need as much advice as possible

So.............................
Remember the story about flex and her sister moon, my friend had went to get a gerbil and come home with 3 gerbils and the 2 sisters as they were in such bad conditions she couldnt leave them there. They were sitting on mounds of poo and wee that had been there months, they were skin and bone and couldnt walk as they were in a guinea pigs hutch and coundnt stand at all. She brought them home in one cage and they instantly started pulling fur etc and michelle thought they were fighting so seperated them, which they instantly give birth. So she was stuck with something like 15 bunnies .

So moon and flex come to stay with me for a bit they got on fab with the girls and in the end I said to let them stay as they couldn't be handled at all, and Michelle had to catch them in a net when they were out for play time so she could put them away for the night. It was very stressful on them both. They still cant be handled at all but follow noise commands so its all good.

Flex N Moon



sooooooo after the litters were born and they were about 6 weeks I popped over and sexed them separated them into groups of boys and girls. She has found homes for all but 3, these are all boys. They have been no bother at all, we found one of the boys Dr Doolittle a lovely home the girl is about 8 who fell in love with him. They took him home and instantly started biting everyone but the husband. He wouldn't come out the cage was growling and grunting etc.. he has took chunks out of the lady's hand so she has brought him back. They are gutted.

Michelle is at her wits end and is considering putting him in a shelter. Ive told her to bring him over here and Ill see if I can do anything as our jasper is quite wild and our Roman came in the same way.

Just wanting some opinions etc on what you lot would try

Heres Dr Doolittle

aggression is more often that not fear. so i guess i would try to start all over with him like he were a new bun, sit on the floor with him let him know what people are, let him get used to you in his own time. Is he neutered?

Im sure members with more experience will be of more help to you

What would I do?

Send him to a rescue. This little boy sounds as if he needs a good quality rabbit savvy home possibly with a wifey where he can feel secure. I would think the home you had found him probably wanted to look at him and poke him and stroke him and pick him up and he didn't want that. However if he is easily scared a home with lots of buns won't suit him either. A nice quite but confident wife and a understanding home is probably what he needs.

cheryl'n'bruce'flo wrote:What would I do?

Send him to a rescue. This little boy sounds as if he needs a good quality rabbit savvy home possibly with a wifey where he can feel secure. I would think the home you had found him probably wanted to look at him and poke him and stroke him and pick him up and he didn't want that. However if he is easily scared a home with lots of buns won't suit him either. A nice quite but confident wife and a understanding home is probably what he needs.

I agree. He's going to need neutering, and a lot of time and one-to-one attention. A rescue is far better set up to 'tame' him, and as he is a young bun it is likely he'll be rehomed easily enough once he has settled.

4390evans wrote:So.............................

I think he may be a little uncomfortable held like that You need to support his bottom with one hand and use your arm for him to rest on

My last rabbit, Pickle, only liked men, which sounds similar to this. When women fed him he lunged at them yet men could do absolutely anything to him. I couldn't pick him up, yet my Dad could cuddle him like a baby.

We had him neutered and it done nothing to improve things. In the end I approached a behaviour specialist, and she said sometimes with bucks they see men as the "leader of the pack" and women as below them, so they feel that they can do what they like to the women. We were basically told not to let him get away with it, which was easier said than done, but slowly he did get a bit better. It involved me and my mum giving him a lot of treats, but it was a bit detrimental as he then associated us with goodies. My mum trained him what the biscuit tin sounded like! We could still never pick him up, or feed him easily, and he always had to have a male vet, but at least we could stroke him occasionally.

I know a lot of other homes would've given him up, but it did show in the right home they can overcome it. Looking back I wonder if he was slightly bored too, but he was hard going.

I agree with the others, maybe a rescue who has experience in that sort of behaviour would be the right way forward.

Michelle phoned animal krackers and they said they could only take 2 of the rabbits in, which is understandable due to funds etc...

Doc has come to mine for a while to see if anything can be done.
He is here now with me, I hand fed him he was a bit timid but took the broccoli of course but when I went to stroke him while eating he sunk to the ground and flattened out looking scared. I left him to finish his grub off then come back a few hours later. I picked him up no probs, gave him a snuggle which was quite tense lol. He seemed fine. I've let him run about on the patio. All the girls and boys are locked away in their homes there, but doc can still see and smell them. What I'm hoping is that seeing them, hearing the noises off the main road, interacting with the bunny's through the fence next door and the others from the hutches and shed (which he will get different responses from them all) will give him a little more confidence. There is our ginger and roman on the bottom hutches atm and both of them are like chalk and cheese, ginger couldn't give too hoots and roman just wants to sh@g everything in sight lol. He can also see the girls and can have very limited interaction with them and some of them like boys and some HATE them with a passion so he can have a sniff of them. Ill be out there all day tomorrow so will be able to interact with him all day to.


He is terrified of the dog, who is thick and just wants to sniff every thing, the girls and the other lads are not fazed by him at all so had no problems like that before. I dont want him to go to a shelter as I wanna know where he is and what the family is like. All the bunnys that I have re homed I get loads of pics sent to me and know they are ruined by the familys they have gone to, and I know the addresses etc. I know charities vet them but I dunno.............. to be continued

Doc tonight

Everything at your house will be somewhat strange to him. Once he as grown accustomed to the place, all the new smells, sounds and such and he starts to settle that's when he will start to come out of his shell. It sounds like he's been badly scared and knowing this I guess your first thought will to make him feel secure... just be a tiny bit wary about letting his security make him territorial. He needs lots of quiet TLC.

Sending mountains of gently calming vibes to Doc. I sort of imagine he will respond happily to all the love. I'm sure that after the others finish gossiping among themselves they will welcome him to the warren.

I would also say that maybe you shouldn't pick him up for a while unless completely necessary. I have had Florence for 4 years and I still cannot strke her. She just doesn't like the fell of those funny hand things us hoomins have. I have no doubt at all that if I constantly fussed her that she would become very aggressive. We have a understanding that I only pick her up if it is necessary and she doesn't fuss too much about it. If I picked her up daily she would soon become unhandleable. Approach Doc on his own terms and He will begin to chill a bit. The big thing is he sounds as if he will really benefit from neutering and most shelters will do that. Then he can be paired up with a girly who will give him confidence.

Thanks guys, although I dont post on here much now, I do search alot of stuff if Im not sure and look through till I get an answer If not ill post.

Tbh the only bun I handle regular is our gizmo, the other boys the only time I pick them up is to put them out of the hutch or back in if they are in the high ones.
He is out again today again, he will be out there till about 6 tonight then I will try and entice him in with grub lol.

I cant believe how frightened he is, he was quite confident in with his brothers .

He's on his own now and it's a big, scarey world out there!
Time, patience and Love should do wonders.

I was out with him yesterday, not as long as i wanted to be as it started raining hard but he didn't come near me once, I got some food out and she seemed to dart to me from the bottom off the garden, then stopped about 20 feet away that's where he stayed till I went in then about a hour later he cam up and had a nibble. Later in the day I brought our twink out as she is spayed and I want him to learn noise commands as our twink already responds to the food command. She ran after him a bit then they both sat snuggled up under the wood for warmth I think.