Why is my rabbit digging at me and biting my clothes

[Donna Pryor]

my 5 month old spayed female lop seems cross with me. When I’m sitting on sofa reading or watching telly she climbs on my chest looks at me then digs my T-shirt and chews it. I move her off then she comes back seconds later she also bites my arms or skin now and then but not hard enough to draw blood but hard enough make me jump.
She has a friend he follows her everywhere they lay together groom each other she will dominate him if she is worried he will get more food than her but that’s the only time I see her cross with him. She bites at me if I have to pick her up but she is coming to me I am not forcing her to stay in fact I push her away. Any ideas?

 

[Augustus&HazelGrace]

What type of material are the T-shirts? Do they have raised lettering? I have a rabbit that has an issue with raised lettering shirts and will try to pull it off of me when I wear it, so I just don't wear them anymore. I also had a rabbit that had an issue with fleece/flannel clothing and would dig at it until we went and took it off, ( he was an inside bun so it was mostly flannel PJ pants).

 

[Donna Pryor]

It’s just a flat cotton T-shirt stretchy kind but not tight... I went and got an empty duvet cover and pilled it up on me and said go for it but she didn’t do it so much her feet can dig and pull at the T-shirt but they slip more on the duvet... she will do it to my joggers as well ... now I think about it I kept some pellets in my jogger pocket the other day and she got some out... I bet she is hoping to find some in my top lol I hope she forgets about them soon or maybe she is telling me off for not having any pellets in my clothes

 

[Blue eyes]

Often, digging at clothes is just their way to get at your skin. They don't know what that stuff (clothes) is that is covering you. After all, how can they offer a proper grooming if they can't get to your skin?

Gentle nips are ways to get your attention. It could mean she wants something, wants to be pet, wants you to stop petting. You'll have to figure it out in context.

I'd guess that when she hops on you while you are occupied with TV, then she is trying to gain your attention. When she nips at you for trying to pick her up, she probably doesn't want to be picked up. It is likely she does, however, want to be pet. Remember, rabbits usually enjoy being pet moreso than held.

 

[Donna Pryor]

I'd guess that when she hops on you while you are occupied with TV, then she is trying to gain your attention. When she nips at you for trying to pick her up, she probably doesn't want to be picked up. It is likely she does, however, want to be pet. Remember, rabbits usually enjoy being pet moreso than held.

Yeah she hates being picked up I only do it if I have to ... she digs at my top and chews holes in when I move her to the side then she bites my arm i will just have to be patient and figure it out in time

 

[Duckfarmer1]

When you DO hold her, what is the position? Football? Flat up the center of your chest? Up over to a shoulder? I have different positions for all my bunnies..maybe she wants held. But in a different way? I don’t know because I’ve only had one rabbit biting experience and she turned out to be an alpha female...does she growl?

 

[A & B]

My rabbit does the same thing and he usually does it to tell me to move or his way of getting my attention. He digs at legs whenever someone walks into my room because he wants out into the living room and we're in the way. He also does it when he wants something. If I'm eating something and he wants some of it but I'm not paying him any attention he will dig at me and bite my clothes. I usually push him away when he digs at me when I walk into the room and when he does it to get my attention I'll try and figure out what it is that he wants.

Your bun doesn't realize she's hurting you. You could try making a noise to let her know she's hurting you but that doesn't always work.

 

[Duckfarmer1]

Well then maybe it’s like how you need to tell a doggie no. I watch Caesar Milan. The dog whisperer. He puts his finger down and makes a psst noise when a dog misbehaving but with authority. I’ve done this with our jumper and it worked. Perhaps it’s worth a try with your little digger

 

[Donna Pryor]

I don’t hold her very often only when she is at the vets, or lifting her over the stair gate but when I do I hold her it is against my chest she wriggles and kicks at me then when she settles down she chews at my clothes until I put her down interestingly she was okay when I held her at the vet last week must of thought I was The better of two evils
I haven’t heard her growl but she does come looking for food every time I move my hand she pushes little rabbit around then to get the best bits.

Both my rabbits don’t like being picked up

 

[Hermelin]

I don’t hold her very often only when she is at the vets, or lifting her over the stair gate but when I do I hold her it is against my chest she wriggles and kicks at me then when she settles down she chews at my clothes until I put her down interestingly she was okay when I held her at the vet last week must of thought I was The better of two evils
I haven’t heard her growl but she does come looking for food every time I move my hand she pushes little rabbit around then to get the best bits.

Both my rabbits don’t like being picked up

You can teach your bunny to be handled. Myself pick up my bunnies everyday. My indoor bunny get at least picked up 10 times everyday. He will give kisses and a small scratch behind the ear, he will do bunny purring.

While my outdoors bunnies I only lift up their front bodies while I cuddle with them. Just to make them used being handled, better they are calmed when being handled and used with it so when I handle them or someone else the risk of them getting hurt are small [emoji5]

Myself have one ex-clothes chewer and one shoe lace chewer.

The one that always chewed holes through my clothes, I just put on clothes I didn’t care about getting holes in and stepped away when she started chewing my clothes. But she did it for attention and cuddles.

But when I first got her, she would often nip me and growl, truly a bossy queen.


Some clothes material will get the bunny to dig on you, I know lose fitting clothes and t-shirt my bunnies love start digging on.

