved any furniture around? Or their pen? If you haven't, I'd almost be inclined to deliberately move everything around in their area, and make it 'new' again in case she is getting a bit possessive over it. Does she hassle Junior everywhere in the house, or mostly in their own quarters? If she is doing it at food time, I would scatter feed for a while instead of putting it in a bowl.

Nothing has changed at home that I can think of Maybe I should mix things up a little bit and see if it helps. Thanks

She humps him downstairs too. Just randomly though. It's not repetitive like it is at breakfast time. She starts humping him when she hears me coming with breakfast but she stops when she gets her food

marleyNfriends wrote:Ive not got a lot to suggest, but i hope you can sort something out. It can be really disheartening when this happens. I was gutted when Dolly bit me!

It did did upset me a little bit It came out of nowhere and I was rather offended!

fiver wrote:can't remember but has she been spayed yet they can be a bit more assertive or she could just think she's playing flopsy did it once to my arm and had a small bruise when i was holdind her but she was just playful.
i have heard that a yelp is a way to let them know it hurts as well

Molly was spayed months ago

cheryl'n'bruce'flo wrote:I diagnose Molly as a teenager! When Bruce was her age he kept biting me on the nipple! I did the shrieking thing. I am not sure if that eventually worked or if he just grew out of it.

This did cross my mind!! How long does the teenage phase last?

The cheeky bites on the bum I can handle, shes done it a fair few times when I've been sweeping up, but that bite really hurt this morning. I can only imagine how sore it was when Bruce did that to you

Does she grunt or growl when she bites you? I have two buns that will nip/box me. With Fiver, it's because he is very territorial (he is neutered) if I put my hand in the litter tray or on the bed whilst he is there he will box me and growl (he rarely bites). It does hurt but there's not much I can do apart from keep my hands away, I can read him very well and so I avoid it most of the time.
Xena bites and she draws blood. I recently found that she doesn't see very well and is probably blind in one eye so this is why she bites, now I approach her carefully and make sure she sees me.
To me it doesn't sound like your bun is being particularly territorial towards you (I may be wrong) or that she is nervous/unsure. I would say she sounds like my bridge bun, Ellie. She used to hop over to me and nip me, especially whilst I was busy doing something. She did this because she was being ignored and a nip to another bunny would not hurt but to us humans it can draw blood and really hurt us. I think she sounds like a very bossy, dominant bun and doesn't realise she is hurting you. Some bunnies will bite instead of nudge you. They are just being rude and bossy, the thing to do is teach her that this is not the way to get your attention. When you walk into the room do you greet her?
When she bites you, have you tried picking her up and moving her away? Some buns are ok with this but some won't tolerate being picked up. Another thing you can try is what other people have suggested, shout "Owch!" but when you do this purposefully move away from her a turn your back to her. This shows in her own language that you are very displeased with her behaviour. Looking over your shoulder at her occasionally is like saying "I may forgive you if you say sorry." It does sound a bit crazy but it certainly worked for me when Fiver was overly aggressive, I believe this is why he rarely bites/nips me. Usually when you do this the bun will run over and wonder why you moved away. If she nips/bites you again then you continue to do it until she realises that is why you are annoyed at her. If she hops over and asks for a groom without biting then give her a nose rub and maybe a sneaky treat.

Vegan_bunny wrote:Does she grunt or growl when she bites you? I have two buns that will nip/box me. With Fiver, it's because he is very territorial (he is neutered) if I put my hand in the litter tray or on the bed whilst he is there he will box me and growl (he rarely bites). It does hurt but there's not much I can do apart from keep my hands away, I can read him very well and so I avoid it most of the time.
Xena bites and she draws blood. I recently found that she doesn't see very well and is probably blind in one eye so this is why she bites, now I approach her carefully and make sure she sees me.
To me it doesn't sound like your bun is being particularly territorial towards you (I may be wrong) or that she is nervous/unsure. I would say she sounds like my bridge bun, Ellie. She used to hop over to me and nip me, especially whilst I was busy doing something. She did this because she was being ignored and a nip to another bunny would not hurt but to us humans it can draw blood and really hurt us. I think she sounds like a very bossy, dominant bun and doesn't realise she is hurting you. Some bunnies will bite instead of nudge you. They are just being rude and bossy, the thing to do is teach her that this is not the way to get your attention. When you walk into the room do you greet her?
When she bites you, have you tried picking her up and moving her away? Some buns are ok with this but some won't tolerate being picked up. Another thing you can try is what other people have suggested, shout "Owch!" but when you do this purposefully move away from her a turn your back to her. This shows in her own language that you are very displeased with her behaviour. Looking over your shoulder at her occasionally is like saying "I may forgive you if you say sorry." It does sound a bit crazy but it certainly worked for me when Fiver was overly aggressive, I believe this is why he rarely bites/nips me. Usually when you do this the bun will run over and wonder why you moved away. If she nips/bites you again then you continue to do it until she realises that is why you are annoyed at her. If she hops over and asks for a groom without biting then give her a nose rub and maybe a sneaky treat.

It's not nice being bit, is it? Thankfully Molly has never made me bleed (yet!) Poor you, that must really hurt!!

She doesn't bite or growl, it just seems like pure cheek!!

What you've said about her being bossy is an accurate description. She's a very confident girl, and her presence never goes unnoticed I do greet them both when I go into their room, or any room they're in for that matter, but it does seem like she is like your bridge bun Ellie and just doing it for attention.

I did pick her up and move her yesterday morning and she kept running back to me so I just kept saying no and moving her away again.

Thanks for all the tips in your post, I will give everything a go

Let us know if it works x

I sure will