I'm new and have a bunnie question

[zookeeper]

Hi, I have recently purchased a wonderful bunnie that we have named Katie. She is the sweetest thing. I have one questiona bout her behaviour though, when I am holding Katie she will paw at my chest or stomache like she is digging and will chew on my shirt. She does not do this to my fiancee. So I was wondering if any of you might know the reason she does this. Is it an aggression thing or is she bonding to me? It doesn't hurt, but every once ina while she will get through my shirt and actually bite me which is a bit painful. Thanks for any help

[Daisylover]

My female Chocolate Bunny does the same thing....I interpret it to mean I WANT DOWN NOW!

Bunnies don't, as a rule, like to picked up and held. You must remember that for thousands upon thousands of years they've been prey for humans, birds and animals as dinner. So they have this instinctive fear of things that are larger than they are, that make loud noises and/or that move suddenly. Bonding with a bunny sometimes takes a while. I strongly recommend that you sit on the floor while reading or watching tv and let the bun approach you...they are curious and sooner or later will check you out. Talk to Katie a lot in your normal tone, and say her name as often as you can remember to. Pet her as often as she will let you but never do it or hold her against her will. Eventually you will find that she will approach you for conversation and bunny massages and may eventually consent to be held/carried/and sit on the couch with you...it's a matter of trust, which has to be built. You might bribe her too with sev pieces of parsley, and she will associates you with treats. Yeah it's a cheap trick but it works.

If Katie is a baby (under 1 yr old) she can have rabbit pellets but about the time she turns one you need to cut her down to 2 TBLspoon pellets day, timothy pellets are preffered over alfalfa based pellets (alfalfa too high in calcium for adult buns). She should also get (at any age) unlimited timothy hay (not alfalfa) and 5-7 dark green veggies/day. With improved vet care and nutritional information buns are living to 7-11 yrs where bef they were living about 3-5 yrs. Bunnies living outside have one half the life expectancy of house rabbits.

As you can tell I am a bunny fanatic. I teach bunny basics classes, have 5 house buns of my own and foster abandoned or ill bunnies, and volunteer at a rabbit sanctuary so I have a lot of experience and advice to give.

Good luck with Katie. She sounds like she is in a very loving home and will be spoiled outrageously, as is her right!

[zookeeper]

See I would think that it meant she wants down so I will put her down,but whenI am lying on the floor with her she will jump on my chest and do that and than will stop for a bit and lay there thando it again. Its really cute and it doesn't bother me, just wanted to know if anyone knew why she did this.

Katie is a year old we adopted her from a family who didn't have the time to take care of her anymore. She still gets pellets but eats very little of them a day, she also gets all the timothy hay she can want. She is also addicted to apples. We have an apple tree in our yard that we have taken small apples off of for her. I give her baby carots (she is too spoiled), and have recently bought her these banana treats. We also give her lettuce and I wil be going to buy her some parsley today.

She is not afraid of us at all as we will sit on the floor and she will come right up to us for pets, and she does the digging thing to me
Thanks for all the advice

[Daisylover]

That's really great news that you were able to provide her with a home, now I KNOW she's a very lucky girl!

Well if she digs when you are on the floor and she can hop away, my next guess is that it might be a nesting thing...
females especially love to dig (and tear up things too).

Has she been spayed? You need a bunny specialist vet because not all vets know how tricky anesthesia can be for bunnies....they are very sensitive and the anesthesia can kill them easily.

Females are especially prone to reproductive cancers. Also spaying will make her urine less strong and she will become more loving and placid. That's the only other thing I can think of as a cause for the digging.......I suspect this is just one of the great mysteries of bunny life.

p.s. By the way I notice you said she gets lettuce....absolutely no iceberg lettuce...too high in water and no vitamins, etc.....iceberg will give tje bun a soft stool and eventually diahrea, which can kill them if left untreated. So Romaine, green or red leaf lettuces, swiss chard, collards, little bit of kale (also high in calcium), outer leaves of cabbage not the inner green pale ones, dandelions, etc.

[zookeeper]

I was thinking it might be something like that, my fiancee figures she's just wondering what's hidden in my bra

When we went to pick Katie up I felt so bad cause she was this little boys pet and I don't think he wanted to give her up. He was so brave when we were in the house talkign with his parents, we ahd left but I had to go back in to give them my phone number so if he wanted to visit he could, and he was laying on the couching crying his eyes out. I felt like a big meany, but I made myself feel better by thinking that Katie could have gone to a home that wouldn't ahve taken care of her as well as we will.

She has not been spayed and I phoned a bunny specialist about costs of spaying and it was really expensive, we are hoping we will be able to afford it in a few months once my fiancee is finsihed school and has a full time job.

