Growling and hissing

[luna21]

Im having problems with Molly ever since she has gotten her new cage, because she is able to come and go as she pleases she now really really hates to be held and will not let me pick her up, she growls, hisses, and the fur flies everywhere!!! I didn't have this problem with her before, is it maybe because she is spoiled?? I know that rabbits hate being held in the first place but this is just ridiculous!!:?Any advice on this one would really be appreciated!

 

[Bunnys_rule63]

Is Molly spayed? Unspayed females can be territorial so that could be the problem.

 

[rubysmom]

Whenever any of my rabbits are permanently given access to their room, they go through a period of unsociability. They are very reluctant to let me pet, hold or come near them. That wears off after a while though. They soon realize that I bring their greens, hay and pellets. I spend a lot of time just sitting with them maybe with treats and just petting. I very seldom actually hold my buns and they warm back up to me. It just takes time for them to trust that I am not going to put them in their cage.

 

[luna21]

I usually sit on the floor with her and she's not really that bad its only when she's in her cage and im trying to pick her up, and no she is not spayed yet I've had to cancel her appointment to make sure she was well enough to go through surgery because I recently took her to the vet for suspected head tilt which went away! When she is on the floor I can only pet her when she lets me but I still have the same problem with trying to pick her up, she freaks out.

 

[rubysmom]

Definitely spaying will probably help with that. How long has she been able to roam about freely? My male, Hazel, is just a skittish rabbit so sometimes it is a real hassle to catch him or even get near him. My other buns usually calm down after a few weeks. One trick I use is that once I get near him, I put my hand down gently on their head and very gently yet firmly push their head downward - not hard but it does seem to calm them 9 times out of 10. Keeping my hand on their head I can usually maneuver to pick them up. However, I don't only do this when I want to pick them up because they will learn to recognize that as a sign of being picked up. I sometimes do that and just pet them on the head and stroke their forehead then I walk away. But you will probably have to wait till she is spayed to keep those hormones and behaviors in check.

 

[maherwoman]

Bunnies HISS?! I didn't know this...odd...I'm used to kitty hisses...but never DREAMED that a bunny would hiss...

Is this a regular thing?

 

[Runestonez]

Maherwoman-I think it is usually associated with puberty and bad bunny phases. Our boy Bummy only hissed once that I can recall. He was going thru a bad behavior phase at the time. He jumped at my handand gave it a smack and a hiss. I just hissed right back. (something I'vedone with the cats) He just sat up at looked at me all offended like only a lop really can! He hasn't hissed again...and it was right after his neuter when his hormones were still wonky. Bunnies have so many interesting noises! My personal fave was the oinking our boy did!

 

[maherwoman]

That's too funny, Runestonez...I really can't picture a bunny hissing, which is surprising considering how hormonal and cage-agressive Maisie tends to get. How funny...I never would have thought!! :shock:

 

[naturestee]

Ok, this may sound obvious but don't touch her when she's in her cage. No, really! All three of my girls have been cage territorial to some extent before and after spaying, and I've found that the best way to deal with it is to only go as far as they are comfortable with in their own cages. Mocha was insecure about her new pen so I stayed out of it while she was there for the first month or so. Now she gets upset if I don't go in it and lie down so she can jump on top of me. Before they were moved to big pens, I never picked up my rabbits while they were in their cages unless it was very important such as for health reasons. I used to pick Mocha up when she was in her cage when I first got her, but changing to a "no handling while in the cage" policy made her much more friendly to me.