Need info

[angelcries]

Hello, I am new here and I love this site!! So much info!!!! When I was little I always had rabbits. I had a really big lop and he was awesome! But that was years ago. I have two children and 8 year old boy and a 2 year old little girl. I wanted to do something special for my son so I got him Happy. I think it was back in April when we got him. He was so sweet and loving and would just sit on our laps for hours and let us pet him but that didn't last long. I can't even pick him up let alone hold him. He goes nuts with his kicking. But he will let you pet him. Is there a reason some bunnies won't let you hold them?
Now to Joy she is my female black rabbit. I have no clue what she is. I just got her a few days ago from the rescue shelter. If I would've known they had rabbits I would've gone there instead of the pet store when I got Happy. But I was there and there was this sweet rabbit that actually came up to me in her cage. Well I left and I had dreamed about this rabbit and went back about a week later and she was still there. Apparently she had been there since June as a stray. So I got the ok from the man and I took her home. Well when I got her home she freaked so I freaked and I called the shelter back. The rabbit was growling at me and throwing her paws up to hit me. And I have never seen this in any of my rabbits and had no clue they growl!!! I thought she had rabbies. AHHHHH! Well they said she was stressed and they have this with the shelter rabbits. Well I kept working with her and she is doing so much better. She still gets scared like a dog that was abused and gets scared when you go to pet it. She gets scared and I wonder if she was abused. I don't know how someone could abuse a rabbit. She is all black and has a poof under her neck she is so pretty.
I keep the two seperated but my male has gone crazy!! He isn't fixed and he likes her. He never poohs or pees in the house but now he is but thats normal right cause he wants to impress the girl?
I would like to breed them just to experience it but at the same time I know nothing about breeding them. And it scares me. I have heard horror stories about the males getting mean and I dont want him to hurt her. If I get him fixed will he still want to be "happy" I'd like for them to live together.
Anyway any thoughts would be appreciated!! Thanks and sorry for rambling so long...

 

[NorthernAutumn]

Welcome to RO!
Do yourself a huge favour, and get your male neutered. Otherwise, he will piddle all over everything, and be generally horrible for the next year-2 years. He is a teenager, and his hormone are going crazy. You have just brought in a sexy young thing and he can't help his little self

Please don't breed your rabbits. Remember where you got Joy? I am confident that you CAN breed them (they'll do it themselves), but you have no idea what their genetic makeup is like. Maybe they had a really unhealthy parent that was prone to infections? Maybe there is a hereditary issue with digestive organs?
You don't know these things, because nobody knows the health background on your buns' parents.

For their sake, please don't breed them. Many people who get baby bunnies will not likely be willing to put up with the antics of teenage buns (what you're going thru right now). Chalk some more rabbits up for the shelter? I hope not, but that's a huge risk.

BTW They can't live together and CANNOT PLAY together while he isn't fixed. It takes all of 5-10 seconds, and WHAM pregnant bunny. Trust me, they'll have a good time, but it's a big issue for you to deal with :biggrin2:.

As for Joy lunging and growling, she's probably displaying the results of being in a cage for a long time with little human contact. Shelters do their best, but an animal in a cage for too long can develop cage aggression. She thinks you are invading her territory. I'm dealing with that in my new bun, Evie, right now.
Don't jerk your hand back when she lunges. Move slowly and deliberately. Always have a treat in your hand when you reach into her cage for anything.
Try giving her the treat, then just leaving your hand in her cage. Don't touch anything or try to pick her up. She needs to know that you are her mommy.:hearts:
Hang in there! You sound like you're having a huge bunny experience right now.

Whoa... that was a book...

 

[angelcries]

Thank you for the info!!! I just read about breeding them and I am not sure I am up to the challenge and I love my Joy and she has already been through alot. So Happy is going to be fixed asap. The shelter where I got him will do it for 55 bucks. I want them to be able to live together and right now they can't.So after he is fixed they can live happily ever after!!!
Joy also makes this chirping noise what does this mean? She almost sounds like a monkey when she does it. Its funny she doesn't seem mad when she does it.
Thanks again!! I am not breeding my bunnies!!!!!

 

[NorthernAutumn]

I'm delighted that you're taking the time to learn all you can about your buns. There's a lot of members here with excellent info. Check out the Lagomorph library too

As for the chirping, Evie (my aggressive one) makes a lot of different noises too. Sometimes, she sounds like a guinea pig"wheek". I'm not quite sure what the chirping/whirring noises indicate, as she sometimes seems frustrated with me when she's talking. Watch and see if she does it when you're moving/giving her something/petting her. From my reading, it means different things in different buns.