 

[Duckfarmer1]

I totally agree that bunnies need held and can be taught to cuddle and understand how to cuddle Nd want held. For one..I always let my rabbits smell my hand before picking them up. Recently I had a. Liter I separated...the ones that stayed with their mom were fine..the ones that got separated ended up getting sick and I had to handle them a lot and syringe feed them..now they are better and all the bunnies are together..the ones I handled come right to me..the others get skittish.. I have a lot of work to do with them to get caught up..the one has beautiful coloring and I plan on her to be on of my new does for my Easter mommies...maybe I’ll actually sell a rabbit this year,.lol.. but also..with my inside bunny, Sally..ame thing,I let her smell me so I don’t startle her..because sometimes they aren’t in the mood to play...but then I always cuddle and let her smell my face..once you trust her so you don’t get scratched..but it’s good for them to get your scent..rabiits have keen noses and scent plays a big role for them

 

[TreasuredFriend]

http://language.rabbitspeak.com/

 

[Lauren Kiernan]

Whenever I brush or comb our rabbit, I have allow him to groom me. I sit on the floor and he does the same thing, a combination of scratching and nipping so I make sure I have old clothes on. If he gets too rough i give a little screech. If he keeps being rough, I make the noise and gently push his head down and away saying no. He looks annoyed about it Like silly human, I'm fixing you but he usually calms down his efforts.

 

[zuppa]

Whenever I brush or comb our rabbit, I have allow him to groom me. I sit on the floor and he does the same thing, a combination of scratching and nipping so I make sure I have old clothes on. If he gets too rough i give a little screech. If he keeps being rough, I make the noise and gently push his head down and away saying no. He looks annoyed about it Like silly human, I'm fixing you but he usually calms down his efforts.

That's what I was going to say mine just want to groom me too and it's their way to

 

[Donna Pryor]

http://language.rabbitspeak.com/

This article is great thanks

 

[Orrin]

One of our buns constantly plays with my trouser legs; she sniffs, bites at the fabric and shakes it. She's merely curious and it is something she enjoys. She thinks my trousers are her toys. It is the same way with my wife's shoe laces, she's tugging at them all the time.

She isn't mean. To me, it's a sign everything is all right. When she stops playing with our clothes I start to worry because that tells me something is not all right with her. She's just now coming out of a long bout of GI problems (chewed too much cardboard) and last evening she started tugging at my clothes, again, after a month-long hiatus. Now, it is back to the good old days and we know she's feeling fine, again.

 

[Donna Pryor]

You can teach your bunny to be handled. Myself pick up my bunnies everyday. My indoor bunny get at least picked up 10 times everyday. He will give kisses and a small scratch behind the ear, he will do bunny purring.

I would love my bunnies to want holding but if I pick the little one he will then shy away from my hands for days and the big one scratches kicks and bite. Do I just pick them up anyway and give them a pellet as a reward when I put them down ?

 

[Donna Pryor]

So I have been super busy but I thought I would leave an update... mini definitely want food when she digs and nips me I started saying ouch and eventually gently pushing her head down witch worked a treat she is much more gentle now and she seems to have learnt to lick my clothes instead of biting me and I will give her a treat well a pellet from her ration.
If I pick her up she will forgive me but my little rabbit still hates it and will hide more are you sure I am suppose to just pick him up?

 

[Hermelin]

Sorry for not answering on your question before. And great that you are making process with your bunnies.

You should never force a bunny to be picked up, only when it’s necessary. You should slowly teach the bunnies to get used with being handled.

My steps of training the bunnies to be picked up:

1. Get used with being touched everywhere, they don’t need to be still but should come back and accept getting a soft pat. They should not be scared when you touch them.

I know some bunnies have a hard time being still and would rather run around. But you can do this while they are eating or when they are not active and up for play time.

2. Get used with just the front body lifted up while the back legs still standing on the ground.

3. Lifting them up a little bit off the ground or let jump up onto your knees and lift them up. You should be near the ground. Before you lift give a treat and also when lifted a bit of treat. Teach them to be calm in your arms and slowly in crease the hight.

You should encourage and give reward when the bunny are still and calm. Some bunnies love food other just love a bit of cuddle.

Use the daily pellets as a treat and it will be easier.

My bunny Toste when being picked up will just hold his food in the mouth if I cuddle him. I can also lay food in front of him and he won’t take it until cuddle time is over, so he loves cuddles more than food. That’s a surprise for me because he had a huge distrust towards humans and would always attack me the first year he lived with me and I have had him for 1,5 year.

Until you have trained your bunnies to trust you and doing picking up training. I would never pick up my bunnies. I will just find other ways. Using a travel cage, teach them to go their cages when it’s time and so on. Only when I have to pick up I will force them to be picked up.

For example Toste I have just started to pick him up this summer before I avoided to do it. He’s the most calmest of my bunnies when being handled and he often close his eyes and love being cuddled.

Hope everything goes well

 

[Donna Pryor]

Thank you @Hermelin i will give that a go.

I had to hold little rabbit because he is malting and looks a scruffy. So to groom him I sat on the floor with him which was a bit better he did give me a nip and try run away once but gave up after that. He will come right up to me and take treats but if I try pat him off he goes which is annoying because I had been able to stroke his cheek before. Mini is funny though when I pick her up and try to bribe her with treats she takes them angrily eats it and then continues trying to eat me! I do quite like her temper to be honest.