Rabbit Web Discussion Board

WEll, we thought she was for a day or so!!
We brought her home from state and she was just the sweetest little doe, my daughter wanted her for a pet and she just fell in love with how tame she was.
So we got her home and we didn\'t have any problems until about day 3, then out of no where, if you stuck your hand in the cage, she would lunge, growl, then offer to bite your hand!! I was alarmed of course, not knowing their nature.
The next day, in order to feed her, I took her cage down, put it in a stall, opened the door to let her out so I could feed and water. Silly thing ran right up to me to be petted!!
I searched online and found a very helpful site that explained that rabbits can be territorial, and to take your hand and gently put the rabbits head to the floor to stop the behavior.
My son has a hampster and \'understands\' teeth, I let him do the training, so he got a glove on and did this for about 3 days as he entered the cage. The first day, he didn\'t get her out, but the next he did, because his sister was dearly wanting her bunny to hold!! And she will not offer to bite ONCE out of the cage, she just doesn\'t want hands in the cage!! So after about 3 days, she is just fine and isn\'t lunging and growing. OF course we are still careful knowing what she is capable of, but we were so happy to learn how to deal with that behavior!!!
My son of course now thinks he is a \'rabbit tamer\'!!!

Is that like the rabbit whisperer? LOL
Does especially will be territorial. My one doe does that once in a awhile -she gets in these little hissy fits for a few days. I just leave her alone and when she comes to be petted I take advantage of the moment! It\'s a bunny thing!
I hope your daughter enjoys her new pet. Is this her first bunny? They make awesome pets for little girls. I got my first one when I was (ahem) young and haven\'t stopped adopting them into my family. Oh, about 30+ years now!
Tell your son he did a great job -I never heard of \'taming\' one that way -tell him if I can\'t do it maybe he\'ll have his first go at being a \'trainer\'!
Good luck with your newest.

I have a 12 week old Jersey Wooly doe that is just now beginning to exibit this behavior. I just laughed at her as it brought back memories of a Dwarf Hotot doe I had many years ago that would literally go overboard with the snorting and lunging if anyone stuck their hand in her cage. She never did out grow that in the 8 years I had her.

\"Rabbit Tamer\" Ha Ha Ha....too funny!

That\'s my rabbit that is doing it now -LOL - a dwarf hotot. Must be sumthing in their genes! They are silly little buggers -mine is 2 already I\'m sure she\'ll have that behavior forever.
She thinks she\'s the rabbit princess or sumthing! LOL

(laughing), yes, the whisperer!!!
Oh I can see it in her eyes when I go in that barn!! LOL. She\'s jumping for food, but would really like to get me!! Once any animal acts that way, you know it\'s in their system!! I just tell her she\'s a little brat!! I have lots of brats out there who think they run the show!!! He, He!!

I\'ve got a couple like that - both bucks (a father and son team). Really irritating.

The other night, I was giving supplements, and Comet (the son - Copper Mini Satin) was testier than usual, so I used a box lid to try to keep him back while I snaked my hand in to give him his \"goody\". He\'s on a top tier of cages and he attacked the lid with such furiosity that he flew out of his cage and fell 5 feet to the floor. He was completely unscathed, fortunately. I picked him up and returned him to his cubicle. He growled and grumbled the entire time.

Here\'s a pic of the little monster - all 4 lbs of him...

[attachment=226]

Charlcie Gill
Zodiac Rabbitry
Astoria, OR
http://www.zodiacsatins.com

Should have named him \"gremlin\" ! LOL

Petey is a grumbler too, especially when treats are in the picture. He takes them wonderfully and then wants you to leave the scene immediately-- as if I\'m going to take them back or something.

He will let me clean the cage and put my hand in there for that, with an occasional lunge, but we NEVER physically take him out of his cage, because he grunts. He likes to come and go as he pleases in and out of the cage.

We have two bucks, father and son. Dad (my Thumper) is about 18 months and Popcorn will be 5 months on Friday. They are both the sweetest bunnies we have. Never a bad mood, never a lunge or growl. You can reach in for them or let them in out and out on their own. Now my 4 does are totally different. Each has had the growly and lunge type days. I usually put it off to hormones. In a few days they\'re back to normal.