5am is a time rabbits can be active and it sounds like it’s close to when your rabbits are fed. Food aggression is not unheard of in rabbits. Does this happen around any other food related times?

It can be that one rabbit gets particularly energized for the first meal of the day and that energy gets re-directed to your other rabbit. If it becomes a huge issue and causes fights each morning, I would consider maybe getting a timed feeder for the morning or finding a way to separate them for that small period in the morning, whether that is a shared restricted space with a shared wall (so they are still together, but they cannot chase one another).

Hmmmm, I was having a similar issue when I bonded Bertha and Bun Jovi. The would be fine for almost all of a 24 hr period, then around dawn scuffling would happen. In my case it was usually due to a mounting attempt. Have you been able to see if anything specific initiates the chasing?

Also, what is the main type of space are you using, and is it the same space you’ve been using for the whole process? I think in my case we were too close to the buns home turf. Neutral but still within smelling range. What worked for me was to take them to a friend’s house and do the marathon there. Within 24 hours they were great and we finished off cementing there.

Another thing you could try is to plan to do some stressing at the time when the issue normally starts, so say at 4:30 or 5, take them on a car ride together. Maybe that would help them get past that phase?

Hey I’m right there with you! I’ve got mine in a bonding pen and we’re making slow progress and I always have worse trouble from Clover in the morning. The thing is she gets energized and bored and hungry all at the same time. So a few thoughts. Clover eats more at night than during the day and I actually have to refill her hay at like one in the morning and again right when I wake up to keep her happy and keep her eating hay instead of eating Ben. To avoid reinforcing bad behavior by rewarding with the yummy food, can you try refilling the hay first if it’s low to see if that helps? They don’t have to be out of hay to start freaking out and getting aggressive. Mine definitely like to always be topped off with lots of “fresh” hay and they are more chill about it when the pile is huge.

She also gets super energized and starts jumping around and digging early in the morning. Is it possible your bunny is also trying to play at this time and maybe the other rabbit is getting in the way or getting freaked out by the energetic play behavior? How big is the area they are in in the morning? Could it help to have a bigger play area early in the day or a little separate play time? I know you said it stops when you feed them but it’s possible the food is just distracting them from something else that’s going on.

As a note, binkying is not always an expression of positive affect. It can also be an extra evasion tactic as well, so binkying during a chase is not necessarily indicative of enjoyment or play.