Aggressive bunny

[Cinnabunn the bunny]

I’ve had Cinnabunn (fixed male netherland dwarf 1 yo) for almost a year and recently he has become more aggressive. He used to love being pet but now when I pet him and he presents he will snarl and bite my hand. He is almost like a cat where if I pet him more than 3 times he’ll get upset at me. He has even started to become more aggressive to his partner Lily (note: they are still in the process of bonding but generally only have disputes when Cinnabunn binkies all over lily and lily gets upset. other than that I had though cinnabunn had gotten over his “randomly lung at lily” phase of the bonding process). Cinnabunn has always been a sassy doof but he has always been pretty loving. Is this aggressive phase something i have to accept as his bunny mama or is there something I can do to stop him?

[Mikey]

Some rabbits are naturally more aggressive, so that could be it. But being that it seemed to start up out of no where, its likely something else. Have you been to a vet about this issue? Some rabbits will act out of their in pain or constantly feeling uncomfortable. Once the vet can rule out medical problems, i would look into possible stressers. Have you started using a new soap or detergent? New candles or air fresheners in the house? Has their cages been moved around? Has the room theyre used to been moved around? Has you or anyone held him incorrectly or uncomfortably recently?

[Cinnabunn the bunny]

My boyfriend has been interacting with him in a way that I don’t really approve of. I’m not around 100% of the time but sometimes my boyfriend wil bop him on his head when he is misbehaving or carry him into mean situations (eg. empty tub just to watch him slip around). I was thinking that could possibly be one of the reasons and I have been warning my boyfriend about mistreating my rabbits but he has never had rabbits and doesn’t know the proper way to interact with rabbits (I swear he is like a child). If my boyfriend handling him incorrectly is the source of cinnabunns increase in aggressiveness (i say increase because he was always kinda mean and would nip me randomly when passing by but never in the mean ears back lunging and snarling way) is there a way to retrain him to like being picked up again and not snarl so much and bite when being pet? A rabbit lady I know once suggested that I should pick them up whenever they snarl and bite to teach them not to do that.

I think some of your other ideas are also very interesting and never would have thought that could be an issue. I could also be a possibility that he may be hurt as him and my other bunny sometimes get into fights but after every fight I make sure to swaddle him in blanket and run my hand over him to check for wounds. other than minor nips and fur torn out he’s been fine and acts normally so I think we should be able to rule that out.

Do you think this may be a late puberty thing? I got him when he was 4 months and got him fixed a few months after. he is now 1 yo and I know that rabbits usually go through puberty around 4 months of age but are there other behavioral age markers that I dont know about?

[Gina.Jenny]

Sadly, it is a lot easier to teach a rabbit humans can’t be trusted than it is to teach them that they can. One lesson in distrust can undo months of learning to trust, and take many months to fully overcome. I hope you managed to get your boyfriend to stop, as tapping a rabbit on the head will only teach him not to trust, and won’t change any rabbit behaviour, while deliberately putting a rabbit in a stressful situation, such as a slippery tub, simply for entertainment is unacceptable. I would try and avoid picking your bun up at all for the next couple of weeks, if that is possible. Most adult bunnies dislike being picked up even by people they otherwise trust, and even if it is for a good reason. For example, my eldest rabbit loves being out in his garden run, but hates being carried, so I always herd him into a pet carrier both to go out and come in. Use food to entice him into his run, and let him relearn that he is safe!

[Mikey]

I think it sounds like your boyfriend is the issue. Hes teaching your rabbit to be afraid of humans and hands. So even if your bunny trusts you, if he sees your hand, he no longer will. Honestly, i would ban my boyfriend from my rabbits if he did that, and i hope he would do the same should i do that to our rabbits. It will likely take a long time to rebuild the trust again with your rabbit. And even then, your rabbit may never like your boyfriend, associating his smell with bad situations

Also note, most rabbits hating being picked up. I have one rabbit out of three that loves it, one who enjoys it but only on his terms, and one who hates it (kicks and bites) unless it means hes being carried to food

Why do your two rabbits fight? Thats another issue youll have to dive into. They shouldnt be fighting like that

[Cinnabunn the bunny]

Yes i know i should ban him form my bunns and i have told him off for it but once again its hard to ban him from my bunns when he’s home alone with them.

For the most part as long as i pick them up the right way and am petting them they are okay with being picked up.

My two rabbits fight because cinnabunn likes picking fights. it could be a territory thing but ive tried moving him out of his territory and they would still fight. hes just a big meanie. thats the conclusion ive come to :/

[Amaakir]

I agree with the rest of the replies, your boyfriend seems to be the issue, not Cinnabunn.
Also, I wouldn’t try to “teach” my rabbit to like being held up, believe me, I’ve tried and it usually ends up with me being scratched and receiving the cold butt for a couple of hours. I’ve only had one rabbit, so I can’t say what might be causing the fights with the rest of the rabbits, but it might be related with being treated the way your boyfriend treats it.

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