help! I don't want to give this sweet bunny away, but wow! I've tried everything...no matter how big of a space I give her, she wants more...she bit through our gates, she bites on metal gates too. I can't let her roam, she's too destructive. eats base boards, doors, furniture, anything. she has TONS of toys and chew toys, she is not spayed and I'm not planning on it. she is 10 months old...she will flop and let us pet her sometimes, but not always, she does tricks with food as treats....but, I don't feel bonded with her really and I try, I really do. She does circle us sometimes like she loves us...but, it seems like she's angry or annoyed. she was in the play area we have in our family room last night...and there is a container with her hay, she dumped it out, when I cleaned it up and put it back, she dumped it again. HELP!!!!!
Frustrated Bunny owner ready to give up!
- Thread starter dgos17
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She's hormonal. Hormones affect different rabbits to different degrees. Yours, it sounds like, is displaying common hormonal behaviors --- excessive destructive chewing, extra moody, and more stand-off-ish.
Dumping the hay container is simply play -- nothing mean about it.
She isn't likely to change without being spayed. Spaying her will make her more happy. It should also help considerably with the hormonal behaviors....however.... the longer you wait to spay her, the more likely that these behaviors will become permanent (ingrained, habitual). It's not fair to her to keep her intact.
If you aren't willing to have her spayed, then I'd suggest finding her a new home with someone willing to do so. Spaying can be costly but that is one of the prices of bunny ownership. If you get her spayed, that would benefit both her and you.
Dumping the hay container is simply play -- nothing mean about it.
She isn't likely to change without being spayed. Spaying her will make her more happy. It should also help considerably with the hormonal behaviors....however.... the longer you wait to spay her, the more likely that these behaviors will become permanent (ingrained, habitual). It's not fair to her to keep her intact.
If you aren't willing to have her spayed, then I'd suggest finding her a new home with someone willing to do so. Spaying can be costly but that is one of the prices of bunny ownership. If you get her spayed, that would benefit both her and you.
Thank you for the tips. This is how I look at it and I may be wrong, I am new at this. I do not believe in taking out anyone's organs...they are put there for a reason. I do not plan on breeding her though. I think all creatures need the hormones/etc that comes with the reproductive organs. That is my view though. I appreciate your response and I will consider it.
Sometimes hormones can even cause problems for humans. So taking away something that can cause her cancer which is a risk as high as 80% and make her not be hormonal which can cause extra stress and make her feel worse.
Myself know perfectly well how hormones can change you. So it will be more positive with a spay. I know myself neutered one of my boys, when his hormones was going haywire he was aggressive and tried to attack
. Myself neuter so my bunnies can have friends without causing internall strife between them later on.
You girl seem to be getting the negative side effect of hormones. It can mellow down after she get older but every time she get into spring feelings, it will act up again.
Myself know perfectly well how hormones can change you. So it will be more positive with a spay. I know myself neutered one of my boys, when his hormones was going haywire he was aggressive and tried to attack
. Myself neuter so my bunnies can have friends without causing internall strife between them later on. You girl seem to be getting the negative side effect of hormones. It can mellow down after she get older but every time she get into spring feelings, it will act up again.
Rabbits are barely domesticated, just a few hundred years compared to the 15000 years dogs are, and keeping them as pets is a very recent fad. They still have most of their natural, wild behaviour. To keep them as pets compromises need to be made. All rabbits are different, so some will not require much adaption, others need a lot of bunny proofing, and then there are those with a strong opinion about what being a rabbit is all about.
Your girl sounds like my Fury, was my house bunny for 8 months, Myxo quarantine, she reduced all plinth to flakes - wood and PVC alike, destroyed USB cables and airbrush hoses like they were her deadly enemies, almost succeded in killing me twice by removing insulation from power cords, started a tunnel straight into the wall, after 2" the bricks stopped her. And, after I got another "doe", she had her first litter in my kitchen.
She's 8 years now, and a very happy outdoor bunny with lots of energy, retired her from breeding this year, wasn't happy about that.
So, hormones trigger a lot of behaviour, set her on track to act out what would be necessary to fight for survival in the wild, get a warren built and organized, and to reproduce like, well, rabbits. A lot of drive and energy gets pent up not being able to act that out, let that steam off. Some of it goes into behaviour we would call "destructive".
Spaying relieves that pressure somewhat, that urge to prepare a warren and the yearning for being bred. Intact does can have very strong ideas about hierachy, and their mood and drive changes with their hormone level.
Spaying is one of those compromises, she's a house pet, not one of those few bunnies that populated Australia single-handedly. Having a doe with such strong instincts intact as pet is somewhat like revving up a car on idle, lots of wear and annoyance for those around, but not getting anyone anywhere. That cancer thing is basicly true, but it got completly blown out of proportion as a deadbeat argument, my guess is more like 20% in their lifetime - which is still a valid argument.
My current house bunnies are an intact buck, and his spayed cuddlebun. Not entirely trouble free, at least for me, but since he got athrosis Dotty can always get away from him when he's too much a PITA. My other 4 does are intact outside bunnies.
Your girl sounds like my Fury, was my house bunny for 8 months, Myxo quarantine, she reduced all plinth to flakes - wood and PVC alike, destroyed USB cables and airbrush hoses like they were her deadly enemies, almost succeded in killing me twice by removing insulation from power cords, started a tunnel straight into the wall, after 2" the bricks stopped her. And, after I got another "doe", she had her first litter in my kitchen.
She's 8 years now, and a very happy outdoor bunny with lots of energy, retired her from breeding this year, wasn't happy about that.
So, hormones trigger a lot of behaviour, set her on track to act out what would be necessary to fight for survival in the wild, get a warren built and organized, and to reproduce like, well, rabbits. A lot of drive and energy gets pent up not being able to act that out, let that steam off. Some of it goes into behaviour we would call "destructive".
