rabbit that doesnt like other rabbits ?

i was in pets at home yesterday when i fell in love with a little lionhead rabbit. he was in the adoption centre because he had got too old to sell apparently. he is 18 weeks old.
they told me he doesnt like other rabbits , hes a bit grumpy , when put in the pen with them he flew at them .
is this common ? would he likely be like that with people also?
i am asking because i have never owned a rabbit before , have had guinea pigs but would love to have rehomed this one.
i have done some reading about rabbits and i understand that normally they like to live with a friend .
would this one be happier living alone then ? surely that would be a bit lonely ?
can anyone advise ?
i have two children aged 11 and 14 who wanted me to take him on the spot but i have explained that more info and thought is needed first!
thanks
Linz

It is unlikely that he is castrated and this is probably the problem. Males will fight if not castrated. If you get him castrated then pair him with a spayed female he should be fine as long as he has had enough time (about 6 weeks) for his hormones to subside and they are bonded on neutral territory.

:wave: hi linz..youve come to the right place...loadsa folks will be able to help you on here.
for now i can only tell you that beware pet shops who say this ones gotta go hes too old.....
BUT NO rabbits like other rabbits!
Rabbits cannot be put togehter and expected to get on...they can and will fight to the death!
Bunnies have to be slowly introduced and spend supervised time togehter until they graually stop fighting and become buddies.

belive you me i had a little doe who was so feisty she was hell to bond...but once she did..she was still the boss:lol:

if this bun calls out to you then i unerstand....BUt having had my first housebun from a pet store an finding out she had all maner of things wrong.....i have only ever been back to a pet store once to buy the bun my eldelry mum fell in love with. i gave the poor thing an intnsive once over and demanded answers to questions...to which the lady said...we wouldnt sell her if there was somehting wrong with her.
to which i addd oh but you have before.....and told the tale of my first housebun from them...red faced she said ive got to the till its playing up.:lol:

but id always say...if you can..get a bunny who is spayed and neutered from a rescue first...or some will be able to arrange you sorting it out.
bunnies are like cats......under 6 months old....theyre wonderful cute little things...once they hit hormone time...4-6 months..watch out...most folks rehome their buns at this time..because they are like moody teenagers!

buns usually dont have their full personality till theyre a year old...a baby bunny is NOT a guarantee of being easy to train etc.

boys take 4 weeks for their hormones to die down..girls....up tp 6 months!!

i thoroughly recommend geting this book from the library...it helped me a lot.

Living with a Houserabbit.....

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Living-Hous...=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1284323135&sr=1-1

ive not seen this one for myself but carolina james had a small bunny book..my first book...and it was good so id try this too

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Complete-Ho...=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1284323135&sr=1-2

sorry i was presuming houserabbit....

if not then loads of folks on here with outdoor buns can help.

good luck!:wave:

Sounds like the aggression was because they tried to add a new group of boys into the pen which he had deemed as HIS territory. That's prob why he was lunging at them - all his hormones making him like a stroppy teenager!

He'd probably settle down once neutered.

I have 1 bun who has never settled down after being spayed and she has to live alone as she bit out the tongue of her partner (they were fine, then all of a sudden she just turned), and she lunges at the other buns when she's in the run and they are free ranging She also hates me - no idea why as all the others are my babies!

I don't think there's anything wrong in adopting this bunny - he is prob fine health-wise and his temper is probably not helped by having not much exercise space in the adoption section pen. If he's lived in P@H all his life he probably hasn't had much - if any - handling, so will probs be quite nervous when first at home. This might lead to some growling and stomping but I don't think he'd be aggressive just for the Hell of it, more because he is a little scared.

Ask them in the pet shop what he is like with people, and then ask if you can see someone handling him. They will know what he is like and will be very hesitant if he is aggressive.

I agree that it sounds like he is defending his territory. He may get better taken into a new environment and neutered.

This sounds like a hormonal problem that will settle once he is neutered (and at that age he will soon be able to be neutered). Ask them if his testicles are descended yet - if they are then that is deffo the problem! Male rabbits are programmed to fight each other when they become teenage.

Although bonding rabbits (introducing them to a freind) can be tricky sometimes it goes like a dream. The key is to start on neutral territory (eg a room neither has been in before) with close supervision - and always bond after the two rabbits involved have been neutered and got over it (ie about 4-6 weeks afterwards).

In fact if you get the little lionhead (poor lonely thing) you could get a neutered female from one of the many rescues on rabbitrehome and they may even offer to bond for you - or at least give lots of advice and support.

I have a rabbit that was originally kept with his brother in a small cage and his brother constantly fought him and sprayed him before he was given up to a rescue - poor little thing was a shattered wreck by the time he got to rescue - and would turn on any rabbit he saw in case they got to him first - now he is the sweetest thing and so gentle.

if he has touched your heart then you will always wonder what happened to him . . . .

thankyou everyone for the helpful replies . after reading on here it seems that there are lots of bunnies who dont like people either ! they said he was quite friendly with people and i saw them pick him up, didnt seem to be trying to bite or anything but i wouldnt like to take on a pet that may be aggressive to my children.

Quote
BUT NO rabbits like other rabbits!
Rabbits cannot be put togehter and expected to get on...they can and will fight to the death!
Bunnies have to be slowly introduced and spend supervised time togehter until they graually stop fighting and become buddies.

End quote

Actually bunnies vary a lot - some just settle with each other immediately like old friends from the moment they see each other (As long as they are neutered that is!!!) whilst others will never get on even if neutered - although in my experience that is an exception.

Male to female neutered are much the easiest and with the exception of some feisty females (in numerous bondings I have only had 2 problem females) if neutral territory is observed then after approx 48 hours all is usually well in my experience - though a few take a few days.

Rabbits are so rewarding.

On the otherhand if you really just want this little chap then as long as he is a houserabbit with lots of human company around all the time then he should not be too lonely - but outdoors with no company would be awful for him.

Most buns are fine with other buns if they are neutered & are given sufficent time for their hormones to settle (6-8 weeks)

If you get a rescue bun the rescue will be able to pair you up with a suitable bun i.e. one that is snuggly and doesnt mind kids. I have 1 bun who will let my little boy (3) do anything, 1 bun who is a bit wriggly but still lets me son cuddle him etc but at the moment I have a foster bun who I would not let my son near.

Good luck