Really dominant/aggressive bunny?!

[Kooky]

I have been having trouble re bonding my 3 rabbits lately. The problems arising from one of the females becoming really over dominant lately. With bonding she will hump constantly (not very aggressive compared to a few weeks ago). However last night she was trying to nip biscuit through the bars, when i told her no she turned to me with her ears and tail raised and was jumping at my arms and face! trying to get at me! i was quite shocked at first but then I scooped her up right then and there and told her no then put her back down. I have never felt threatened by a 1.2lb creature before but this really got my adrenaline going. This is really odd behavior i have never seen a rabbit do that to me ever and now im not sure what to do with her. She is submissive to Archie, but overly dominant to biscuit and has now even started turning on me?

[LittlePuffyTail]

How old are your bunnies and are they spayed/neutered?

[Kooky]

They are all over a year old and are all fixed. She is becoming quite the little menace and is trying to fight every other female in the house. I cant bear to separate her from the other two because i love her to bits but she is pushing my limits.

[mellykins]

Could you provide some more background? So all three of the bunnies were bonded and just out of the blue one has started fighting with the others? Or you are just now trying to bond the three of them? If you have been in the process of bonding, it’s possible that her feelings have just changed. I had tried a bond once, where they seemed fine for a little while and then all of a sudden became pretty aggressive. They could have had a fight, something could have happened, etc….

BUT if they have been bonded and all of a sudden she is just acting like this, either something has changed and put her on edge, or my best guess is that something is wrong with her. Does she seem okay in all other respects? How recently has she been seen by a vet? To my knowledge if a bunny suddenly starts acting differently and nothing in the environment has changed, it’s usually indicative of a health issue.

Good luck!

[Kooky]

So my 3 rabbits (Biscuit, Archie and Rolo) had all been bonded for about a year no problems. I moved to a new flat almost 3 months ago and 2 months in the fighting started. Now the dynamics of the trio have completely flipped. Archie and Biscuit are now very close with Archie now in charge (Biscuit used to be the dominant bun of the trio). Rolo will attack biscuit every chance she gets now and fur will fly, she used to be the most submissive of the group. She seems to love Archie and will cuddle him when she is out but Archie will now also chase Rolo every now and again especially around food but he has no problems with Biscuit eating with him. AS far as i can see Rolo is perfectly healthy, she eats and drinks fine, she poops normally and eats her veggies and hay with no problems. It’s as if she just snapped and will attack everyone except Archie. Biscuit also seems to be eating fine with no poop or pee issues etc. So i don’t think there is anything wrong health wise. I have been attempting to re bond them but she has never attacked me before and it was kind of off putting so i have put off trying to bond them for a few days. She definitively frightened me the other day. I want her to feel comfortable but its as if she just doesn’t trust us anymore. She has been with other buns all her life so i feel like separating her will be worse off but if she keeps up with the aggression i don’t know what to do with her.

[mellykins]

It seems to me like the move caused this change then Is Biscuit a girl? I don’ t know much about trio bonding, but my best guess is that the move unsettled Rolo and this is what has caused the fighting. Apparently a F-F bond is pretty hard, so maybe the move reset the fight for dominance? Like, I assume when you bonded them originally, they were very young and their personalities weren’t set, so Biscuit just happened to take the dominant roll, and then when you moved, it was like “okay, fight for the new leader!” and Rolo is trying to take her place and it is causing strife between her and Biscuit.

I dunno, whatever the bunny politics is, it seems pretty clear to me that (1) this was probably instigated by the move (2) the fight is between Rolo and Biscuit. I would separate them for the time being, I know you don’t want to, but Biscuit is clearly agitating Rolo is some way so separating them is probably for the best. Wait and see if Rolo goes “back to normal.” You can’t work on bonding her with the others until she is less agitated. I would just give them a break for awhile, then start the bonding of Rolo and Biscuit. If she still attacks her, you may have to start bonding over again from the beginning (smooshing, car rides, stressing, etc..) It is also possible for bunnies to unbond with age, so there is that possibility, but I don’t see any reason to be super concerned about it right now.

Good luck!

[Kooky]

Yes Biscuit is a female i was given them originally as sisters and gained Archie later on. I have had them separated by a cage for the past few weeks. They would take turns in the cage (one has 8 hours out with Archie and one has 8 hours in the cage)But it seems to be riling Rolo up more. The last few days she has been charging at the cage and would run alongside it if she saw biscuit in or outside of the cage. i thought giving them time together but not so they are fighting would stop the problems but it seems to be making it worse almost like she is angry she doesn’t have all her ‘territory’ and Archie to herself. Biscuit also doesn’t enjoy being the cage as they are both in love with Archie. She seems to be trying to make up with me for lunging and is back to her cuddly self wanting pats and the like. In a neutral area she is ok with biscuit but will hump her constantly to the point where Biscuit gets really agitated and will turn and nip Rolo (even when i stop her still will go straight back on, and she is a mean humper, you have to pry her off Biscuit!). I feel like Biscuit is allowing her to be the top bun in neutral territory but Rolo doesn’t seem to get it and will keep humping until biscuit retaliates. Neither bun trusts the other at the moment and will not groom each other. I’m tempted to one weekend just stick them all in a cage in the living room and keep them there till they bond. but at the moment she is making it difficult to manage the two of them. Especially as im tied up this week with work and what not so i haven’t been trying to bond them as much. I don’t want to take her from the room completely as she is still bonded to an extent with Archie and it wouldn’t be fair on her.

[mellykins]

It often happens where littermates unbond I don’t think you should just lock them up together till they get along because they might do some serious damage to each other.

In my opinion–and I wish other would maybe weigh in,– I would just completely separate Rolo from the others (not swapping in and out) and try bonding her and Biscuit from the beginning. Just small, short bonding sessions. I’m currently trying to bond a pretty frustrating pair myself and I’m trying to do the “stunt double” technique suggested on the binkbunny bonding page. Maybe that can help get the humping aggression out?

Sorry I don’t have any better advice for you. Here are some resources!

https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/tabid/53/CategoryID/9/PID/940/Default.aspx

http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/bond.shtml

[Kooky]

I guess i can try that, the stunt double seems like an idea to try. Does the stuffed animal have to be a certain size or does it not matter?

Maybe rolo is just frustrated and thats why she keeps humping

[Author]

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