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How Does Age Affect A Rabbit's Behaviour

Max. D Gray
By Max. D Gray. Updated: January 20, 2017
How Does Age Affect A Rabbit's Behaviour

You have decided to get a pet rabbit, you know how to take care of it and how to train it properly. You've also learned how to understand your rabbit and how to clean it properly. Knowing all this is essential in order to live in the best possible way with your rabbit and to get along from the start. But like people, rabbits also have different behaviors depending on how old they are, and this is also important to live happily with your rabbit according to its age. So from OneHowTo.com we will explain the following: how does age affect a rabbit's behaviour.

You may also be interested in: How to understand my rabbit

Small or baby rabbit behaviour

When your rabbit is in this stage, it only wants to run around and have fun. It will be difficult to catch it to pet it and get it to obey depending on its character. When they're babies they may constantly ask you for affection or ignore you completely and only want to play and explore.

Though playing is essential for its development, this is the best time to teach and train them. This will be much more effective for learning good behavior. But you should be aware that they require time and patience to train. You must understand that their antics are age-appropriate. Don't keep them locked up for too long so that they exercise.

How Does Age Affect A Rabbit's Behaviour - Small or baby rabbit behaviour

Adolescent rabbit behaviour

How does age affect a rabbit's behaviour during adolescence? Adolescence in rabbits happens around 4 months old in small breeds and about 9 months old in larger breeds. Like human teenagers, teenage rabbits also experience hormonal changes that affect their behaviour. They will be more active and rebellious; if male, they can even be aggressive.

  • They may follow you or run in circles around your feet as a form of courtship.
  • They will mark their territory by urinating everywhere, and can, temporarily, forget about using the tray.
  • If your rabbit is female, she may scratch, bite and claw you if she sees you invade her cage while feeding her. This is a way to defend her nest, as she will probably have her first period from 5 to 8 months of age.
  • It will show curious and destructive behaviour such as digging and gnawing everything. Stay calm at this stage and be patient. If you scold or yell it will be worse.
  • If you decide that you don't want your rabbit to breed, you can sterilize them which will also make them calm down.
  • If they need activity, do not keep them in the cage and let them run and exercise. You can also give them rabbit toys for fun.
How Does Age Affect A Rabbit's Behaviour - Adolescent rabbit behaviour

Adult or mature rabbit behaviour

When your rabbit reaches adulthood, it will calm down. It will be more docile, affectionate, obedient and quiet. It will sleep more, but will still need to exercise during the day. If you educate it well, it will have learned to behave and you can enjoy its company without worrying so much about its behaviour.

How Does Age Affect A Rabbit's Behaviour - Adult or mature rabbit behaviour

If you want to read similar articles to How Does Age Affect A Rabbit's Behaviour, we recommend you visit our Pets category.

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