Barney has gone wild and I'm really struggling with him :(

He's aggressive, constantly nipping (hard), constantly weeing on anything soft including the bed and settee. He throws his toys around while buzzing and grunting, and rips up his blankets. When I put my hands near him he boxes me! I'm spending a lot of my time cleaning bedding and furniture and the carpets/floors and I'm getting really frustrated now

I don't know if it's since Ivy arrived? Because he was his usual self at first, but now she's fully settled in he's gone really badly behaved. It's strange because they play together and cuddle up and groom each other, the fighting and humping has now stopped completely and Ivy is a nice sweet bunny who is no trouble. None of Barney's aggression is directed at Ivy.

He's been vet checked recently and there were no problems found (except for his snuffles which is ongoing and is treated whenever it flares up; it's not too bad at the moment.) My vets are very rabbit-savvy, and they have said he's in good overall health so I'm stuck as to where to go from here.

I can't bear to cage him or even pen off an area for him to stop him making a mess, he gets so stressed and upset when certain areas are shut off to him, all he does is sit and bite the bars and huddle up miserable I know some rabbits live very happily in a large pen/enclosure but Barney doesn't cope well with being enclosed at all. I've tried shutting him in one room but he's still trashing the whole room!

(I just want to state - I love him so much and I would never re-home an animal for 'bad' behaviour, he's my baby and he has a forever home here. I don't want it to come across that I'm sick of him, it's just his behaviour has me tearing my hair out at the moment )

Hiya. Sorry to hear Barney is causing you so much frustration. Is he neutered? I'm no bunny expert but I am sure that would be the first thing anyone on here would ask? If not, probably best to get him booked in to be done. Presumably Ivy is spayed if they are bonded as a pair? I don't have any other suggestions I'm afraid but I didn't want to read and run. Hope he calms down or someone else has some better advice soon.

Is he neutered?

Yes he's definitely neutered, he's nearly two and he was neutered at 5 months. Ivy is spayed too.

:? Is he protecting his Ivy from you maybe

How long have you had Ivy? It could be part of settling in but it sounds quite extreme. It sounds like hormonal behaviour but odd if he's neutered.

Have you discussed it specifically with the vet or was it a general checkup? Might be worth chatting with them if not.

I think you might need to address each behaviour separately to some extent, so what bothers you most/would most help to resolve?

Hmm. Confusing.

I am in a sort of similar predicament as Alfrid shows hormonal behaviour, which is incredibly frustrating, despite being neutered. Although it is definitely not as bad as Barney - I can totally understand why you're so frustrated.

Anything changed in the house recently? New people, new animals, new smells?

I don't know how true this is. But I was told by my sister when she adopted a male rabbit a year after she owned a female rabbit. The old girl went wild, although not that extreme because she felt JEALOUS. She thought her beloved owner not love her as much as before. My sister played with her more often and equally with the new comer. By the way, my sister has a pair of sweet bunnies and they always groom each other.

Mrsmcarey said:

:? Is he protecting his Ivy from you maybe

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They're both quite independent bunnies, they like to do their own thing as well as cuddle up together. I don't think he's bothered what Ivy's doing most of the time, he's quite a selfish boy :roll:

Tamsin said:

How long have you had Ivy? It could be part of settling in but it sounds quite extreme. It sounds like hormonal behaviour but odd if he's neutered.

Have you discussed it specifically with the vet or was it a general checkup? Might be worth chatting with them if not.

I think you might need to address each behaviour separately to some extent, so what bothers you most/would most help to resolve?

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We got Ivy early Jan, just after Barney's partner Priscilla died. They humped and nipped each other for a while but now there's no problems between them at all.

I did discuss it with the vet, she said they could give an injection of something to calm a rabbit down (can't remember the drug) but she didn't really want to go straight to that as she thought it might just be stress from all the change and upheaval in his life, having one partner die and a new one arrive. So I'm supposed to monitor him for any health problems and try and keep things calm and routine for him.

It's mainly the biting blankets/fabric and peeing on fabric that's the worst problem, because all my sheets, cushions and his blankets and bed are full of little holes and are constantly having to be washed. I've tried penning off the bed, settee etc. before but he's such a good jumper he just flies over the top :roll: At the moment I'm putting plastic sheets on everything, which both bunnies like to try and rip through, but it's working for the most part. It's just not very nice to have plastic tarpaulin draped all over your stuff!

JemimaH said:

Hmm. Confusing.

I am in a sort of similar predicament as Alfrid shows hormonal behaviour, which is incredibly frustrating, despite being neutered. Although it is definitely not as bad as Barney - I can totally understand why you're so frustrated.

