Help

Hi , I'm just wondering but are male rabbits easier in general to handle ? I have 2 boys 11 weeks old and I can do anything with them I can pick them streight up out of the garden to put them back in their hutch ect , but my little girl bunnie only 8 weeks old scrabbles alot but is fine once on your lap , happy to be brushed n stroked , but I put her in the garden and spent about an hour trying to catch her lol , is it just because she is younger ? I have only had her a few days, but the other 2 were easy to catch streight away

It really depends on the rabbit but as a general rule, most rabbits do not like being picked up. They are prey animals and instinct tells them to be afraid when they are being picked up. They think they are being carried off by a predator

It is something you can work on though. When you pick her up, give her a treat so she learns to associate being picked up with getting something yummy to eat. Some rabbits will never like being picked up though.

It will be difficult at 8 weeks though, as she shouldn't be having treats yet. You could do it with her nuggets until she can have more interesting things.

As you've only had her a few days I would give her time to settle in and get used to you before handling her, if at all possible.

I completely agree with the above .  Can I ask hun, do they all live together?

Hi , no they are seperate , two boys live together and Rita is in a seperate cage they go in the garden separately as well , neither seems borherd by the other , they say hello through the cage , she will lay sleeping legs out behind her and they will hop about near her cage  x

Welcome yo HH hun xx 

You will need to keep a close eye on the boys hun, it is very likely that the boys will start fighting soon.  The best thing to do would be to get them neutered ASAP.  Their fights can be extremely nasty and result in life threatening injuries.  It's likely to be worse if there is a lady around.  If you get them neutered before they do there is a small chance you could prevent it from starting.

Forgot to say , feel free to join in all the chat!  We might all be a bit bunny crazy - but we are a friendly bunch :-)

welcome to hh and i agree with katie we are lovely people and never ever a bit nuts after taking a trammy

Katieb wrote:Welcome yo HH hun xx 

You will need to keep a close eye on the boys hun, it is very likely that the boys will start fighting soon.  The best thing to do would be to get them neutered ASAP.  Their fights can be extremely nasty and result in life threatening injuries.  It's likely to be worse if there is a lady around.  If you get them neutered before they do there is a small chance you could prevent it from starting.

Yes this is very true, we have 6 young males who are from two litters and they are due to be neutered next Wednesday and sadly they all had a go at the runt of one of the litters and hurt him badly.

Sometimes even when they are bonded and all seems well they can just turn on each other and fight and cause serious harm to one another so always keep your eye on them.

It is often reported that 2 males with a very secure bond start fighting and cannot be rebonded once a hormonal female is nearby.

I think the temperament thing is entirely down to personality. Flo is noy at all afraid of me - she will sit on me if she thinks there is a treat in it. She will box me until I move out of the way, she will jump into my arms for security when we are at the vets. But at home I am not allowed to tough her at all.