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Back to Rabbit Information Page
Care
and Behaviors of House Rabbits
Living with your bunnies natural habits and behaviors
Do not decide to get a bunny if you have the preconceive idea that they are the least bit trainable.
Many can be.
If you happen to get a rabbit that has a few more IQ points then the average thumper than
that's great. But don’t expect every bunny to be litter box trainable 100%.
A lot is riding on your ability as a trainer, a rabbits natural behaviors and the bunnies little brain.
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What can I do?
Bunnies work well with bribery. They’ll come out from under furniture for a treat.
If a place is off limits then you’ll have the least stress and the best
luck by to block it off.
If your buck sprays the curtains, you’ll either have to exercise him elsewhere or try having him neutered.
If your bunny is a chewer then get bunny a pen to exercise in instead of let him roam the house.
Bucks will hump stuffed animals or anything of suitable size that is on the floor. You can get him his every own stuffed toy (a humpy), have him neutered, or before he is allowed to roam clean up. LOL
Tape or hook all electrical cords up and out of reach of bunny.
They gravitate to cords and the buttons on your remote and anything else rubbery.
My bunnies aren’t chewers. However they have managed to seek out and find my Remote and my cordless phone and chew a couple buttons off just for fun.
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What should I never do?
Never shout at your rabbit or hit it, no matter how lightly.
You'll scare him this type of discipline doesn't work on rabbits.
They are not pack or herd animals like dogs or horses so they don’t understand what you mean by this type of communication. They will just see you as being aggressive and will not associate it with a behavior they are doing. The Majority of Rabbit behavior is natural and you won’t be able to change it.
Don’t use “tools” like a stick or broom to move a rabbit out from under furniture.
Rabbits are not herd animals and they see this as an act of aggression.
Eventually your rabbit will start to behave aggressively in return by growling, lunging or Biting.
Never pick a bunny up by the ears it is very painful.
The magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat by the ears is a cartoon.
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| Rabbit
dumping out his food and water dish
http://www.bunnyrabbit.com/price/watercrocks_cups.htm
NEW Small Twist Crock
12 ounce color may vary
5 in x 2.25 in tall - shipping wt - .5 lb
$3.75
 
Above photo is a top and bottom view
They are made for wired bottomed cages.
Just turn over & place the tab in
the floor wire (1/2in x 1in) and
twist- it stays in place!
I use these crocks. They snap
on to the side of the cage.
EZ Crock
made of tough chew resistant plastic
Small EZ Crock 5 ounce - Approx. $2.50
3.25 in x 2.75 in x 2 in tall
They come in larger sizes.
Rabbit Digging in his food
dish
Generally rabbits do this if you feed them treats
in the same dish you put their pellets in.
Sometimes they do it because they're bored.
Use a separate treat dish for your rabbit.
Make sure he has lots of toys in his cage and playtime outside of his cage.
If he still digs and it's become a habit.
Use a very small round bottomed mixing bowl for pellets.
or
The best dish to
prevent a rabbit from dumping his food dish looks like the one in the
photo below. Super Pet has red clay ones the last time I looked.
The lip of the bowl rounds inward making it almost impossible to scoop out
the contents. The weight and thickness makes them too difficult to pick up
or upset.
Super Pet also has scatter-less Dome Dishes, I've never used those since
my fuzzy lops have large heads. I suppose it would work with over rabbit
breeds.
or
Use a large bowl with a MED size rock or rocks in the bottom of it.
Make sure the rocks are much too big to fit in the rabbits mouth.
The rabbit must be able to reach his food around the rocks. when
he digs the rock/rocks are in the way making it difficult.
or
Use a dish that attaches to the side of the cage and rise the height
of the dish so he can eat but it's not as fun to dig.
Scatterless Pet Ware Dome Dish
4.5" & 6.5"
From Super Pet
Scatter-less Dome Dishes feature a domed scatter-less design that helps prevent messy, accidental food and water spills. Perfect for
rabbits who dig in their food dishes. Heavy-duty to prevent overturns.
$4.46 and $8.94 |
 Aggressive Behavior:
Some Rabbits become aggressive when they mature and their hormones change.
If it is hormones that are causing the aggressive behavior then spaying or
neutering can help.
I'm told this is more successful for females than Males.
It is better to Neuter a male before he displays aggression.
It costs around $110.00 here in Ontario Canada.
If child has been chasing the bunny around, if the bunny has had a bad experience with a family member or other pet, then they will likely stay aggressive and afraid.
It would take a lot of work to build trust.
If the bunny was shy and not socialized when you got him, (but not mistreated) than daily handling will eventually tame him or her.
Some bunnies don’t like hands reaching into their cage. They become aggressive and frightened.
They can also just be territorial (which is natural for bunnies so don’t try to change one that is
territorial, it won’t work).
You can try a cage that opens from the top. a lot of cage aggressive bunnies are
O:K with that. I've had great success with putting a box in the cage. It gives
the Aggressive rabbit somewhere to hide while I feed and water it. They are less
likely to try to bite you. They learn to wait in the box while I work around
them. If I need to remove a rabbit I can open the top of the cage a throw a
towel over them, then pick them up. |
Poisoning and Poisonous Plants – Outdoors and Indoors
Pretty much all houseplants (herbs being the exception) are poisonous. All
spring and summer bulb plants like Tulips and Iris are also very poisonous.
If it isn’t untreated grass, carrot, carrot greens, kale, parsley, raspberry leaf, rose, pansy or dandelions, then treat all others as if they where poisonous and keep bunny away.
If you know your bunny has eaten poison, than a vet can give the bunny medicine to flush him out. It normally takes 8 to 12 hours for food to pass
through a bunny. Then they eat it a second time and it takes 4 hours to pass thru as dry pellets. So the less time the poison spends in the bunny the better chance he’ll have to live.
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Bunny Talk
Grunt, Growl, and Lunging
Get away from me; this is mine!
Feet Stomping
Danger Hide!
I am so cool!
Bucks do it after they breed
Mounting by buck or doe
I’m the boss or
I’m just plain horny
Jumping and Leaping
I am super happy!
Chasing
I’m Horny or
I just want to play with you
Chewing on things
I’m bored or
Yummy who knew the buttons
on a remote could taste so good?
Screaming
Extreme fear or pain!
Rubbing their chin
That’s my table, that’s my human,
On everything That’s my chair, mine, all mine !!!
Buck’s spraying pee
Whatever the pee touches is mine.
Those are my curtain’s, that’s my wall,
And doesn’t it smell sexy now?!?!?!
Digging
I’m bored, I really mad
I’m going to have a baby
Poop trail on the floor
This area belongs to me.
Pee on the carpet
This area belongs to me
Or I really had to go pee
Rabbit Rescue and Rehab
http://www.rabbitcare.org/article-index.htm
The Bunny Bunch S.P.C.A.
http://www.bunnybunch.org/rabbitcare1.html
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