Should I?

[delusional]

Well... I know... I suck at saying no.

When we brought Delilah home I put my foot down with myself. That's it. We're at full capacity. No more. I want to work on bonding my current bunnies together, and bonding with them myself.

But...

Tonight we get a message from a friend, who says that a work colleague of his girlfriend's is trying to get rid of a rabbit. Because he bit one of her children. My guess is one of her children deserved it but... whatever.

Now, if this was a bunny in a rescue, I'd walk away. Because I could trust that the rescue would find him another good home. But I don't know what'll happen to this guy if he stays there... poked and prodded and provoked further by those kids until the woman advertises 'small white rabbit free to good home' and he ends up as snake food?

My concerns are that we already have a house-full, obviously. And mostly that I'm worried about him being a biter. I know it's not his fault (if it wasn't merely self-defence or even a gentle 'out-my-way' nip which is being exaggerated), but I don't know if I want to bring a biter into the house.

Anyone have experience with aggressive rabbits?

I just want to get him out of the stressful environment and let chill out and not have to worry about being dragged around by children, and I want to let him live life on his terms and not by those kids' schedules.

I'd say I could take him for a while and find him a better home, but I know what I'm like and I know if I bring him here, I'll get attached.

Are his experiences likely to have altered his personality for good or could he come around?

And now I'm not sure if this thread belongs in the behaviour section...? Mods feel free to move it if it does...

 

[BethM]

I'm going to start by saying I'm not an authority on aggressive rabbits, I've only dealt with one, and I think her aggressiveness is probably minor compared to what others have encountered.

Tobi was shuffled around a lot before we got her, and she was only about a year old at that time. She is very territorial, and does growl, bite, and box when she feels like her area is being invaded. Mostly, I have just learned what it is that upsets her. She mostly reacts to the hand broom, and a towel wiping the floor of her pen. I just try to shoo her to an upper level when I clean. If I get bitten while cleaning, it's usually my fault for not watching out for her.
Otherwise, she is a very sweet girl, and enjoys being petted. She used to be very tense, and wouldn't let her body be touched, but now she is much more relaxed. She even gives my husband kisses.

It has been about a year since she came to stay here, but she has come around. That probably varies from rabbit to rabbit.

 

[Mrs. PBJ]

I am by no means a expert either.

But storm was pretty rowled up at the shelter until I started handleing him and loving him. He was a bighter for about 2 weeeks he had to have meds and such from a bad nueter job.

So on top of being in a new place he been nuetered. And then had to take meds.

But he has come around I dont think I will ever be able to cuddle storm. But I love his little grey but and think the world of him. What I am trying to say is if you can afford it go for it. You can find him her a great homes.

 

[bunnybunbunb]

But is not just cost wise Mrs. PBJ, and delusional knows that.Having been a breeder for many years I have had near 40 rabbits at points and it is not right. I mean I know many people breed and do the best they can but the home, housed outside or in, is not *best* if there are so many animals. You want to save this rabbit, I want this rabbit saved too, but where will that put you with your current rabbits? The rabbits you have already commited to? It puts them at a place where they will have even less time with you. This is a fine for rabbit who dislikes human contact but I see rabbits right with dogs and cats and the fact is if someone had 20 cats or dogs this would be saw as wrong by most people. You just can not give 20 or so animals the attention they deserve.

If we take in every animal in need of something both physical and mental all of the animals will be lacking in both yet again. We can care for 300 animals but could we actually give them all the care they deserved? I doubt it. There is a line thathas to be drawn somewhere, as bad has it hurts to see an animal being treated poorly we can not take every one of them.

Is there any way you can persuade them to give it up to a shelter? A shelter life is not great but it is better than many homes.

Also, please do not think I am implying you are not properly caring for your babies or think of them any diffrently. It is quite the opposite which is why I am saying what I am. Think of your current responsibilities, your babies, before bringing another one around.

 

[mouse_chalk]

One thing to consider, which you probably already have done, is that is he neutered? I would imagine not, and obviously any aggressive behaviour would probably calm down a whole lot more after his neuter.

