I came across this blog post idea just recently, when my sweet Bauer started biting me!! Yes, my sweet bunny started biting!! Why!! Help!! I could not believe it. And for a while, I was just in shock! I did some research and now would like to help teach you all a little bit about rabbit communication, and hope to help you have a better relationship with your buns. To start off, bunnies have a couple of different types of bites, the main two types are called a "nip" and a "bite". A nip feels more like a pinch. Nips do not break skin, and they can often leave small bruises. Rabbits will nip other rabbits to communicate with them, but the nips do not hurt other rabbits, as they are nipping through thick fur. Humans however, do not have thick fur, so it does hurt us (but not nearly as bad as a bite!). Rabbits that nip are tending to communicate a dominance or bossiness- for example the bunny could be saying "Put me down" or "Get out of my way!". Ultimately you have to connect with your bun and get to an understanding of why he or she may be nipping you. Then, you can try to retrain them through positive reinforcement. However, it is important to know when they do nip (and when they bite) you, that you let out a loud scream, so it startles them and they are aware they have hurt you. Ok, now a bite is much different. A bite breaks the skin, and will often leave two holes where the teeth penetrated the skin. Bunnies bite for a variety of reasons, mainly because they are scared or agitated. Bunnies only defenses are their claws and teeth, so when a bunny is feeling threatened or vulnerable, it uses those as its defense mechanisms. Other reasons bunnies bite are due to mating reasons, vision issues, nerves, and possession issues. Bunnies eyes are spaced one on each side of their head. Due to this eye spacing, bunnies can not see what is directly in front of them, so they rely on their sense of smell for this. Therefore, if you have just eaten a banana, and you put your hand in front of your bunny, your bunny could accidentally mistake you for a banana and bite your hand! This is just a mistake, because of the eye positioning of bunnies. Wash your hands before handling your bunny! Also, a nervous bunny will start to bite when being held. This is Bauer. I pick him up and he will start biting my clothes (luckily he sticks to my clothes mainly). I try to talk sweet to him and calm him down, but I have to do more research on how to get him to quit, because so far it is not working. I think maybe he needs to be fixed- as this is a new habit, and he is just coming into maturity- maybe this is his issue. I read someone suggest I wear thick clothes, like a sweatshirt, while trying to train him to quit biting- so it does not hurt as badly, and I can work with him. I suggest this to anyone also dealing with the same issues, it has helped me tremendously! Lasly, bunnies will bite over possesion. If you are introducing another bunny into the cage, your bunny may bite or even attack the new bunny. You may have to break up the fight by putting a show over your hand to separate them, or using a broom stick, etc... Also, be careful when handling the new bunny around your bunny, as the bunny may attack you. This is not because the bunny is mad at you, it is only because your bunny smells the foreign bunny on your hand and will attack the smell. Please be careful, of you and your bunnies. Do some more reading on introducing a new bunny into your home before doing it. It is a very serious matter, and has to be handled correctly! I hope this information helps some, and please let me know if you have any helpful suggestions for me and Bauer, and for the other readers! See you all next week!
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AuthorHey yall! I am Corinne and I would love to share my love of bunnies with you :) Archives
November 2013
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