Dwarf Rex problems

[stuartmmcfc]

We've got a six month old Dwarf Rex rabbit. Tbh he's turning into a right handful. He's got very strong back legs and it doesn't take much for him to struggle and start kicking out and being quite aggressive.
Is this behaviour to be expected? The breeder told me the females could be troublesome so will he grow out of it or does he need to neutered or something?
Unfortunately we'll have to look at rehoming if we can't sort this out.

[stuartmmcfc]

thanks for the advice, i've arranged a breeder to come over wednesday to give us some tips and cut his nails.

The Monty Python picture isn't far from reality unfortunately

[stuartmmcfc]

ours is from "show stock' and was handled very easily by the (very experienced) breeder. I'm hoping the tips you've given me will help get him back to this condition, especially the "not putting down until he stops struggling".
Today he settles fairly quickly after the initial struggle but I've got several cuts on my hands so I also think having his claws cut on wednesday will help us enormously.
Luckily I'm an ex-plasterer so I'm used to cut hands but I can see why the Wife and my 9 yr old are reluctant to pick him up at the moment.
Even I have to admit his fur really is lovely

[stuartmmcfc]

rosie11 said:

Just out of interest what are his markings/colourings? Picture would be good, if he is what we call broken pattern then from a very early age one can see if he is potentially show stock, IF his markings are not correct MAYBE the owner did not handle him as much as if he had been a show potential specimen.

He's a "blue otter". The breeder we got him from had lots of them and he was one that hadn't made "the grade" as a show rabbit so they sold him to us.
Seems logical he wouldn't have had as much handling but they ( though obviously very experienced) seemed to have no problem handling him.
I think the problems started when his claws got sharp, it put my Wife and son (it's his rabbit and he did a lot of research into care etc) right off holding him. I've taken a lot more interest the last few days as i've realised how upset everyone is and my hands are covered in sratches and blood!!!
We got him from "oakley rabbit stud" and they were very friendly and helpful, only pride and other options is stopping me giving them a ring
I'll post a pic sometime soon.

[stuartmmcfc]

rosie11 said:

When getting him out of the hutch always lift him out head first and when putting him back in put him bottom first, this will prevent him seeing his "safe house" if you like and make it much less likely for him to struggle away from you.

That's a good tip, getting him out is no problem~ getting him back in is tricky.
We'll see how we get on tomorrow,
The 2 cats, 2 guinea pigs, hamster and several goldfish we've had for years had obviously lulled us into a "trouble free" pet zone

[stuartmmcfc]

Well after our "expert" visit yesterday his nails are cut and we've had a lesson in how best to pick him up and handle him.
The result is everyone is more confident and at the moment boy and rabbit are inside, sat on the sofa watching tele after my lad carried him in with no struggles at all.
Result

[stuartmmcfc]

While there are some, obviously, very experienced people here I must point out (for my own sake ) that my 11 year old didn't want a mini Rex because he wanted a "fluffy bunny to cuddle'. He wanted me to point this out after I showed him the advice on this thread.
Rabbits wouldn't be suitable for young children due to the power of their legs but older children with a watchful eye over the care from an adult?

As for the cost, that's pretty much the price you pay for having any animals but compared to having children it's an absolute bargin

Edited by stuartmmcfc on Friday 24th May 07:19