new bunny mom, needs some tips

[Thumperina]

hi everyone...i need some tips on my bunny thumper....he is 7 months old and he bites...how do i stop that habbit. i've tried shouting no but all he does is put his ears back and bite harder. i give him attention he plays in our living room for hours but when i want to get to know his personality a bit more, like holding him and petting him he tries to run, or he just bites me and i let him run away. i try giving him treats but he takes it away from my hand by biting my fingers so i can drop it but i don't i just try to get him to come closer so i can pick him up and give it to him..... can any one provide me with some clues tips and advice...thank you very much....i will post up pics of him soon...and maybe a video somewhere of him playing on the couch...hes so funny.

[Cazsamps]

If you let him run around your living room just sit on the floor and let him come to you! He will because he wont be able to control his curiosity he will just have to come check you out! Let him get to know you at his own pace hun you cant force him or you will never build a bond that he feels comfortable with you. When he comes to you treat him so that he associates you with something good and take it from there! He will get used to you eventually it just takes time xx

[darkvixen77]

If he bites really hard then just sit with really thick clothes and gloves on and when he bites you take no notice of him, just completly ignore him becuase he is biting you to get your attention. When he is being good then praise him loads but if he bites again just ignore him. Eventually he will learn not to, it may take a while and you have to persist at it but it does work in the end.

[Thumperina]

i found a towel a new one i cant bother him while hes chewing it cuz then he'll bite me.....he comes up to me when i sit on the floor but i have to lay down to get his full attention then he gets on top of me and stays there smelling me.....um is it good or bad when he isolates a certain kind of food from his mixed food....its an orange thing and its shaped like a butternut squash....does it mean he doesn't like it?

[Sasami]

Has he been neutered yet? That should help in addition to the above suggestions .

[Thumperina]

no im waiting to get him a female to have 1 litter then straight to the vet he goes and she goes too....i find nutuering before ever having is so sad....i dont maybe i feel bad that they never get to exsperience being a mom or dad but hes still a baby, hes only 7 months.

[Dragonrain]

He's probably sexually mature at 7months old, and rabbits are usually considered adults, or full grown at least, between 8 months and a year old. So your little guy shouldn't have much longer to go before he's not a 'baby' anymore. Usually it's recommended that rabbits are fixed around 4 months old, before they develope any bad habits due to hormones. If you're going to breed, pleaaase make sure that you have good homes lined up for the babies, where they will get lots of attention and vet care. There are so many rabbits in shelters already, and a lot of people don't relize how much care rabbits really take and won't be willing to take them to the vet and give them the time they need outside the cage playing.

Getting him fixed will probably help calm him down and stop biting.

What kind of food are you feeding him? Usually mixed foods arn't good for rabbits. The food should just be plain pellets, Oxbow timathy pellets are a really good brand if you can get your hands on them (I have to order it online for my rabbits). Colorful foods are usually full of food coloring and other unhealthy additives. They also usually contain mollases or lots of sugar which is unhealthy for rabbits.

[Jess]

Ya, you should really get him fixed. He should be better behaved after that...

And will you pleeeaaaase reconsider breeding? Hundreds of buns are killed all the time because they dont homes. For every rabbit you buy/breed, one gets killed in a shelter. Please reconsider!!

[Sasami]

I, too, hope you reconsider breeding him. Do you have his pedigree? If you don't even know his genetic backround then you most definitely shouldn't...you could end up with some very sickly babies. And then there's the fact that the female could very well die during labor .

Please read this article as well: FAQ: Spaying and Neutering

It has a lot of great information on spaying and neutering.

[Thumperina]

oh dear...i got him a a petshop i dont know if they have his background information.

[Sasami]

Quote: Originally Posted by Thumperina oh dear...i got him a a petshop i dont know if they have his background information.

Then definitely don't breed him. Even if he was from a decent breeder he's probably not fit for breeding...after all, the breeder would be keeping rabbits like that .

I would just hate to see you breed him and end up with genetically weak babies.

[Thumperina]

i still think i can try, u never know until you try.....and i hope for strong healthy energetic babies...

[Jess]

It wont be fair to the babies tho is you do breed and they are sickly. PLEASE dont!!

[Sasami]

Quote: Originally Posted by Thumperina i still think i can try, u never know until you try.....and i hope for strong healthy energetic babies...

You shouldn't just "try" when it comes to lives . That isn't fair to the mom, the babies, or the rescues desperately trying to find homes for the countless orphan rabbits.

Do you realize how many rabbits are euthanized every day because they don't find homes? I can't remember the exact statistics but I know only about 5% or less of adult rabbits in shelters actually find homes. 2%, perhaps? And I know that over 90% of pet rabbits are rehomed at least once. You could easily help out by not breeding. If you want more rabbits then please adopt...don't add more to the world when there is such an overpopulation crisis .

I had a rabbit from one of those "let's just breed them once for cute little babies" litters. And he was always so sick and it killed me because you know why he was sick? Serious genetic problems. Because someone decided it would be fun to go breed some random petstore rabbits even when they didn't know their backrounds. Stash was happy regardless but he could've had a much longer, healthier life.

I really hope you rethink this. Please leave breeding up to the actual breeders who spent years and years studying rabbits and genetics. Who carefully choose each and every breeding pair and have good homes lined up way ahead of time. Who are actually trying to improve the breed rather then make some money/have cute babies.

I know you said it's sad that he won't get to experience being a dad. But you know what? Male rabbits barely even recognize their own babies. In the wild they don't really help at all. Actually, rabbits in general aren't too maternal. They can't afford to be since it'll attract predators.

[Thumperina]

well these baby bunnies already found homes, and anyways im keeping some, (and what do you do when your taking hormones for a baby yourself you "try" right or wrong).