Sweet 1 year old holland lop girl suddenly turned vicious

[Francesca]

Hello everyone! I am new to Binky Bunny and I have run into a problem with my 1 year old female holland lop, Nugget. She is spayed. I’ve just recently gotten another holland lop,Queso, who is a male and is 3 months right now. He will be neutered by the end of this month and a few weeks after his procedure i will start the bonding process. However, in the mean time, I am keeping the two bunnies completely separate because Nugget is the more territorial and dominant one and I am sure she will attack him. Up until I got Queso Nugget was a total sweetheart despite her sassiness. Since Queso came home, although I’ve been keeping the two in separate rooms, I think Nugget smells him and gets grouchy/territorial about it. When I bend down to pet her and interact with her, she’ll lunge at my hand and sometimes bite me. The bites have become much more frequent now. I’m usually pretty careful when interacting with her, I always let her sniff me before I pet her, etc. and in the past this was never an issue (I’ve had her for about a year now). The only time I’ve ever had her bite me was when I would nudge her away from chewing something she’s not supposed to and she would nip me for getting in her way, but these nips wouldn’t ever break my skin. Even when she was going through her “teenage stage” before her spay operation she wasn’t this mean. I’m not sure if she’s upset about smelling another bunny and she’s mistaking me for the other bunny, or if it’s something completely different. If anyone has any input on why this might be happening, let me know! Thanks everyone!  

[LittlePuffyTail]

Yes, absolutely she smells the new bun and is being territorial. To prevent being bitten, try washing your hands after handling the new bun. Inconvenient, but better than getting bit.

It’s perfectly normal for buns to feel aggressive and territorial when there is a new rabbit around. And girls are especially territorial of their surroundings.

[Francesca]

Thank you so much! this really helps a lot!

[BinkyBoo]

My sister’s bunny does this to me as well, but it is because she is a netherland dwarf, known for their sassiness. I think she smells the other bunny, as you were saying, and is being territorial. It is perfectly normal. It isn’t the smell, it’s the motion and the position. Although rabbits have great long-distance eyesight, their near-distance vision isn’t so great. A human hand in front a rabbit’s face can be very startling, and a rabbit may lunge defensively at the perceived threat. Even more likely if they smell a scary new bun on your fingers.

[BinkyBoo]

sorry, my writing got a little messed up, I meant to say it is the smell, motion, and position.

[binkiessince2010]

Charlie recently started lunging, growling, and biting whenever he saw a treat in my hand and this developed into more freguent agression. I started letting out a high pitched yelp, taking away the treat, and gently pushing his head down, (as a sign of submission) whenever he bit me. He is now much better and after I take away the treat he nudges me and looks innocent LOL

[kirstyol]

My Bramble was the sweetest wee thing in the world, never even thumped one single time in his life, never lunged or bit anyone (save one time when he was a baby). That was until the night I brought Ron home. OMG Bramble went nuts, like proper psycho bunny nuts. Thumping (i didnt even know he knew how to thump) lunging at me when i tried to calm him down and just being a proper little psycho. He had never clapped eyes on Ron, but he clearly knew there was another bun here and he was not happy at all.

Good news is that after we started letting them see each other (not actually able to get at each other) it calmed down a bit and once we started bonding it totally stopped. They bonded really quickly and are now best friends. I dont think Bramble has thumped since, although Ron likes to thump at things he disapproves of. Neither is aggressive to each other or us.

I am sure it is just the fact that your girl knows another bun is there. I think in Bramble’s case he was just annoyed that he wasnt allowed to play with this other bunny that he knew was here but couldnt see.

[Francesca]

@binkiessince2010 LOL AW. that’s adorable. thanks for the tip, i’ll try that! except she’s deaf so not sure the high pitch yelp would do anything 

@kirstyol aw at least they bonded quickly though! i had the same problem, i’ve never heard her thump before or seen her lunge like that in my life and suddenly she’s been doing it all the time. since i posted, I’ve been making sure to wash my hands after I pet Queso and I’ve been more cautious and slower with my motions around Nugget and it’s definitely made a difference.

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