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biting bunny

22 10:07:48

Question
ive had my pet rabbit for about a month and a half now and for the past couple weeks it has been biting me constantly. almost every time i try to pick it up to put it in and out of its cage it will growl and bite. sometimes when i try to give it a treat or food from my hand it will growl and attack, even though it is not cornered and it would be possible for it to run away if it is scared. im not sure where this aggresiveness is coming from but my hands are in bad shape from all the biting and im on the verge of making it dinner. also my 4 year old daughter is very rough with it when im out of the room, she will constantly corner it, try to pick it up by its ears, etc, and it has never bit her. im confused and losing my patience. if you can help, me and my hands would really appreciate it! thank you!

Answer
Dear Anna,

The bunny may be acting out because of the abuse your daughter is dishing out, which you should NOT allow.  A small child like this should never be left alone with a rabbit, and the bunny may simply be too terrified of the kid to bite.  Please protect the rabbit from the child, and the bunny may well stop being aggressive towards you.   Trust me:  rabbits are incredibly intelligent, and I would not be surprised if your bunny understands that you are the alpha human not doing what you should do to protect her from the small, aggressive human tormenting her.

Also, if the bunny is not spayed, this will help calm her.  Please read:

www.rabbit.org/health/spay.html

You can find a rabbit-savvy vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Finally, ESPECIALLY read  this one:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/shybun.html

The instructions for winning over an aggressive bunny are the same as for a shy bunny.  Other tips for stopping aggression can be found here:

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/aggression.html

But of UTMOST importance:  

1.  STOP the child from torturing that poor rabbit
2.  Have the rabbit spayed for her health and sanity.

Hope this helps.

Dana