When we first got Katie we had given her some iceberg and than I read that it was a big no no, so now we give her romaine. I made her a salad yesterday of romaine, parsley, carrots and apples, she had it all done by this morning My fiancee thinks I spoil her too much but I don't think that is possible

[Daisylover]

It's never possible to SPOIL a bunny too much!!! Just one look at those big brown eyes and soft furry body and your heart will melt. What is sooo very great about bunnies is that each one is unique, with it's own little personality, quirks, and habits.

I am up to 7 rascals (and yes, that is too many for the size of my house, but I have a hard time saying no) and each one is different and all are equally loved and admired. It's probably a good thing I don't live on a couple of acres in the country!

I know you feel bad for the previous owner. You just need to tell yourself you did a wonderful thing by rescuing that bunny and that if you hadn't who knows what could have happened to him....so many people jump dump bunnies thinking they can fend for themselves when in reality all their survival skills have been bred out of them. As the House Rabbit Society is fond of saying, Setting your pet rabbit loose does not make her "free". It makes her food."

You've done a good deed, always remember that.

[zippy-kat]

Congrats on Katie the bra-digger! She sounds like a real cutie!

Welcome to Pet Talk, too! You'll love it here!

[zookeeper]

Yeah Katie is a cutey, and definately has a personality. Sounds like you have quite the household there Daisylover, wow 7 rabbits I only wish We ahve 2 dogs, a cat and now Katie. They all get the same amount of attention but sometimes it is hard to do so.
They all haev wonderful personalities and are so completely different it is just funny to watch.

Well I think I did everything I could to ensure that if the little boy wanted to come see her he could. He hasn't phoned at all so he has probably forgotten about her, he was only 4 or 5 years old. I think even though they had her that long they didn't really learn to much about her. They tried to cut her nails before we got her but couldn't. The 2nd day I had her I wrapped her in a towel and she was so cute, and cut her nails like that. If she is in a towel she will settle down and cuddle.

It was so cute last night I was laying on the floor and she jumped on my chest and put ehr nose right on mine and looked at me It was the fuzziest warmest feeling ever. I am so happy we found her and can't wait to get to know her ebtter

[lovemymaltese]

I don't have any advice, sorry. I just wanted to say congratulations on your new pet and best of luck!

[Daisylover]

Yeah, seven bunnies are a lot and there are days I feel a little guilty when each one doesn't get their share of attention. Fortunately they've bonded well and only one doesn't seem to miss me much, but that's a man for you! All those warm, fuzzy moments are the end product of a trusting and loving relationship and a testimony to what your bunny thinks of you.

And congratulations for the bunny taco trick to get the nails cut!!! Rolling a bun in a large bath towel is great for administering medicine too. It keeps them secure (obviously) and greatly lessens the chance of them trying to get away and possibly breaking their neck/back/legs. So, GOOD JOB!!!! You are a great bunny parent!!!

[Heather Wallace]

Hiya

Im Heather and have 3 rabbits. Bunny is the mum and has 2 sons Cadbury and Twinkle.

Yes Bunny also does this but as Daisy says it might just be the bun telling you to move or let me down, or maybe she is just doesnt like the clothes you are wearing. LOL!

[Daisylover]

Heather!!

How good to see you in this post! I tried to send you an email but I think the addrs is old and no longer works.

How are you and "the kids"? Hope all is going well. I've missed your contributions to bunny conversations. I think of you often and wonder how you all are doing. Be sure to stay in touch.

[Heather Wallace]

Hi Daisy, yes I pop on now and again. I am going on holiday for about 5 days next weeks. Thank you for your emails, they are great and I hope you are well too.

I am feeling sad today as I have been boarding a little rabbit called Bunny(same as my own rabbit) I renamed her Honey Bunny to save the confussion. Anyway I have become very fond of her as she is great, she runs in and out of the house, lets you stroke her and is such a good girl, she even knows when its time for her to go in her hutch and jumps in on her own without any drama. I want to keep her but I know I can't. I am going to suggest that if ever they don't want her the my door is wide open. I have taken Pictures so will post when they are developed.

[Karen]

I bet the boy has NOT forgotten about her, perhaps you can take a picture of her in her new home, and mail it to him with a simple little note, so he will know she is happy. He is young, so is probably not allowed to use the phone by himself, and the parents may not want him to "bother" you.

If he knows she is happy, it will let him feel a teeny bit better about the whole thing, so please do!

[Uabassoon]

I love bunnies so much, I would love to have another one. My dad breeds Havanas and takes them to shows. When I was younger I went to a show and they had a raffle, and one of the prizes was a 2 year old mini lop. She was so cute, I bought so many tickets and I won her. When we got home my dad built a hutch for me and let me keep her inside. Hopefully someday I can have another bunny. Congrats on your new bunny