Aggresive Rabbit - HELP

Hi everyone, im new to this so bare with me but im just looking for some help and advice on my rabbit.

His name is jinx and i think he is about 5 months old. I say think as we adopted him from pets at home about a month ago and thats what they told us. Basically jinx was friendly he didnt like to be pettted much but he liked attention, and then we got him neutered and became really aggressive he started biting me alot and nudging me out the way and biting my ankles when i would hang washing out or something. The vet said it should calm down so heres hoping, but yesterday i purchased another adoption male rabbit who is only a few months old and out of stupidity after a few hours i tried to introduce jinx to him (hes called bertie) but he attacked him and tried to bite him so i put my hand there to stop him from hurting the baby and he attacked me and latched onto my hand and dug in his teeth and was kicking his legs. It really hurt and he had an angry look in his eyes but hes been ok since. This morning we let bertie into the living room where jinx normally is and put jinx int he bedroom, obviously berties scent was over everything and when we swapped back jinx and when he came back he got really angry that his smell wasnt on anything and he charged into my ankle. Sorry its long but can anyone help, suggestions, anything?

Firstly, welcome to RU :wave:. Bonding bunnies can be straightforward and fast or complicated and lengthy. A neutered male/female is usually the easiest bond BUT same sex couples can and do also work just fine. The first thing I would suggest is keeping your 2 boys separated until the youngest has also been neutered. Once he's healed, then you can start the bonding process - if you check the sticky threads out on RU, you'll find lots of 'bonding' tips and threads.

At the moment, your existing bunny is seeing the new one as a threat to his territory and will attempt to see him off, attacking you in the process if youbhappen to be in the way. But you can overcome this.
Bonding MUST be attempted in a completely neutral area, somewhere neither bunny has ever been before.
Lots of people use the floor of the bathroom, or somewhere similar. If you don't have a neutral space, you must completely clean an area with a 50/50 mix of water and white vinegar. Start with a small space and place both bunnies in it BUT DON'T LEAVE THEM UNSUPERVISED at this point. Chasing, nipping, humping and fur pulling is normal bonding behaviour whilst they sort out their pecking order but if the ears go back, tail goes up in the air and they lunge and bite then a fight is about to happen and you should separate.

A large pile of hay or some tasty fresh herbs to eat in the bonding pen is a nice distraction. Essentially, you keep putting them together until they ignore each other or begin to groom each other. It's generally felt that once you put them together, it's best not to separate as it just lengthens the bonding process, but that's not always practical.

Have a good read of the bonding threads (just search for 'bonding') and you'll find a wealth of information. Good luck!

Hi, thanks for that you've helped alot. We was thinking of leaving the younger bunnies neutering for a few months, do they both defiantly need to be neutered in order for them to bond? Jinx's hormones will calm down in a few weeks so he will be ok and it should calm him down a little bit. Berties is really timid so i didnt think neutering him straight away would be a good idea

P.S how do i add pictures to the end of my post?

Hello!

Yes, you should definitely have them both neutered, honestly, it will save a lot of time in the long run. Your un-neutered male, Bertie, can also get aggressive and quite territorial, so once he has been neutered and healed introduce them in neutral territory.
How old is Bertie? Males are usually ready to be neutered at 4 months of age.

As Mackers said, read the stickies in the bonding section for more tips :wave:

I have bonded un-neutered bunnies BUT when they mature and the hormones kick in at about 5 months old, aggression can start, so it's better for all concerned if both are neutered.

There is a sticky thread on adding photos but you need to download your pictures to a photo hosting site such as Photobucket and then copy and paste the 'IMG' code into your post.

Thanks for the help

Jinx keeps circling my feet alot is he doing it out off aggression or for another reason? It freaks me out abit after him attacking me yesterday so i cant decide wether hes doing it becasue hes angry or he wants to play

bethanj0nes said:

Jinx keeps circling my feet alot is he doing it out off aggression or for another reason? It freaks me out abit after him attacking me yesterday so i cant decide wether hes doing it becasue hes angry or he wants to play

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could be hormones circling even though he has now been done, i once had a male done and in 3rd week after op he was worse then even then all of a sudden calmed down, could also be if you have any food in your hands

Oh i see... Im scared to introduce the bunnies incase he attacks him even when hes calmed down

Don't introduce them again until the new bun has been neutered and the older bun has had more time to let his hormones settle. It can take 4-6 weeks before those hormones really settle down and immediately after the neuter there's one last surge of hormones which can cause more feisty behaviour. You have to be careful to not allow the aggression to become fear aggression or learned aggression (i.e. I now know to bite my human to make them go away etc etc).

Bonding unrelated same sex bunnies isn't the easiest either!

It's not nice being in the middle of a rabbit fight they can really do damage when they get angry.

How long have you had your youngest bunny for? I'm wondering if you might be better getting a neutered female as unrelated males can be difficult to bond and now they have shown aggression towards each other they will remember and be more likely to fight next time. If it's a possibility I would go back to the store and ask if they have any single females in the adoption centre and if not then speak to a nearby rescue as they might be able to do the bonding for you as well which might be less stressful for you. It also means they can bond in a completely neutral space.

Ive got myself a challenge then... Thanks

Weve had him about 3 days. I dont want to take him back hes such a little sweetie. I think im going to just leave them apart now until they've both been done and hormones have settled. I have a neutral space where i can bond them when they time comes

good luck...take it really slowly bond in neutral space when they are both neutered....just 10 mins each day...don't let them fight. I always find when they go to sniff each other to stroke both their heads at the same time as they think it's each other doing it so they gain a bit of trust. Another tip is to put a teddy in each hutch and then swap and let them sniff each teddy....then you can let them get used to each others smell without them hurting each other. I have had a male male bond that was terrible and they kept randomly fighting but now I have a male, male, female trio and these two males are absolutely fine so it can be done it just depends if they like each other.

Thankyou for all the help ill let you all know how it goes in a few weeks

Hi and welcome :wave:
I can't give any more advice, as all the above posts seem to cover it all!
Good luck, keeping fingers crossed for you the bond works out x

Hi and Welcome

I'm sorry you are having difficulty with your bunnies - they are complex little critters and bonding is not for the faint hearted. I may be wrong but are these your first bunnies as it does sound like you may be a first timer - that's nothing to worry about we all have had to start as a new owner at some stage but praps for bonding if things do not settle down for your boys it may be worth speaking to a local reputable rescue - many will do bondings for you and will be able to read the bunnies language to see if the pair are a good match.

Most rescues will say its a good idea for a bunny to choose a partner - they can be extremely fussy - lol

Don't underestimate the damage bunnies can do to each other so it is best to make sure you are well prepared and knowledgeable in the bonding technique should you decide to have another go.

Hope this helps

bethanj0nes said:

Thankyou for all the help ill let you all know how it goes in a few weeks

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Yes let us know. Just another thought as you are in Manchester if you need help with bonding then Rabbit Rescue North West offer a bonding service and they are in Mobberley which is not far from manchester airport.

Thanks for the advice guys. Im gonna take each day as it comes and see what happens. Yes im a newbie but i do alot of research on it. Just struggling with the bonding side. But you have gave md alot of advice so i think ill be ok