new rabbit growling at me!

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clairelove

clairelove

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i have just taken in a rabbit with brain damage and after talking to a rodentologist i have put her on panacur for 28 days but it is poss now that the damage is permanent she has seen the vet who has also said it wont get better but she still has a great quality of life,she is a beautiful rabbit aged 4yrs not spayed white with redey/blue eyes the owners are very sad to rehome her but due to work and collage commitments they had no choice but to rehome her i have decided to keep her,the owners said she is very placid and she has been well looked after and let me pick her up but since she has been in her new cage indoors she keeps growling at me i did get her out and let her have a run around but when i went to pick her up to put her back she did it again and jumped at me don't think she was like this with her owners,do you think its because she is scared/doesn't know who i am and new house etc,I'm going to get her spayed but will all depend on her health issues.
any help would be great has I'm not that clued up on rabbits as much as i am about guinea pigs:))

sorry if in the wrong place mallethead
 
she maybe scared. is it a growl and movements such as looking aggresive towards you? my leon runs circles round me and make low grunnting sounds which is a sign of love. my leon dont like being picked up but if i interact with himie play around and give him cuddles and strokes he starts a low grunting sound.
 
that defo dont sound good. :( give her time to get used to the new enviroment and inteact with her as much as you can. the same as with piggies. a small time of contact at first but talk to them! you just need to gain her trust. rabits are like that at first. hopfully soon once she has become settled in her new home and reconises you more she will acept you more. rabbits after good interaction with a person tend to become more relaxed and friendly towards people. have you spoken to her previous owners as to what she likes and dislikes? always helps to work out what pleases the rabbit
 
austin and bandit! said:
that defo dont sound good. :( give her time to get used to the new enviroment and inteact with her as much as you can. the same as with piggies. a small time of contact at first but talk to them! you just need to gain her trust. rabits are like that at first. hopfully soon once she has become settled in her new home and reconises you more she will acept you more. rabbits after good interaction with a person tend to become more relaxed and friendly towards people. have you spoken to her previous owners as to what she likes and dislikes? always helps to work out what pleases the rabbit
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i havent but i will contact them 2moz to see what she likes xx
 
thats a good route to take. wew were lucky that leon showed us that he wanted contact with people. eithin mins of gatting him home he was acting like he had been with us years and showed a lot of love. thats the main thing gaining trust. rabbits can become very friendly with their owners. you need patience and knowlage to their charicteristics. sorry about the spelling I'm dixlexic!
 
Try www.rabbitrehome.org.uk - lots and lots of very knowledgable bunny folks on there who will offer advice.

It sounds to me like she's frightened and is trying to get you to back off. I'd try just letting her be (aside from feeding and cleaning out etc) for a couple of days and then gradually try spending time with her. Just sit next to her cage quietly reading a book or something similar so that she gets to realise that being near you isn't a bad thing. I'd then progress to trying to get her to take something tasty out of my hands but this might take time as she has to get used to being near you first. But you can work wonders with a nice long stem of parsley or something similar! I wouldn't try to touch her unless absolutely necessary because she has to learn that you're not going to hurt her.

The key thing is patience and quiet, calm interaction with her. Flora and Parsnip, my eldest two rescue bunnies took months to stop running away from me. Even now, nearly two years later, they don't really want to be touched and will accept a nose rub if I'm careful. So I only handle them when I really need to. They're happy to be in my company though which is good enough for me. Some rabbits just prefer the company of other rabbits and simply tolerate hoomins!
 
Growling or grunting is common with nervous buns, give plenty of fave food if you can find out plus gentle stroking etc and I am sure all will be good, I have found patience is the key!
 
I have worked with many rabbits like this. I have one in at the moment that was terrible. When i put my leg in the run she would come running over and attack me. A week later I can sit with her and stroke her, as long as i move slowly, there is still a long way to go though. This was just through fear, she had to learn to trust me. You will need to take your time with her, if you rush it you will go backwards not forwards.

Getting her spayed will also help, not only for her health but also the aggression.
 
I frequently get growled at & lunged at by my 2 dutch buns :))

In their case it's not agression but telling me to "b*gger off" as it's usually when i'm feeding & put my hand near them.

Besides growling & lunging they do binky & get all excited with their heads bobbing all over when i first go into the shed so i'm not hated totally :)):))

Just to add they are both spayed/neutered :)
 
Ive a dutch bun who was as wild as the wind when we collected her, She cannot be rehomed for the fact she does still bite. Nowhere near the agression issues she had when she came in though, so a big improvment.

She was an abused bun so she thinks people are bad :(

As others have said, go slow and she will learn to trust you, if not thick gloves and jeans will help you.
 
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