Biting Bun Help

Dawn and I have a rabbit in at the moment that is a biter. Not just a nipper, a real full on biter. Dawn can't have her kids near him so he is coming to me. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas. He is neutered and will hopefully be bonded soon. I am just very concerned that we won't be able to rehome him? Could really do with some advice.

Wear gloves and don't react scared of him/her.

I have no idea hon, d'ya want me to ask Anne?

Could you jay would love that. Just been out there with my oven gloves on to feed.

Is he constantly biting or just biting in certain circumstances?

The only thing I could think of it to use thick gloves / towels when holding him, and give him treats when you're holding him and he's not biting, so he realises that being held is OK?

Good luck

I have to wear gardening gloves and oven gloves just to get his food bowl in and out. He won't let you touch him. He has been castrated and came in as a stray. So we know nothing about him. He also looks mad. He doesn't groom himself and wittles so much he is quite slender despite eating well. Health check all ok. Real problem but I am not giving up on him. We want to bond him but til he is more handleable that is a tough call.

i just wrote a a long reply and accidently went back and lost the whole thing!

What i was basically saying but very longwinded was: Jelly obviously hasnt had the same past as this bunny, but she still hated me. I was petrified of her, she would throw herself at the hutch doors if i went to open them, and used to have really bad aggression when it came to food.

When she bonded with Peanut, this all stopped, she gradually learnt off him to behave better! Obviously she still had and still does have her fiesty personality, thats just the way she is but the aggression really toned down.

Maybe he needs to learn how to be a bunny?

As for food, when she was at her worst i had two bowls, i filled one up with food, and put it in, then took the empty one and repeated the process next time i fed her. She wasnt so protective of it once she had more food.

I remember a programme that I saw about a couple who kept donkeys and one of the donkeys was really difficult to get near. If they approached it would bray and kick and it was hard for them to get it checked by a vet.

The expert suggested approaching then withdrawing as it showed the donkey that yes, you were invading its space, but that you didn't go any closer and let it up the donkey to respond. The donkey got curious and didn't feel threatened because what it was bracing itself for never happened. Eventually they were able to get right up close to it and touch it.

Maybe the buns feels that its hutch is its only safe area and that outside the hutch is a scary dangerous world. It was maybe only taken out to be touched and handled and to go the vet. All scary experiences.

If you opened the hutch door but didn't put your hands in and just waited to see what it did first, then show it the food and just wait. It might learn to associate you with food and nice things and quieten down.

how is the hutch set up?
could you put a puppy pen around the hutch, open the door and just sit reading a magazine or something, and have some treats next to you? just dont react when he comes out and takes them, and then he might feel safer?

As usual i have nothing of use to offer - only that I hope he improves soon. Bless him - who knows what he has been through.

Good luck with the oven gloves hun!

K x x

Oh the poor little man Something awful must've happened to him. It'd be just lovely to have the space & money to have a nice big space for him to just be. Well done Charlotte not giving up on him. Agree with Nickies answer, just make sure your really bold with him and dont act scared. Wonder why he doesnt groom, thats bizarre

I have stroked him tonight with a stick. He was ok but was ready to bite.

oh charlotte i shouldnt laugh but i was drinking a cup of tea and ive just nearly spat it out everywhere laughing, because i had an image of you sitting there with a big old stick looking really scared stroking a bunny!

Catswhiskas wrote:I have stroked him tonight with a stick. He was ok but was ready to bite.

Thats progress!

hello Charlotte I hope all is well, my thumb is only just recovering. To let everyone know he came into care with his bunman bits and did bite but not to this extent. We took him in for castration hoping this would calm him down which it seemed to do for a while anyway. I was picking him up daily ofter after a change of clothing as when he first bit me I though maybe it was the smell of the other bunnies he didn't like. But it didnt help any he just tensed up all the time I would them stand by his hutch door open and stroke him, I wasn't scared of him at all but it got to the stage where he would just lunge and to get him out for daily exersice got to be a battle of whits.

Due to several bites and a bad one on my thumb I invested in a pair of thick gardening gloves to which I had to wear before I could handle him. I had to ask my kids not to open his hutch and to leave him for me to feed and handle as I couldn't risk them being bitten, then I asked Charlotte if she would be so kind to take him as he just seemed to get worse all I had to do was walk up to the hutch and he would start for no reason, all we want is the best for him, to find him a partner and live somewhere happy and for a long time. I'm just sorry I couldn't do anything else Charlotte is my saviour in taking him on plus she has helpped free up my kitchen of another bunny who we were hoping would be Patches new wife.

Glad your thumb has healed up. He sounds quite a character! Could be all the smells of other buns, and lots of other experiences making him really scared and reacting aggressively.

Hopefully a change of scene will help. Poor you being a focus for bunny wrath. Boy do they know how to let you know when they are cross!

Couldn't even get his food bowl out last night. Luckily there was plenty still in it. Managed to bung a load of fresh hay in his nest bit though.

I spoke to Anne last night about this, and am seeing her this evening to discuss it, I hope we can get this little fella some help x

stupid question, but could he have any underlying problems?

George was exactly the same when he was with me, I couldn't put my hand in his cage without him ripping my hand to shreds. He loved his dinner and was very food aggressive. free ranging and he was a completely different bunny I didn't have him long enough to find out what the problem was but I am sure to say that Kay has never experienced that with him since he has been bonded with his wife!

Saw Anne about this last night, I can't really put her suggestions up on here at the mo, so I've Pm'd you.

Have you thoutght about using thick gloves and doing high pitched screaming every time he bites? I did that with Nettle when he was a teenager and got over excited and bit hard and he always stopped. Nettle obviously wasn't as serious as your case but they seem to know what it means and not like it.

racheld69 wrote:Have you thoutght about using thick gloves and doing high pitched screaming every time he bites? I did that with Nettle when he was a teenager and got over excited and bit hard and he always stopped. Nettle obviously wasn't as serious as your case but they seem to know what it means and not like it.

Will give that a try. He might enjoy that.

Give him your fingers with a nice chianti and some fava beans.