Excited aggression??

Hi everyone
My year old lop Leo is getting worse as badly chasing Lulu when he's excited! All I have to do is let them out in the morning or when I shut them out in the run to clean them out off he goes. chases her and grunts so madly he's like a thing possessed!! I've tried distracting them with food but he just gets excited again and the whole process kicks off again. I'm getting worried as there's fur pulling, chasing and mounting but all happening so very quickly. But to cap it all after a few minutes of mayhem all's quiet and they are grooming each other and eating happily!! I just don't understand. I'm really reluctant to separate them as it really is chasing but it's just so aggressive, Leo's tail is right up when he's chasing and ears forward so I'm guessing it's not just a friendly game of chase?
They are brother and sister both neutered at a young age so hormones shouldn't be an issue should they?
Other than this they are very happy, eating and pooping plenty.
I've never had bunnies like this before so all new to me. My other buns have all just got on so I count myself very lucky indeed to have had passed buns all living happily together.
Any advice would be very welcome. :wave:

Your exactly right, it's excitement. Some bunnies seem to get so worked up they turn the excitement into aggression particularly chasing.

Changing the routine may help, so do things in a different order/time so the anticipation doesn't build up. You could also let him out for a mad two minutes, then let her out to join him. Be careful not to reward the behaviour with food, but if he's fine up until he's through the door having a pre filled breakfast bowl some distance away may help - you want something that's going to take time so he chills out.

For cleaning, it might be the easy solution is just to split them for that short period, as long as the carrier smells of them then 10 mins apart won't hurt and the new bedding should distract him when they go back together.

I had the same when I had my quad of outdoor bunnies, thankfully it never escalated but it was a bit worrying at first. I agree with Tamsin about changing routine. I used to put apple twigs in the run, wait till they were all munching and then shut them out to clean!

My quad do this at food times. I often see tufts of white fur laying about. They spend hours and hours cuddled up in a big heap of fluffiness as well.

Thank you so much for the replies, I tried using the pet carrier while I cleaned out and it worked a treat! Really helped Leo as he seemed much better. I've changed my routine too which I'm sure is working as Leo is now very confused and turns to Lulu for support, so sweet!! :wave:

Aww, that's good to hear, glad you've sorted them

Well I now have no idea what's going on so any advice would be great. Lulu is now being very very aggressive with Leo but when I'm making a fuss of him or if I put food in front of him and not her, I've a feeling Lu is turning into a 'princess'. She's also becoming much more loving towards me and nearly climbs out of the hut to get a fuss from me which is so lovely but I'm now wondering if I'm contributing to the aggression she has for Leo, could this be possible?? My husband feed them all last night and nothing nasty happened they just ate their dinner as normal but when I tucked them in at bedtime with a fengueek crunchie off she went again, lunging chasing grunting at poor Leo then in the next breath shes licking his face as if nothing has happened. Just to see how it goes hubby is doing all feeds and we're cutting out the bedtime treat for a few days and try to break the circle. I've also noticed recently she's digging out litter trays with massive amounts of energy, much more then usual. she's done this since I've had her so nothing out of the ordinary but it just the obsession she has for this has increased, she really will dig out every little bit and wont stop till it's empty where as before she'd dig a bit then just hop off.

Don't get me wrong as they are both very friendly and really are lovely bunnies (on a normal day) and sunggle down together for a snooze after a groom.

Any advice guys as I'm really scratching my head on this one

Digging the litter trays sounds like a normal activity for rabbits, esp. does. My lot have a dig box (trough with earth in) which they empty out regularly.

Perhaps she is top rabbit and so feels that she must have all the good things first? Thats just a guess though.

Frosty (head of the quad) always chases the others at meal times, esp. his brother. Could it just be chasing or is it something more?

I'm sure it's just chasing at the moment but it's very, very fast and aggressive. I've got a few ideas to try this weekend just to calm things down a bit.

Wish me luck!!

Good luck. Lots of yummy food in piles around the pen worked well for calming my lot down!

It might be she's a smart energetic bunny and you'll need to be careful you don't teach her bad habits as she'll pick things up very quickly. Make sure that you never reward the behaviour e.g. if she gets overexcited about her partner getting a treat don't try to distract her with one of her own because you also rewarded her behaviour.

If food becomes a bit issue then getting rid of pellets and set meal times may be an option. So they only get hay/forage/veggies which are harder to guard and less over exciting.

I'll give the food time changes a try, all was lovely over the last two days but last night off she went again! I'm sure it's the food so I'm going to try the no pellet approach and also I'm going to feed Leo on the shelf and Lu down stairs just to try and change the routine a bit. I'm just hoping it's not the start of a bond breaking down as when they do get on they really are the best of chums. Many thanks to all for your advice and all taken on board, will let you know how I get on :wave: