Gentle nipping is a part of this process. If you observe your rabbit grooming, you may see it nipping at its fur. This removes loose hair, dirt, and tangled fur. During petting sessions, you may be on the receiving end of nipping. This is the rabbit returning the favor, as it were, and grooming you in return. Nipping is also common from dominant rabbits.
Such rabbits will use nipping as a way of reminding everyone else who is in charge. As the leader, it demands and expects to receive attention. If you ignore it, it may bite harder. At this point, you should remove the rabbit from the enclosure and place it in another room. This allows you to clean in peace. Rabbits that have reached sexual maturity may also run circles around your feet.
This is a sign of courtship. The rabbit may nip at your heels as a sign of affection. Getting the rabbit neutered should resolve the issue. One situation is when owners are reaching to pick up their rabbit and it suddenly bites them.
There are three explanations for this. You have:. Remember, bunnies are easily startled. So, if you spook the rabbit by touching it or trying to pick it up, obviously your hand is in easy reach. It will bite your palm, fingers, or anywhere it can reach. Back away and let the rabbit come to you. Equally, they enjoy alone time. If you restrain it, it may nip or bite at you. Being restrained itself is quite stressful for a rabbit.
This mimics being trapped or caught by a predatory animal. Allow the rabbit to set boundaries for social and solitary time. What if none of the above situations apply? Rabbits need to trust their owners. Without this trust, the rabbit will not form a strong connection with you. It will not be willing to socialize with you or offer and receive affection. The solution is to build a loving bond. Remember that playing with a rabbit means getting down on its level.
In this case, the bunny is literally asking you to hop on the floor and break out the toys. If you can, try to comply. Teaching your rabbit to not bite relies on patience and consistency.
Bunnies are intelligent, but they still require time for the lessons to sink in. Training your rabbit to stop nipping and biting will mean practicing your rabbit squeal. Or something close to it.
The dreaded rabbit scream is a sign of pain and fear. Mimicking a high-pitched noise, like a squeal, is a way to essentially speak rabbit. When your rabbit nips or bites you, make this noise. It will learn that it is hurting you.
However, this must be done carefully. When training, do not reward the rabbit for its biting by shying away. Instead, you need to establish yourself as the boss. Use a combination of the above method and a dominance exercise:.
This will only work if the rabbit is biting you for social hierarchy reasons. Never punish your rabbit by swatting it or raising your voice. This destroys trust. Instead, apply consistent and constructive discipline. Your email address will not be published. Save my name and email in this browser for the next time I comment. Contents hide. Why Do Rabbits Bite You? Rabbits Biting Out of Food Aggression. Do Rabbits Bite Hard? Related Articles:. Instead, you should assert dominance over the rabbit by:.
This exercise will help your rabbit understand that you are the dominant one in the relationship. This step is best used if the first two steps do not work. Your rabbit should associate good behavior with freedom from its cage. Altering removes the hormones responsible for reproductive behaviors. These hormones can increase the chance of a rabbit developing a biting habit.
Wild rabbits constantly compete with each other for food. When food is scarce, rabbits will fight with each other to defend what food they are able to find.
This behavior is evident in domestic rabbits and can become a problem if rabbits bite their owners during normal feeding times. Although you are providing your rabbit with a plentiful amount of food, you are still seen as a threat. In addition, the action of placing food in the cage and then removing your hand correlates with the way rabbits investigate food in the wild.
Wild rabbits will move in to closely examine a food source, but then they will move away quickly. Food aggression is one of the most difficult behaviors to understand and correct. A few measures that may help alleviate biting due to food aggression include:. Moving a food bowl helps prevent rabbits from recognizing the bowl as their territory.
Rabbits will then be less likely to defend the bowl when it is moved and when they are being fed. To practice this technique, feed your rabbit outside of its cage by holding onto a long treat such as a carrot stick or piece of hay while your rabbit eats it.
This will help your rabbit understand that the hand is providing food, not taking it away. Allow your rabbit time and space to explore outside their normal environment, so if they spend most of their time inside with you or are kept in an outside rabbit house, let them out every day but ensure it is safe to do so. It is essential that they cannot escape, access toxic plants or be at risk of attack from a cat or dog.
This way they can dictate how much contact they are comfortable with. If their behavioural or social needs are not being met this may also be an underlying reason for unwanted behaviour. Please see these links for more information: Bunny Business www.
Can you give me some general advice on caring for my rabbits? How do I keep my pet rabbit healthy? What should I feed my pet rabbits? Home Companion Animals Rabbits. Tagged: Animal behaviour Problem behaviours.
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