Bun is angry at me

[Jupiter_Flemish Giant]

So a bit of backstory, I have a female rabbit in  the house right now and my boy has been in his cage almost for three or four hours. He is almost never in his cage for that long unless I am not home. As I have cats, I like to monitor his free roam time, but of course he gets it. I put the female in the bathroom to let him run around for a bit. The female rabbit has a water bowl, food bowl, and litter box. I was attempting to get him out of cage, because the cage is so high off the floor right now that if he was to jump Im afraid he would get hurt. I had his cage be heightened because of the female, which is normally not here, and when the cage is on the floor he typically lets me reach my hands in a pick him up. I always make sure to let him see and sniff my hand, and he even rubbed his head against my hand, so when I went to pick him up, he pushed my hand away with his two front paws and attempted to bite me (Mouth open, closed right next to my hand) This honestly startled me to my core, as he has never even kicked me before. I don’t know whether he’s jealous or maybe because he’s off the ground? With his cage he can only see out the front of it, the rest is covered with a blanket for his privacy. The bottom is a wooden floor,  and he can’t see through it. I thought maybe he just wanted me to leave him alone, so I left to door open and tried to see if he would peek his head out for me to pick him up. Still doing the lunging thing. Help?

[DanaNM]

Are the rabbits spayed/neutered?

Rabbits can have what’s called “referred aggression”, meaning if they see or smell another rabbit that is an intruder (any rabbit they aren’t bonded with), they will attack any person or rabbit that comes near them. I think your bun is probably feeling defensive because the other rabbit is around. Even if he can’t see her, he can smell her and may have smelled her on your hands.

 

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Bam]

I too think this is referred aggression due to the presence of the other bun. We had one member who started volunteering at a rabbit rescue, and even though she made sure to wash her hands and change clothes when she came home, her own bun  attacked her viciously and relentlessly.

This might subside with time, when your bun gets used to the scent of the other bun   or it might get worse.

Anyway, it’s not you he’s angry with.  Rabbits are highly territorial and can get very upset when they notice the presence of a potential intruder.

I think you should let him calm down before you try to touch him. Some bun owners suggest that you give the angry bun a stuffy toy to take out its aggression on, but I’ve not personally had any luck with that.

[Author]

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