New bad bunny behavior -biting

[KrisPen518]

Hello all,

I posted about 3 weeks ago regarding my 2 fighting buns
Since then i have seperated them completely and they are living happy bunny loves. I am having a behavioral issue and I figured id reach out for some advice since you were all so helpful with my fighting situation.

Long story short my one male rabbit I’m 85% sure was the aggressor in the fighting situation 3 weeks ago. Had them both neutered but he had seemed a little off since. He is very destructive, but not in an angry aggressive way. More like I have so much energy and my hormones haven’t settles down yet kind of way. He is still very sweet and approachable. He plays with me, interacts, comes out of his pen and is involved in everything I do when I’m with him. He just always finds that corner to chew or darts around and moves everything in the process.

He was more shy than the other boy, But not withdrawn or scared in any way. I went through bonding with him and we are pals. Now yesterday, he jumped into my lab and was cuddling then all of a sudden I felt a bit! I was so surprised. I made a loud sound and slapped the ground to try anf associate that that was not ok. After he bite he looked right up at me and hopped down. Then resumed exploring and playing. He has done this about 3 times today, each time I make the noise and he doesn’t seem to respond. He has seemed to become a little more destructive ( finding the edge of pens/gates/blockades and going at them with everything he has to get out. ) this last time he was in my lap and i was petting him. He stood up, sniffed around, bite me, jumped down and tried to come back to my leg for another chomp.

Now back to the aggression issue. Since i am pretty sure from his behavior/color of fur/attitude of both buns that he was the aggressor i feel like this biting is more of a show of dominance. He isn’t scared when this is happening, and he had never done it in his cage area/when im putting down food/cleaning etc. He also doesn’t bite then run and hid like he is protecting himself. And with the fighting with his brother I’m leaning toward dominance/ little bully bunny.

He was neutered about 3 weeks ago. Do you think he needs some more time for his hormones to settle? Thoughts on where to go from here? I’m leaning towards starting to re bond over with him myself from square 1. All opinions are welcome and helpful!!

[Mikey]

Was it a bite, or a nip? If it was a bite, he wouldve held for a moment and likely broken skin. If it was a nip (quick and no skin broken), just yelp and turn away, dont smack the group. Nipping is acceptable. Nipping is how rabbits say “I dont like that/I dont like this/I dont like what is happening/I dont like what youre doing/I dont like…” Nipping is natural bunny communication and there really wont be a way to train him out of it. You can only train him how to nip softer. Its not really a dominance thing, but simple bun communication.

Now, if it was an actual bite and he broke skin, rabbits usually bite out of fear, confusion, or anger. In my experience, its obvious which. Such as, if he is mad, he will show other signs of being angry like trying to get away or scratching. Fear would be trying to hide or escape the area. For confusion, its usually in situations where you touch your bun in a way that accidentally causes pain or touching him while smelling like another bunny.

[Author]

Messages