Rabbit help

[happyhack]

My sister and her OH have gone on holiday and have given me a key so I can go in and feed/clean/let out the rabbit.

My dilemma - she's an angry bitch and I'm contemplating putting her in a stew. She's bitten me twice and I have had to resort to picking her up with my hands/arms covered in a towel/blanket!

Its only for a couple of weeks and I am 4 days in, but could do with some tips on how to avoid Betty's gnashers!

Thanks!

 

[millsandboon]

Fatal attraction. Bunny boiler. That is all.

 

[happyhack]

if it bites me again I'll be sorely tempted!

 

[fallenangel123]

Grab her by the back of the neck and pat her bottom gently for a few moments. More dominant rabbits hump lesser bunnies to assert their position. Might take a time or two but she'll get the message. A tip given to me by a German breeder of giant rabbits and used successfully on a 12kg attack doe who is now one of my friendliest girlies.

Failing that I have a good recipe for rabbit stew

 

[Crazy_cat_lady]

When I was a kid I had one that you would have to wear oven gloves to handle as said rabbit would fly across the hutch trying to bite while growling!

Above post is very interesting I never knew that

 

[webble]

Grab her by the back of the neck and pat her bottom gently for a few moments. More dominant rabbits hump lesser bunnies to assert their position. Might take a time or two but she'll get the message. A tip given to me by a German breeder of giant rabbits and used successfully on a 12kg attack doe who is now one of my friendliest girlies.

Failing that I have a good recipe for rabbit stew

Please dont do this it will scare her/ make her worse.

Is she spayed? If not this can make female rabbits very grumpy so might be a long term solution

Short term rabbits are prey animals hence they dont like being picked up. Can you usher her into a cat carrier and transport her that way so that she still feels safe? If she lives on her own she may also be bored and frustrated. Make sure she has lots of hay and things to play with such as old toilet rolls hawthorn branches (without the berries but leaves are ok)

 

[fallenangel123]

Seriously it is a tried and tested method, used throughout the rabbit fancy here and Europe. I breed and show continental giants and have done so for the last 20 years, so I do have a little experience with bunnies!

 

[webble]

Hmmm being a rescue my experience with breeders is pretty poor I think I would stick with my methods

 

[catxx]

The world of breeding and showing and the world of rescue are, sadly, very different worlds. The rescue world being up to date, the showing one stuck in the past.

The reason she's biting you is fear aggression. Scruffing an animal (especially one that doesn't actually have a scruff) and hitting them (even gently) will only make her fear you MORE.

If she is not spayed she will be a territorial little madam. Suggest to your sister she might need to look into getting her spayed.

If she's being kept in small housing, small for a rabbit being anything under 60 square foot (the minimum the rescue I volunteer at will rehome to), will only amplify territorial aggression. Small hutches and cages do a lot of damage to rabbits, both mentally and physically.

Rabbits are not cuddly calm little animals, they have big attitudes and personalities. This is what you are now finding out!

Instead of trying to "punish" an animal which doesn't recognise punishment, stop trying to pick her up. Treat her with respect - respect her personal space and she'll settle down. You shouldn't ever need to pick up a rabbit except for health checks.

Look at it from her perspective, the food-bringers she usually recognises have buggered off and left her with a complete stranger who looks funny and smells different and keeps poking and prodding her, you'd probably bite too!

 

[fallenangel123]

The op asked a question, I replied with a natural way of disciplining the rabbit, take it or leave it.
I'm not getting drawn into a debate about showing etc etc if any one wants to come visit and see my set up they are more than welcome. However unless you have been involved in it I'm sure most people have no idea about showing. To suggest that we are stuck in the dark ages is ridiculous, if it wasn't for the BRC we would not have a lot of the vaccines and medicines available for what used to be a fairly expendable pet. To say rescues are more advanced is again pushing it, they are what they are, some good, some bad, but if people learned how to properly handle the pets they get, be it dogs, cats, snakes, horses, whatever a lot less would end up in rescues with behavioural problems!