Does neutering quell aggression completely?

Hi everyone,

Shortly after posting here several weeks ago about wanting to give a bunny a home, I was offered two young buns from a lady who had rescued a female rabbit, only to find 7 babies a few days later :shock: She needed to find homes for two baby boys, so I said I would have them!

So I am now the proud owner of Monte and Carlo I have had them for five weeks, and they are about five months old. Monte, from the start, has always been quite jumpy and alert, whereas Carlo is the polar opposite - very calm, very cuddly and affectionate. Just recently, however, Monte's behaviour has started to sway towards aggression - he hates being picked up, and tries to lunge at you with his front paws. He has bitten me once, although he seems to threaten rather than actually do anything with his teeth most of the time. He also thumps an awful lot, and makes weird screaming noises in his throat when I open the door to the hutch. Carlo, on the other hand, remains just as affectionate as ever - in actual fact he is a pleasure, a very sweet little bun

They have a large hutch, 2m x 1m and two storeys high - they are also put into an outdoor run during the day to have some exercise and some grass. They have lots of toys in their hutch,as well as a rack which is always filled with goodies for them. We also allow them into the house every so often to have a little explore, and both bunnies seem to enjoy this, although Carlo is much braver and more inquisitive. Both bunnies are plump, shiny and healthy.

They are booked in to be castrated - both of them - on Tuesday. Will this reduce Monte's aggression towards me? It is worth mentioning also that he has shown no aggression to Carlo at all - nor vice versa. I am baffled as to how two brothers, handled in exactly the same way and living in exactly the same conditions, can be so different in their attitudes towards humans! What can I do? Is neutering the complete solution, or will I still have problems afterwards?

Thanks in advance!

I think it is very much dependant on the personality of the individual rabbit. We had two brothers nuetered and one became completely calm and the remained quite aggressive. However, it has calmed most of my other rabbits down and they have all become far more placid and friendly !!!!

Thanks for the reply, rabbithabit!

Hopefully it will calm Monte then...fingers crossed :roll:

It depends. Hormones contribute to territorial aggression so neutering helps with aggression that's routed in that. Aggression can have other causes though so neutering doesn't help with every case.

If you've seen a change in behaviour as they reach sexual maturity that certainly hints towards a hormones as root cause which shouldn't be helped by neutering.

The only rabbit book I have is 'Why Does My Rabbit...?' which has an interesting section on dealing with aggression compassionately. It's hard to get hold of though as I think it's out of print - although there are copies available on Amazon. I was lucky and got mine off eBay really cheap. If neutering doesn't help (it certainly made a huge difference with my doe), then I suggest seeing if you can get hold of a copy (the section is too long for me to copy out here, I'm afraid).

Remember that the hormones can keep circulating for up to a few months after neutering, so don't be disappointed if you don't see an immediate improvement.

Another option if neutering doesn't help is help from a rabbit behaviour expert who can provide advice over the telephone (if you don't live nearby to each other), but they will only offer help after the rabbit has been checked by a vet to ensure it's not an underlying medical condition.

I remember reading somewhere that a previously placid bunny became aggressive, but this stopped when he was wormed. Maybe worth a try (as it can't hurt), if neutering doesn't sort the problem out.