Also, from what you're saying, it sounds like the poor bun doesn't have an easy time of it, so the biting may well be self-defence from him being terrified by the kids all the time

Before we got Snowy, apparently she was very aggressive, and hated men. The first day we got her home, she licked my nose! We think it was due to her being in the pet store, with noisy kids and people poking at them, stressing them out, plus her not being spayed. When we first had her home she was a bit cage aggressive, and did take a few swipes at me when I was trying to clean her out or if I tried to pet her, but she soon learnt that I wasn't going to hurt her and she was safe (She still bolts most of the time now, but even over a year later, she's getting better).

I personally didn't find it a problem- if I needed to pick her up I put on a thick jumper and used a towel, and I only cleaned their cage when she was out playing. We had an open top on their NIC cage so we could reach in and out to feed them without having to invade their space too much. Things like that really help. We weren't expecting a cuddly snuggly bunny, so we weren't disappointed with that aspect, we just wanted to give them a good home where they could be happy, much like you do

I guess it's hard to say what this bunny will be like if you bring him home- he could really relax knowing he was safe from the terrorising, and be lovely, or it cold be a learnt thing that takes him a while to come around from. I know you know all about the expense of taking on another bunny lol, so I guess it's just whether you'll be able to deal with him if he is a 'mean bunny' or not....

And bless you for even considering taking him in! I know that if you did he would be much loved and have the best bunny care ever :hug:

 

[slavetoabunny]

I have a foster that is a biter, but as others have said it's a matter of knowing what sets them off. I have learned how to handle Snowball and rarely get bit anymore. I would never adopt this rabbit out to a home with children, but she will make a wonderful pet for someone. On the other hand, she has only ever bitten me and I wonder if because I handle so many other rabbits and have their scent on me.

 

[delusional]

Yeah this guy is apparently not neutered as yet. I'm also told that they've had him a little under a year... easter bunny the kids are bored with, anyone?

I'm not sure about trying to persuade them to give him to a shelter... they seem to be getting aggitated by all my questions already, which are going through our friend, and then through his girlfriend as it is. I think if I started pushing, either directly or through the people-chain, they'd just walk away from the whole thing and.. we're back to worrying about him ending up as snake food.

That's generally what happens with small white rabbits that nobody wants, isn't it?

I've been thinking a lot today... about who I have planned to try and bond with who etc. And I guess the more of my rabbits I bond into pairs or groups, the more time I can spend with them all. I mean, if I can spend time with more than one at a time. They all get attention all the time, with Lee being at home all day, then they have mummy time in the evenings and at weekends...

I don't know.

I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm leaning towards taking him, at least as a foster at first.

I think I may arrange to meet him, and see what he's actually like with a person who's not pulling his ears and poking him in the face. And if he's still aggressive, I guess I'll have to go from there, and maybe see if I can judge where the aggression is coming from...

 

[LuvaBun]

Oh Becca, you have a heart of gold for considering taking this little guy :hug:

I agree that the aggression could be due to both the fact that he is not neutered, and that he has kids pestering him, probably without the parents stepping in to stop them . Poor boy could have had a year of hell!

I know it's a huge commitment, considering the rabbits you have, but even if you could just temporarily give him a home, I think that would be grat - he couldn't find a better place than yours.

Good luck

Jan

 

[delusional]

So... we were supposed to meet the little guy this weekend.

But.. the owner has decided to keep him, at least for a while, because her kid cried when she told him the bunny was going away. So she's going to see if she can find a cheap neuter and see if it calms him down.

Honestly, the kid sounds so young that he'll have forgotten about the rabbit in a week and will be onto something new - whether the rabbit stays there or not.

So now I'm feeling crappy because I know that poor bunny is probably going to end up at a crappy vet, if she's going to go for the cheapest neuter she can find, and is going to continue to be poked and prodded by children.

Oh I know I'm making assumptions about the way the rabbit is treated, but the way she spoke about it just gave me the impression it's 'disposable' to her, and is just like a toy that her son isn't ready to throw out yet.

So I may or may not hear from her, depending on whether she can find a neuter price which suits her, or maybe in a few months if she finds that the aggression is not just due to hormones..

