Food aggression

[GlennTheLionhead]

Hey

So Nellie and Glenn have had a solid bond for some months now. They are very loving and relaxed with eachother. They are fine when getting treats, hay, morning pellets and veg but when I give them their nighttime forage they are a little aggressive. I know food aggression can be common in pairs but I’m just after some reassurance I guess.

I give them their nighttime food to get them both in their pen and signifys the end of the daily routine for them. However when I do this Nellie gets quite aggressive, they go crazy and run around eachother and shove eachother a bit, Nellie growls a little and tonight she growled, nipped and started scuffling a tiny bit until a shouted ‘hey’. Once they get their seperate piles of pellet forage the behaviour stops and they are back to normal and chill until the next night. I guess the food is incredibly tasty to them.

Is this okay?

[DanaNM]

I  have been dealing with the same issue with Cooper and Bonnie! It is incredibly annoying but it is pretty common and I don’t think it’s a huge issue, as long as they go back to normal after.

With my two, I’ve opted to wait to lock them in until after the pellets are actually on the ground so they aren’t running around in the pen. I’m also careful to not feed them the pellets if they are actively circling or nipping. A little running around is OK but I want to make sure I’m not rewarding the aggression.

I also try to minimize the anticipation time, so they are a bit surprised when the pellets arrive. So I keep a canister near the pen and I unceremoniously but quickly scatter the pellets in their pen. They run in and then I close them in for the night. If they are running around chasing I just wait silently until they stop, then I feed.

If you find a system that works well for your buns please share! Coop has gotten better with this over time (I think with increased feelings of food security), so Nellie might get better as well once she realizes there will always be food for her.

. . . 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.  

[Wick & Fable]

Yes, food aggression is not uncommon. Some rabbits are particular tunnel-visioned with food…. crazy buns, haha.

As long as it’s resolving– that is fine; however, if it is continuous until you give them the food, that can be problematic because maybe you drop the bag one day or maybe they are misreading cues and you’re not actually going to give it to them then, in which case it will continue to escalate with no end (i.e., you not giving them the forage “in time”). I agree with Dana that if you can create a routine where you cut out the “anticipation” aspect and surprise them, that would circumvent the issue.

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.

[GlennTheLionhead]

Its reasurring to hear how common this is! So cute and little but so greedy and tenacious 😂

So its been a few nights of trying the advice suggested!

I have basically placed their box of food in another room out the way and I am quietly taking portions out and casually going to their pen so they check out what I’m doing then I quickly place it in front of their faces… This actually seems to be working pretty well so far. I am expecting that to change soon though when they begin to get used to the micro ques and sounds that bunnies tend to become finely attuned to… So time will tell…. But that simple suggestion and seemed to help a lot so far! Thank you. This could definitely be a food safety thing from Nellie and possibly Glenn aggrivates this by trying to block her, he always wants his portion of whatever first!

I will keep you updated as the situation changes!

They are a bit funny with their hay too, they like to shove eachother out the way to eat it and rather than each taking a fresh pile of hay they will eat from the same pile… Luckily they don’t really get aggressive here though.

[DanaNM]

LOL yes all of my buns will take food out of each others mouths even when they have a fresh pile in front of them. So funny!

. . . 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.  

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