bad behaviour/aggressive please help me

[Vegan_Bunny]

Hello, i used to be a very active member on this forum and i apologise for my long absense.

I have a rabbit who is about 1 year and 9 months old, i have had him from about 9 weeks old.

He is neutered but recently has been displaying very aggressive behaviour. especially towards me i dont understand why. He used to be a very lovey and cuddly bunny and now he attacks me whenever i go to stroke him. He is also very destructive and constantly bar bites even though he gets time out of his cage daily and has loads of toys in his cage to amuse him.

I dont understand what is wrong, i give him interaction but he doesnt seem to enjoy it anymore, it breaks my heart as i used to be so close to him and now i end up getting scratched and charged at even if i just open his cage door.

i always said as soon as i get a job i'll get him a wife bun but at this rate i dont think he would want another rabbit about if he is being so territorial. i feel like a bad mum to him i really want to get him a wife but i want advice on why he is behaving like this first so i can sort this out.

i really want some advice. what am i doing wrong?

 

[Vegan_Bunny]

anyone?

 

[prettylupin]

Okay your first port of call for any change of behaviour like this is a trip to the vet for a thorough check over. Pain or other illness can manifest as aggression. So I would do this first and then get back to us.

In the meantime, I would avoid anything which triggers his aggression, it may well be that he has developed a learned behaviour associated with you for whatever reason and that this has become so ingrained that it has become an anticipatory learned response, even if the original stimulus has now disappeared.
Other common triggers for aggression are:
food related, territory related, strong perfumes/scents on clothes/hands etc, being picked up, a bad experience, strange sounds/noises, change to routine, change to environment etc.
Have a think about all of these but first get him to the vet tomorrow I would for a check up just in case there is some pain somewhere.

You may find a female rabbit companion in the future is ideal for him, but you will need to be sure he is healthy first and see if you can eliminate the main causes for this type of behaviour.
Try not to worry, i'm sure it'll all work out in the end, just a bit of detective work needed. :wave:

 

[rachylou]

I agree that a check up is in order.
Please do not think you are a bad Mummy, I am sure that is not the case what so ever, you obiously love him which is why you are concerned.
To me I would say that he is displaying dominace behaviour towards you, Jimby went through a stage of nipping me quite a lot but now we have mutual respect for each other and he has turned the dominance on my Husband :lol:

 

[Vegan_Bunny]

thankyou for your replies


yeh i think perhaps dominance could be a reason. He seems fine in himself, just..i dunno.. frustrated. Anyway i have made an appointments to the vets on wed evening since he's overdue for his vacs so i will get him checked over then just in case and get his teeth checked since i know thats a big reason for behaviour changes. I really dont think it's health related though, i think it is him showing me who's boss :roll:

I have changed a few things to see if his behaviour will improve although i reckon it will get worse lol, we'll see.
I have totally rabbit proofed my room (a rather large feat) so he can be free range while i'm at home. and last night i let him out of his cage to roam around my room without supervision (although i checked him every 15 mins) for a trial run. Fortuntely he hasn't done anything bad apart from pee on my partners pillow :lol: (im pretty sure this was on purpose)
there is nothing that he can hurt himself on, it's only rabbit proofed for my benefit because there's just some things that i dont want destroying :roll:

Do you think this setup is a good idea? i'm pretty sure his bad behaviour is also related to not getting enough "out" time since its gotten cold.

He does tend to attack anyone who walks in the room :roll: but i guess ill just have to tell people to wear thick socks or shoes so noone loses a toe :shock:

I have had a snuggle with him but once again he attacked me as soon as i moved.. i think this is him saying "OI! im not finished with you giving me attention!!!"

Any suggestions or comments are very welcome. sorry for the long essay :shock:

 

[raine]

What size cage is he in?

 

[Vegan_Bunny]

roughly its about 5ft high, with 3 levels measuring 1ft 10 high and 2ft 4 wide. its about 2ft something deeps too. .i did a quick measurement on it. It's big enough for him to lay down in any direction and have plenty of room spare.

 

[Furries]

roughly its about 5ft high, with 3 levels measuring 1ft 10 high and 2ft 4 wide. its about 2ft something deeps too. .i did a quick measurement on it. It's big enough for him to lay down in any direction and have plenty of room spare.

Does that mean each level is only 4 square feet? If so, he won't be able to move around. I can appreciate that you let him out for exercise, but it doesn't sound like his cage is big enough.

 

[Vegan_Bunny]

no its just short of 9ft square on each level. my dad just measured it for me coz i think i did it wrong lol!

 

[prettylupin]

9ft square is only 3x3. Generally the recommendations are 6x2 which would be 12ft square - so a little larger.

You may find that if frustration is playing a part - then increasing living space - as well as extra play time - is crucial to allowing your bun to burn off steam through exercise which is so important to a rabbit both emotionally and physically in so many ways.

 

[Vegan_Bunny]

yeh he now has free roam of my bedroom when im in so he gets hours and hours out to destroy my bedroom and pee on my bed :roll:

I cant make his cage any bigger, its huge already and its been built into the bedroom so i'd have to build a new one if i was going to increase his living space.

He has stopped bar biting now since he's had so much free range time so i'm happy now that he may improve his aggression.

I want to get him a friend like i said earlier but i don't really know how to go about it My mam is ok withb it but my dad may need some convincing. I know he must get lonely i have a job now but only part time so i work 9 til 1 so i have plenty of time for introductions etc.