Spaying relieves that pressure somewhat, that urge to prepare a warren and the yearning for being bred. Intact does can have very strong ideas about hierachy, and their mood and drive changes with their hormone level.
Spaying is one of those compromises, she's a house pet, not one of those few bunnies that populated Australia single-handedly. Having a doe with such strong instincts intact as pet is somewhat like revving up a car on idle, lots of wear and annoyance for those around, but not getting anyone anywhere. That cancer thing is basicly true, but it got completly blown out of proportion as a deadbeat argument, my guess is more like 20% in their lifetime - which is still a valid argument.
My current house bunnies are an intact buck, and his spayed cuddlebun. Not entirely trouble free, at least for me, but since he got athrosis Dotty can always get away from him when he's too much a PITA. My other 4 does are intact outside bunnies.
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He turned back being a cuddled bunny and a lot calmer. He stopped peeing on people and having the urge to mark ☺
So some bunnies will react negative to hormones but not all will do that.
that is wonderful news! thank you
That depends on where you live, here most vets do it, and I have about 10 within an hour drive to chose from. But there are lists of rabbit savvy vets and other members might recommend one in your area.
Ok, thank you. I'm in Lake Mary FL
JBun postet a link to a vet list in that post:
https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threads/rabbit-not-eating.99461/#post-1154209
Anyway, Fury is still my favorite, I love the attitude, - considered having her spayed as cuddlebun but she was 6 already and the vet didn't think that it was a good idea at that age.
https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threads/rabbit-not-eating.99461/#post-1154209
Anyway, Fury is still my favorite, I love the attitude, - considered having her spayed as cuddlebun but she was 6 already and the vet didn't think that it was a good idea at that age.
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Sorry you both are going through all this. I understand your perspective about not wanting to alter what a creature was born with. However when it comes to pets, it's actually in their best interest. Without spay/neuter the dog/cat population explodes, increases disease among them, and the number of animals that must be euthanized in shelters. For rabbits, as Blue eyes said, their lifespan increases significantly once they are altered (look up the incidence of uterine cancers in spayed vs unspayed rabbits. The numbers are sobering).
I'm in Ohio and I found a discount rabbit-specific spay/neuter clinic where I got a significant discount on my bun's neuter (though when I signed him up it was supposed to be a spay because everyone I took him to told me he was female lol). It took a lot longer to get to than my normal vet (40 minute drive vs 10) but the discount I got, about 75% off the normal cost of a $300 surgery, was well worth it. If you can, search for low-cost/discount spay/neuter clinics in your area. If you can't find one that way, start calling local veterinarians and ask if they know of any.
If you do decide to go that route, also as Blue eyes said, the sooner you schedule surgery the better. The longer you wait, the more chance that behavior becomes part of her personality. Our appointment was a 3-week wait, so you might have to take that into consideration also.
It really is a better choice for the rabbit, and if you can't or aren't willing to do it, she may be better off with someone better equipped to keep her.
Good luck!
Debbie Medina
Well-Known Member
I own 2 girls for almost a year now, and damn is one of my girls destructive, she ate my bose speaker cables and the TV cable, 1 laptop and 3 phone chargers, totally anihilated every single veggie on my garden no matter how much fence/obstacle I put, tried to bit every family member at least 11/10 time we try to catch her. She dugged out entire bushes , I would find the trunk and branches on one side and big hole here and there. Oh and one time she fought with her sister (they had a period were they unbonded ?¿ we are back to bonded now) which ended up in an emrgency trip to the vet and abdominal surgery for my other bunny. So yeah if you can get her neutered do so your life would be easier, i havent found a vet that does neutering near me as a matter of fact theres only 1 vet where i live that treats/handles bunnies.. talk about vet money $$$. She only really lets me pet her when SHE wants and grunts if you dont let her do her will. On a brigther side her sister although she has been destructive in the past too, is not aggresive and actually obeys when called out on bad behavior and generally displays love towards almost everyone in the family.
Here's a list of rabbit-savvy vets in the Orlando area. I got this list from the House Rabbit Society's vet listing page.
http://orlandorabbit.org/rabbitvets/rabbitvets.php
Thank you! I am looking into finding a vet this week!
thanks so much!
Oh wow. I thought I had it bad.
Sunshine's Fine
Active Member
I adopted a boy who was quite a destructive chewer. His original owners didn't have him neutered and while he would let me pet him, he was hard to get close to. He also would hump me! My arm, my leg, my back - whatever was nearest to him. I got him a stuffed animal and he humped that poor thing continually. I decided to have him neutered, and what a different bunny he was after! He was so sweet, I would take him out in the yard with his harness and leash, he was litter trained super easily, I moved a long distance and he travelled with me. He was super sweet and would jump up into my lap at night to snuggle with me, and would even get into bed with me in the mornings for a cuddle. I lost him quite suddenly one night when he was 6 and I still miss him. I don't regret doing the surgery at all. The only reason I would be nervous at all is that sometimes bunnies don't make it through the anaesthesia (that can happen with people too, but is one of the risks). There is a very high degree of reproductive cancers in rabbits and that scared me, too. Only you know what's best for your bunny, but it's worth doing your own research so you can make an informed decision. Good luck.
Sunshine's Fine
Active Member
One of my girls is a chewer. She chews every soft, rubbery, plastic-y thing she can find. She has chewed wooden furniture legs and just about everything she can get her teeth on. I got her some apple sticks and now she rarely chews things I don't want her to. If I catch her about to chew something, I tell her "No!" and give her a new apple stick. It seems to be working. It might be worth trying with your bun. Oh, I tried willow sticks and neither of them were interested in them at all. Oxbow makes nice, long ones, but I have a hard time finding them. Hope this helps.
