Rabbit bite, now facing a dilemma

I was petting a bunny 2 days ago (mini lop buck) he likes his head rubbed(18 months), he then lunged at me and bit my hand aggressively, there was alot of blood the sight did make me feel a bit feint, i cleaned it out, I pushed bunny away as was worried he was going to attack. After I cleaned wound I checked on my bunny he was fine when I say pushed this was to move him away from me not in a hard way or aggressive. My concern now is that he may do that again, and I do not want to be near him other than to provide his food/water/hay at present.

2 main issues i now have

Not sure why he would have suddenly been aggressive - concerned about a repeat could be worse outcome
My trust/affection has taken a step back, I feel apprehensive now - can i get over this?

I don't want to just give in and rehome this rabbit, could not in good will pass on a known biter?, have people here been bitten before when its out of character for bunny, did you get over it, is it just a matter of time, am i just reacting wrong to this? have been around dogs many years previously to bunnies and never had this kind of issue. i just worry now i won't find my affection again, i still want the best for him

Is he otherwise well, eating/drinking/passing faeces normally? If a rabbit is sick they may act out of character. Was you watching him while stroking him, perhaps he had enough and signals were missed or if he was somewhere he couldn't move away he gave a nip? Is he neutered, lives with a friend, enough space? If he's frustrated for any of these reasons he may lash out if unhappy.

I've had females who were biters due to hormones before spaying. And one nippy bun who'd bite if I was in her way, she'd had enough strokes etc, that's just who she was. I wouldn't rush into rehoming due to one bite, it's likely the rabbit didn't mean to hurt you. Maybe have a look at the RWAF website for behaviour sections?

I'm sorry your bunny bit you and your trust in him has now been damaged. Honestly, my bunnies are sweeties and they've both bitten me several times in the past. It might help to think about how bunnies communicate. Thet don't have a voice, they don't bark, or meow, or have hands to gesture or sign with, they're not strong enough to push us away; communicating with their teeth is one of the few ways they have of letting us know what they're feeling. They often show other signs of saying 'no' before resorting to biting, but many people don't pick up on them. Your bunny wasn't doing it because he likes hurting you, or because he's mean. He was just telling you 'No' and that something's wrong. He's just communicating with you. So, now your job is trying to figure out what was wrong, if you can. Bunnies can bite if they want you to stop what you're doing, so maybe he wasn't in the mood to be petted, or he had enough. Or maybe your hands smelled weird and he didn't recognise you as you. Maybe he's frustrated with something, like his living arrangements, or he's in pain because he's having a health problem, like Liz said. If you can figure out what he was trying to tell you, you can take care of it and then it won't have to happen again.

He might never bite you agin. And he's still the same bunny you've loved this whole time. I know being bitten by a bunny can be a shock, especially if there's a lot of blood, but please try to not let it define how you look at him now. I used to care for a very bitey bunny, and we worked on that. I taught him that I would respect his bounderies, so there was no need to bite me preemptively, and he turned into the most physically affectionate bunny I've ever lived with. Please don't give up on your bunny just because of a bite. If you avoid him now because of this, except to make sure he has food, water, and hay, your bond with him will only get hurt further. I understand that you don't want to be bitten again, of course you don't! It hurts and it's scary! I understand. But you need to work with your bunny to figure out how to make things better.

Often there is something that bunny is not happy about. Un-neutered rabbits can be very territorial. If he thought you were invading his space, he may have been warning you off. He may be lonely and would be more settled with another rabbit. Or there could be health issues that you are not aware of yet.

One of mine is currently very unhappy and is grumping / lunging at me in his run, but he's lost 2 partners in the last few months and hasn't been on his own before. I know he will settle again when I find him another partner - but he's got different ideas on who that will be to the ones I had in mind, so we are working on it.

I suggest you just give him more space and let him approach you eg for treats.