Anything changed in the house recently? New people, new animals, new smells?

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No major changes apart from Ivy's arrival at the beginning of Jan. The only other animals are the two outdoor bunnies but he never comes into contact with them (and I wash my hands between bunnies.)

It's frustrating for me but I do worry about Barney's mood too, I want him to be happy and content, and not angry all the time

hyic said:

I don't know how true this is. But I was told by my sister when she adopted a male rabbit a year after she owned a female rabbit. The old girl went wild, although not that extreme because she felt JEALOUS. She thought her beloved owner not love her as much as before. My sister played with her more often and equally with the new comer. By the way, my sister has a pair of sweet bunnies and they always groom each other.

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I actually was wondering if he is jealous :? Everyone does make a fuss of Ivy because she's so little and cute and new, maybe it's upset him. I don't know if I'm anthropomorphising too much there though.

The other thing is that Ivy can jump up on the furniture, whereas Priscilla could never reach. Priscilla didn't like to explore either and mainly kept to her own little area. I wonder if he's annoyed that Ivy's going in 'his' places and feels the need to wee and rip the coverings to show everyone who's the boss!

Marking could be part of feeling unsettled, fabric is always a bit of a hot spot for some rabbits, part of it could even be where you are having to wash it more, he's trying to counter the clean smell by leaving his scent, then you've got bunny no. 2 as well and you are all having an epic battle over how the cushions should smell

I would try plonking a spare litter tray right in the middle of the problem area - your bed and another on the sofa. That way he can 'mark' the areas with his scent but he's not making a mess. If you can get him back in the habit of wee-ing only in a tray, you can then gradually move the tray to a more appropriate spot.

Chewing/digging at the fabric probably isn't destructive to him, it's more rearranging his environment - if you imagine it as piles of soil/leaves/twigs etc. it would be perfectly acceptable to shove them around a bit with your teeth and paws to get it just right. I'd try a digging box and/or a cardboard box that he can work on - something that lets him get up high too so maybe even a couple of boxes. A lot of rabbits like a lookout point - beds and sofas are good, but then they try and rearrange to make them comfy and you get destruction. Sometimes the comfiness is actually the issue too - you might have seen them clear away litter/hay and lay on the flat/hard floor/cage base. Now imagine they jump on a comfy cushion - when they try to clear away the 'stuff' to get to the bare floor they shred it. Having something more solid may help. Try putting a flat piece of wooden board on your bed (cardboard is probably to soft something a bit thicker) a tea try or chopping board might work too and see if that suits them better.

It can be tough working out what the motivation is so you might need to try a few things to find what suits their purpose and works for you Let me know how those ideas work and I might be able to suggest more adjustments

I think it does sound like a "reasserting territory"thing.With all the changes hes recently had and a new smell ie Ivy.

Tamsin said:

you are all having an epic battle over how the cushions should smell

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That makes the phrase 'domestic animal' take on a whole new meaning XD Given me a good giggle this morning!

It does sound like it's probably Ivy and her newness as a base cause: she's in different places, doing different things. I can't offer advice and I'm honestly just stabbing in the dark here, but I would think it would calm down with time? Maybe that's more wishful thinking than anything else!

Best of luck!

Thanks for everyone's suggestions/advice - I thought I'd better post an update of how Barney is doing.

He seems to have calmed down a lot, he's mostly stopped nipping me and boxing me :thumb: He wasn't keen on a digging box at all, so I've put down extra blankets for him to dig at and move around and he seems to be happy with this. I'm also making sure he always has a cardboard box available as he seems to get stressed whenever a box gets completely destroyed and I have to throw it away.

He has stopped weeing on the settee but is still doing it on the bed every chance he gets, so the compromise we've reached is that the bedroom door is closed whenever I'm not there to watch him. Normally he goes mad when an area is shut off to him but he seems okay with it so far. At night he can still access the bedroom while I'm asleep; he and Ivy usually curl up at the foot of the bed (aww!)

I guess it must have been after the initial period of Ivy settling in, he was trying to re-assert himself, but whatever it was I'm so glad he appears to be calming down now!

do you know who did the neuter? Sometimes part of a testicle can get left. Have you had him tested for hormones?

parsnipbun said:

do you know who did the neuter? Sometimes part of a testicle can get left. Have you had him tested for hormones?

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The neuter was done at my first vets, but I later swapped to a more rabbit-savvy vet. That would explain a lot! Dany and Peach are at the vets today for their vaccinations so I will ask about Barney and the possibility of this while I'm there.

Awww to them snuggling at the bottom of your bed.