biting/ and smells

Question
Our Pet Rabbit tends to bit only me (MOM), either my feet or whatever it can sink his teeth in, could you give me an answer for that?
(Mostly around feeding time or when i'm cleaning out the cage) and sometimes for no reason at all.
MY other question is our rabbit flattulates often or so I think,  because periodically it stinks.

Answer
Dear Jennifer,

Some rabbits who are not neutered/spayed will pick a particular family member on whom to bestow their aggression, while others are more "equal opportunity" biters.  Yours appears to consider you a rival to his territorial sovreignty!  The most important first step is to have your bunny neutered.  This will almost always go a LONG way towards calming him and stopping this behavior, though it can take a few weeks after neutering for him to completely calm down.

In the meantime, you can discourage his behavior by saying "NO!" firmly and giving him a squirt with a squirt bottle when he tries to bite you.  He'll eventually get the message, though it won't make him happy.  Neutering is really the answerr.

Bunny flatulence is normal, but not if it's accompanied by messy poops.  Please see:

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

for more information on this.  If his diet is too rich in simple carbohydrates and too low in crude fiber, he could be gassy.  Not a big problem on its own, but it could also signal the onset of cecal dysbiosis, which is described in the article above.  It's definitely something to avoid!

I hope this helps get you started.  Please write back if you have any other questions.

Dana