New bunny mom to bossy lord, any ideas?

[Mary Bull]

Hello everybody. My name is Mary and I have recently adopted a lionhead mix, a neutered male, called Mogul. He is beyond cute, and has bonded strongly with me. I work for a non profit rehabilitating and rehoming or releasing (in the case of wild animals) exotic pets, horses and other wild animals. Mogul is approx 6 months old, he has been abandoned twice so we decided to adopt him and offer him a forever home instead of fostering him because he has been through enough (plus we couldn’t resist his bangs, pictures soon, I promise). He is the sweetest bunny, BUT, he can be VERY territorial. He has free range of a limited area of the house, and shares a room, when we are not home to supervise, him with two chinchillas and three guinea pigs who live in their cages. It is a huge room, which has been adapted to house these animals, he is loose there, the rest are released alternatively. Mogul also has a play pen outside in the garden. He spends several hours there grazing and chasing whatever and whoever dares to set foot on his kingdom. Same thing happens in the room. He has never lunged at me, but he has lunged at everybody else. He lunges grunting. He has not bitten yet, but I surely think he might. We are very used to dealing with prey animals and have respected his time and space, still, the behaviour continues. We love him to pieces already, but I am worried because I am afraid nobody will be willing to care for him when I go on holidays, for example. Any ideas on what else I can do? He has been with us for a few weeks, not long. So there’s hope. 

Another question is whether this behaviour might affect his bonding with another bunny. I know it is better for them to share their lives with another bunny, but he doesn’t seem to want to share anything, at least with us! Anyway, he gets plenty of attention (maybe too much, that’s why he has become so spoilt) and is with many other animals. 
Do you think it is really necessary for him to have a bunny friend?

I changed the title to see if I get more luck with answers this time.

Thank you very much in advance! This site has been very helpful already!

[Wick & Fable]

How long has he been neutered for? Following a neuter, there’s a hormonal spike that actually exacerbates hormonal behaviors, like territorial defensiveness. It may also be a result of sharing a room with so many different scents — just like if you were attempting to bond two rabbits, there’s a phase called “pre-bonding”, where you swap objects to get the rabbits accustomed to each other’s scents. It sounds like because you’re constantly alternating free-roam with these different animals, your rabbit may be getting triggered by his territory constantly being “reclaimed” by other animal scents?

The ideal is for a rabbit to have a bonded mate. The behavior he’s currently displaying doesn’t necessarily mean he’s un-bondable at all — It just shows that pre-bonding is important, as it is with any bonding attempt. If you are able to spend ample time with him every day, a bonded mate is not necessary, but it is a great addition if you’re able to do it.

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.

[Mary Bull]

Thank you so much for your answer! Sounds quite possible! He’s been neutered for a month and a half approximately. We do spend a lot of time with him. To deal with this behaviour, one idea I had was to bring him in a pen to the living room, so that he gets even more used to everybody’s presence. Do you think it’s a good idea?
By now, I will keep just him. At least until he has settled down a bit more and I have been able to handle his bossiness.
I really appreciate your taking the time to answer!
Mary.

[FlemishDad]

Most rabbits probably enjoy having a rabbit companion but not all, and some do quite well with human and sometimes other animal companionship. He has had a traumatic life, is young, and is new to his current settings, so I think you should wait a couple of months and see if he needs and wants a rabbit companion.

[Mary Bull]

Thank you for your answer FlemishDad! Yes, I will stick to him for a while! I think he needs time to settle down.

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