Suddenly aggressive rabbit

[Emily]

I was wondering if anyone could give some advice.. I’m at a total loss.
I’m a vet nurse and we have an 8 month old mini rex called Roo who is the friendliest, snuggliest, loveliest house rabbit who has not shown an ounce of aggression from day one – even though I come home smelling of all sorts from work. As she is alone most of the day, we thought she would benefit from a friend. She has been neutered for 4 months and is fully healthy; not going through a moult or anything. From day one when little Buzz (an 8 week old mini rex) came home, she has turned into a severely aggressive rabbit. She lunges at our feet constantly, we can’t place food her cage without her trying to attack and she has severely bitten me on more than one occasion. She can be her normal lovely self, loves head strokes and sitting on the sofa with us and then it’s like she sees red and turns on us within a second.
We did previously try to bond her when she was 3 months old to an older rabbit (6 months) who she accepted but the other one didn’t (later finding out Roo was actually a girl and we were trying to bond her to another girl); but she was not aggressive to us at all back then.
They are currently not in the same room, they can’t see each other and we are only popping them into runs next to each other for now. He is very relaxed and seems like he wants to play, binking all over the place. She constantly darts after him running up and down the run with her ears and tail down. But she doesn’t grunt or growl at him at all.
I’ve got pet remedy plugged in next to her indoor hutch and she has calmed down. However, I’m unsure if that’s because we’ve become more weary and tentative of her behaviour. I’ve been reading conflicting advice about how to respond to her aggressive behaviour and I’m so unsure what to do for the best. I don’t want her to change forever because she is such a loving bunny but I don’t know if we pursue the bond she would change or go back to her normal self.
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated! ??

Thank you in advance!

[LittlePuffyTail]

So they are spending time together side by side? If yes, I suggest you stop until after he is neutered and given time for his hormones to settle down. She can obviously sense his hormones and has her defences up.

I suspect her aggression is territorial. Even spayed buns can be very territorial. I had a little girl who was never able to bond with any of my boys due to her territorial aggression.

[Author]

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