Culling aggressive doe

[KelleyBee]

We breed for temperament so don't have any aggressive buns, but the buns here are angoras and get handled a lot.

It sounds perhaps as if your doe is protecting her territory? Switch her to a new space and see if she mellows out. I'm always switching the buns to new spaces so eventually they all seem part of a collective, perhaps? Not too many territorial buns here for whatever reason, I'd guess either from switching them around or from breeding or possibly from both.

Interesting approach! All along she had been in a cage that placed her above my eye level until I stood on a stool. About 4 weeks ago, I have moved her entire cage to a location that puts at my knee level. Right away I could see the new location had a psychological effect upon her. Nevertheless, she still went after my hands. With her in this lower location, I was able to appropriately extert weight upon her shoulders more firm than ever before. I think that really surprised her. She has respectfully stayed away from my hands ever since. This week she has just kindled 10 kits. She’s gotten a bit aggressive again, but I think it is appropriate for her to want to keep her kits safe, so I will never hold a warning nip against a just kindled mom. Prior to her having kits, she had never bit me. I had hoped she would return to that state once she finished raising her first litter, but she did not and she became increasingly worse, drawing my blood daily. At least in her new position, that daily blood draw has ended. Even so, I have the babes from her first litter who have been touched by me daily since they were born (she was 8 months when she came to me). i have decided that I will be replacing her with one of her does and see how it goes. I won’t cull her until I see how her doe does as a mom and as an adult with me. I really don’t like working so hard in all sorts of weather taking excellent care of a rabbit just to have her be mean to me at worst, or to avoid me like the plaque at best. I have a trio of white rabbits whom I received when they were 8 weeks and they adore me and want cuddles and kisses anytime I open their cages. They are cared for and spoken sweetly to no differently than this problem doe.

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

One way to have less aggresive rabbits is to handle them from birth or as early as possible

 

[KelleyBee]

One way to have less aggresive rabbits is to handle them from birth or as early as possible

I agree, which is what I am doing with my grow outs in anticipation for future breeding.

 

[White's family farm]

I whole heartedly agree with keeping friendly rabbits over the aggressive ones (there's never enough cage space for all the 'keepers' anyway).
FWIW, with older rabbits we'd acquired, we've had success using their food as motivation. We'd go to feed them first, and let them eat from the bowl/cup we filled their food bowl with, before filling their food bowl.

Once they got comfortable eating from the cup, we'd try to pet them. If they didn't go for it, we took the food out and fed everyone else, then tried again. If they still didn't, they 'fasted' that meal (we'd feed twice a day with older additions to allow for more handling time and so they could 'fast' a meal a day safely. the other meal they were fed, no pet attempts, but given somewhat less than a full days ration).

It would take a couple of 'fasts', but our older rabbits generally became much much more friendly pretty quickly (usually worked more quickly if we used oats instead of their food). But the worst we had was a white Rex that would lunge at us. Never had biters. I'm not sure I'd be brave enough to try with biters.

 

[hotzcatz]

What book is it that you have which describes rabbit language? Way early on in this discussion you'd mentioned it and I forgot to ask earlier. Not that I'd listen to them, but it might be interesting to have an idea of why they're grumpy when they get grumpy.

 

[arachyd]

I'm not sure what other reading material there is out there on rabbit psychology but this information has been a great help to me over the years Rabbit Body Language especially the last half of the part about respect. I only ever had one doe that would not mellow out. Thankfully, she was a great mother and her kits did not share her bad behavior.

 

[Burelka]

I have a new question about this particular doe. Although she continues to be aggressive in her cage, once I have her out and in my arms, she is fine, has never bitten me, responds exactly like all of my other rabbits. Your thoughts?

Could she perhaps be territorial?

 

[KelleyBee]

Could she perhaps be territorial?

I don’t think that was it. she has mellowed overtime. I removed her to a cage that was knee level to me and this seemed to change her perspective as to our relationship. All of a sudden I was much bigger than her, as seen through her eyes. She was completely nonaggressive for her last litter.

 

[Burelka]

I don’t think that was it. she has mellowed overtime. I removed her to a cage that was knee level to me and this seemed to change her perspective as to our relationship. All of a sudden I was much bigger than her, as seen through her eyes. She was completely nonaggressive for her last litter.

What a great idea! I would have never thought of this. I will keep it in mind if I encounter a similar situation in the future.