You will be so happy when Happy is neutered, and he'll be happier too. I neutered my two boys, and they are becoming positively snuggly. Stuart, the speed demon, no huggy rabbit was neutered in May, and has become relatively snuggly since then. Slatey is 3 yo this Halloween, and loves sitting on the couch beside me. You won't regret the neuter.
BTW, $55 is an AWESOME price! (I paid 130!)

 

[ilovetoeatchocolate]

Yeah for not breeding the bunnies! I am glad you made that decision because there are so many unwanted rabbits all around the world. It overwhelms me to think of home many unwanted rabbits are in a shelter, on the buy and sell, on craigslist, on kijiji etc. and the list goes on.

Things that you can try with your rabbit is try to get down on her level. Go down on your knees. Observe her a lot until she trusts you. Take some time to talk with her in a soft voice. It may take some time. Buddy, my dwarf mix, took a whole week to feel comfortable enough to come out of his cage. Yes a whole week. I was so sad about it. And even now he will rarely let me touch things in his cage without lunging at me. He is territorial. Rabbits can't speak so we may have to be extra patient because they communicate with bites, nips, lunges, growls etc. They must feel so vulnerable in our huge human world. Especially ones that go from owner to owner. I mean if you think about it, they don't understand it when their previous owner has no more time for them and chooses to give them up right? They are uprooted from their home to some sort of shelter to stay there for who knows how long, then uprooted again, often in these cardboard boxes/carriers that the shelter provides and taken to this new home where they don't know what is there or who or what new creatures are there!

Some tips that members on here have given me is to sit with the rabbit in the same room, read a book, lay on the floor and this will give the rabbit some time to get used to you. Or even sit on the floor reading a book just outside her area if she is too territorial. Have some treats hidden in your hand so if she goes up to you she can take some. Hope that helps! Don't hesitate to ask questions. We all love rabbits here.

Shannon

 

[angelcries]

Thanks Shanon! Joy is doing so well and I am so happy!!!I had her out last night and she was so happy running all around and jumping. I was so thrilled to watch her and see how happy she was!

I have been wanting to get my male fixed for awhile but didn't know where to go. But I am getting an appointment asap! I cant wait until the two can play together.

It is so sad to see how many rabbits are abandoned and dumped. I just don't understand it. I felt like crying when I saw how many rabbits were in the shelter. I would get more if I could!! Id love to have one of those really big monster rabbits!!!Thanks again!!!!

 

[angelcries]

Happy gets neutered Nov 7th!!!!! Yippee!!! Its the soonest I could get but Im so glad!!!!

 

[BlueGiants]

Congrats on scheduling Happy's neuter. I think you and he will be much happier! (No pun intended!)

Please keep in mind that after his neuter, he will have to be kept separate from Joy for 8 weeks... It sounds like a long time, but it will take him that long to stop "producing" and he will still be capable of getting Joy pregnant.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Bunnies can be very territorial about their homes - we have the sweetest buck and he's a big full buck. We can hold him, he'll lay with us and sleep, he's just a big baby.... UNLESS you reach into his cage..... then you get bitten!

I am thrilled to see that you are having Happy neutered. If we didn't have Tony for show purposes, he would be neutered and eventually that is what I will do ... it's healthier for them.

Females should be spayed, also.

I think that when you get them all fixed and try to bond them - you should be just fine.

 

[gentle giants]

I am thrilled you have decided against breeding your bunnies. There are jsut soooo many out there needing homes already. (If you haven't already, check out the Rescue Me section to see only a small sample of this.) I will reiterate what Blue Giants said, keep Happy away from Joy for eight weeks after his neuter, because any sooner than that and he could still probably get her pregnant. It is also a very good idea to get Joy spayed, often times a doe will get grouchy just from all the hormonesrunning through her system. Even though rabbits don't go into a heat cycle, to her it still feels like having PMS all the time. :shock:

 

[angelcries]

Thank you. It is so sad to see how many bunnies need homes. So I am really excited about getting him fixed! And I will be keeping her away from him until its safe!!!

 

[dquesnel]

Congrats on your new addition! Just wanted to quickly mention that getting Joy spayed will help with any behavior/aggression problems she may display either now or later. Some female unspayed buns get REALLY cage aggressive among other things. They can also mark territory like males. Spaying early will help to prevent these behaviors. Many female unspayed buns also have a high risk of cancer, so by having the procedure done you may extend her life. I would really suggest getting them both fixed if you want to bond them too- he may not be hormonal anymore but she will be, and the bonding process will go much nicer when they are both fixed and calm. Good luck!