Aggressive Bunny Advice.

[ThunderBun]

Hi Everyone, 



I’m not a newbie when it comes to owning rabbits, however I’m a newbie when it comes to rabbits showing aggression which is unidentified. I’m getting a male bunny next week, he’s around 12 weeks old. He was advertised as a nervous bunny to the current owner, but isn’t nervous but started showing aggression towards her. He lunges and grunts. The lady said that once he is settled out of his cage and with a person handling, he is fine. The lady who has him now is an experienced owner herself but has never experienced anything other than nerves in a rabbit whereas I’ve had rabbits becoming aggressive when un-neutered or ill in another way, hence the reason for rehoming as she has children who help her with the rabbits she has and she’s worried they will forget that the bunny needs more patience and careful movements around him.



The woman was sold the rabbit as a female but has said he is a male for sure but just not yet fully developed enough to be neutered. 



Could this be a territorial thing? I just want to be prepared for when I get him? Just some advice on what to do? Or maybe just see how he reacts around me?



Thank you  any advice would be helpful.

[TheDuchess]

It can be hard to know what it is that is causing this aggression, since you are not able to fully know what he is experiencing.

For instance, the children could be a major stressor for him. Maybe they are shrill or high energy, which puts him in constant distress. It could be that he is just uncomfortable with the owners. It could even be a social issue, as my female tends to be more aggressive when she is getting less attention from us. Or perhaps its just hormones kicking in, about 12 weeks sounds right for a bun to start becoming hormonal.

Main thing is, you just can’t be certain of the cause. I would say that if he is known as a “nervous” bun, the best thing that you can do is be patient and do a lot of bonding with him.

[Nutmeg]

I find with rabbits aggression (or grunting and lunging) is usually from one of 3 things….

1. Stressed/Scared (rabbits usually act out of fear… they learn that lunging and grunting gets the scary kids to go away, so they keep doing it)
2. They are hormonal and being territorial
3. They are sick.

Its’ hard to say what it is until you have him as it can also be a combination of them.
Good for you for taking him in and preparing yourself ahead of time

I would suggest a vet appointment as soon as you get him to double check if he’s a boy or a girl and if he is ok health wise and possibly book his neuter.
If its mostly hormonal and territorial than getting him fixed will help with most of that.
If he’s just scared and nervous than just letting him get settled and leaving him alone for a bit will help a lot. Get him settled and then don’t try to interact for a week – just feed him, give him the odd treat or his nightly veggies, change his water and litter and just talk in a calm voice.
Once he’s settled just sit on the floor and ignore him and let him come to you.

I found with my boy it was a combination of hormones – which went completely away when he was neutered – and being scared.

[Bunny House]

I agree with nutmeg, my lop was always angry for “no reason” ended up being she always had ear infections, even after treatment so of course she was angry. After fixing it, she’s loving, it’s crazy how sickness can turn a bun 180

[Daisy]

So you’re saying that he’s aggressive only in his cage and is fine outside of it? There is a term for this in Dutch, we call it “hoknijd” (literally translated cage anger). It means that the bun is very insecure and territorial over his home (cage). It is often caused by (that I know of at least):
– Being bullied/threatened/disturbed when he’s in his cage (often done by kids without realizing it)
– Feeling insecure because he’s alone and feels like he has to protect his only safe spot
– Hormones
– Just naturally very territorial and feels the need to protect what’s his

I once had a doe that had it because of her hormones. She was completely fine outside of her cage as well and would actively seek your company, just an angry boxing bun when she was in her cage haha. Once she was spayed she stopped doing it.

Other “solutions” (which are more workarounds I think) I’ve read about is to make sure to never pet, grab or disturb the bunny when it’s in his cage/home. Let him hop out by himself and only interact with him outside of the cage, so that he feels he’s safe in his cage.

[Bladesmith]

Posted By Daisy on 8/30/2018 4:20 AM

So you’re saying that he’s aggressive only in his cage and is fine outside of it? There is a term for this in Dutch, we call it “hoknijd” (literally translated cage anger). It means that the bun is very insecure and territorial over his home (cage). It is often caused by (that I know of at least):
– Being bullied/threatened/disturbed when he’s in his cage (often done by kids without realizing it)
– Feeling insecure because he’s alone and feels like he has to protect his only safe spot
– Hormones
– Just naturally very territorial and feels the need to protect what’s his

I once had a doe that had it because of her hormones. She was completely fine outside of her cage as well and would actively seek your company, just an angry boxing bun when she was in her cage haha. Once she was spayed she stopped doing it.

Other “solutions” (which are more workarounds I think) I’ve read about is to make sure to never pet, grab or disturb the bunny when it’s in his cage/home. Let him hop out by himself and only interact with him outside of the cage, so that he feels he’s safe in his cage.

Dawn is like this.  I credit too much time in too small a cage before we got her.  She’s still not very friendly, but will come over and tug on your sock or chin you, sometimes step halfway up on you and give you a good sniff or chin rub, but otherwise she doesn’t want much to do with us.  And in her litter pans, and her chosen spot on the bay window, she doesn’t tolerate any incursions.  She lunges, boxes, and grunts like she’s a T Rex if you reach near her in those places.  Sometimes they’re just not people bunnies.

[Author]

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