Rabbit Attack!! (To be Expected, Or time to Butcher?) (pic on Post #7)

jktrahan

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I picked up this 11 month old Californian buck Sunday. The previous owner told me he had scratched his daughter pretty badly and they were looking for a smaller calmer bunny for her.

I let him out of his cage when we got home so he could run around our 25' x 30 ' fenced in garden. He acted fine and friendler than any of my other rabbits. He would come up to me and sniff then wonder off and roam around.

Yesterday I let him out with my other 4 month old bucs and it was hump central, so the 11 month old californian went back in the cage.

Today when I got home and checked on the rabbits the californian sprayed urine on me as i passed by and about 2 hours later did the same thing again. A few minutes later I put my hand in his cage (Slowly). As soon as my hand entered his cage he latched on to my hand WITH HIS TEETH and ripped off the thin yard glove i was wearing. With the glove still in his mouth he laid on the bottom of the cage humping the glove for about 20 seconds.

My rabbits are in 3' x 2' x 2' cages and the males and females are in cages next to each other.

Is this behavior to be expected? Is this how an adult male responds when in breeding mode, or is this a flaw in the temperament? I was hoping to breed this Californian due to his good size but do not want to chance another attack.


Video of buck and cages:
YouTube Vid
 

tortoise

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Freezer time! :drool

No, seriously. I've never seen anything like that and I wouldn't breed it into my herd.
 

jktrahan

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He kind of reminds me of your avatar. Put 2 deep cuts into my palm and scared the crap out of me and my son.
 

hoodat

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Sounds as though he'll be a good breeder. Spraying urine is just marking territory. You're the one who brings the feed so he wants to mark you as his "property". You can buy or make a urine guard about 5 inches or so wide and wire it to the bottom edge of the cage so he can't do it again.He may have also become more aggresive due to being exposed to other bucks.
 

jktrahan

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cattlecait said:
currycomb said:
breed him, he is in "rabbit rut"
Agreed, it just sounds like he wants bred. Breed him and see if his attitude adjusts.
Would love to breed him but doe's will not be old enough until August. So i'm assuming you have seen aggression like this before? if so how do you handle it?

There is no way i will ever be able to stick my hand in the cage with him again and will not be able to trust him with my son or wife.

3440_photo.jpg
 

Melissa'sDreamFarm

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Holy crow, I think I like fried rabbit. 5 months of sexual frustration and you might not have a hand left.
 

dbunni

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In our barn he would have been invited to dinner ... that night. No questions asked. Yes, spraying is a territorial thing, but attacking is a dinner thing.
 

SDGsoap&dairy

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Yikes! I don't breed rabbits but there is no way I'd tolerate that kind of aggression from any species on our farm. If he were one of my roosters he'd be dinner for sure.
 
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