*sigh*

 

[gentle giants]

delusional wrote:

But.. the owner has decided to keep him, at least for a while, because her kid cried when she told him the bunny was going away. So she's going to see if she can find a cheap neuter and see if it calms him down.

Oh good grief! They'll get rid of him anyway, I would bet money on it. Let's hope they at least take him to a rescue instead of dumping him in the woods or giving him away to the first person that calls. I have heard so many stories like this, and they pretty mcuh all end up the same way.

 

[delusional]

I know. It makes me sad. I told her that if it didn't work out then to give me a call whenever, so hopefully they will, and won't just dump him.

 

[LuvaBun]

So sad! I really hope they can't find a 'cheap' neuter, and get back in touch with you (sorry, I know it puts extra on you, but at least we know the little guy will stand a chance of a decent life)

Jan

 

[delusional]

Well, they called back.

And last night they brought 'Fluffy' round.

He's. Beautiful.

He hasn't been aggressive with us at all so far. He's what you'd expect from an unneutered male. A bit of a nip when Lee put his hands in his cage but I expected that - he's just defending his space, nervous and felt a bit cornered. Heck, Daisy lunged and growled at me when we first brought her home.

He's acting like he's always lived here, already. We woke up this morning and opened the bedroom door to find him sitting outside it in the hallway looking at us - escape artist had managed to get out of his cage and had apparently been having a great time all night because there was poop everywhere.

He's been charging round the living room all morning, a few binkies, up on the sofa and all over us. He's not skittish or cowering in the corner or anything like new bunnies often are.

And another surprise. Apparently they thought that getting him a friend would be a good idea to try and calm him down... so they went out last week and bought a little girl bunny. Which also came along with the package. Needless to say they've been separated. She's tiny, looks very young - they said that the sign said 6 weeks when they bought her so 7 weeks.. I'm hoping she's too young and small for anything to have happened.

I'm thinking I'm going to try and get the boy into the vets next week to be snipped - his man bits are huge! And he's a sprayer... has already 'claimed' me, by way of spraying my leg... But it's great having a bunny run circles round my feet again, I've missed Bunny doing that. And he buzzes at me as he runs around. I think he's trying to chat me up!

We've decided to call the girl Isobel, she's quite timid right now (though I'm not surprised.. taken from a pet shop, thrown in with a big male bunny who probably wasn't too nice to her, taken to another new home and put in a cage by herself!).

The boy will no longer be going by "Fluffy", and we've decided to call him Jinx, since he seems to have had a bit of bad luck in life.

Anyway - picture time! I' haven't got any of Isobel yet because I'm letting her settle down for a couple of days..

[align=center]

He wasn't really in posing-for-pictures mood, though, he'd much rather be doing this...

[/align][align=left]So! That's my news. (Along with the fact that the vet just called and said my boys have all come through surgery great and have woken up and we can pick them up in a couple of hours! But this is the wrong thread for that news. =P)
[/align]

 

[SOOOSKA]

Oh my goodness, he's so Handsome.

What a lucky guy to have you as a Mommie.

I can hardly wait to see pictures of Isobel.

Susan

 

[paul2641]

He is real handsome, Why do I expect Isobel to be a Holland lop?

 

[delusional]

Hehe. Isobel is actually uppy. At least she is for now - like I said 7-ish weeks so I guess she could yet lop. She does have quite wide ears like you might expect from a lop... but who knows.

 

[momof2buns]

What a beautiful boy!! I'm so glad Jinx is safe with you.

 

[LuvaBun]

:hugsquish:Becca, you're wonderful! Not only rescuing one bunny .... but two:shock:.

Jinx is beautiful - look at him all chilled out in the last pic. And he is obviously VERY happy to have you as his new mommy

Jan

 

[pla725]

You did a good thing for those two. Neutering him was the best thing to do for his behavior.

Most of the "agressive" rabbits that I have taken in were "cured" when neutered or spayed. Also they were given an appropriate amount of space (x-pen). Abner was the only the one who still bit me but that was due to his vision problem. His adopters were made aware of this and they were okay with it.

 

[Luvr of Wabbits and Polar Bears]

AWWWWWWWWWWWWW Jinx is a really adorable man. Happy to hear he settled in well. Are you going to keep him?