Please help why are my bunnies acting aggressive all of the sudden????? One of them bit me today!!!

[EmilyClick28]

Probably about 8 or so months ago, i bought 2 mini lop sister does to keep as pets and breeding (so spaying is NOT an option!) and they were the sweetest things when i got them, very outgoing and affectionate. I kept them in the same cage because they got along so well, (dont worry it was a VERY large cage, it used to be a chicken coop) they would snuggle and groom eachother. then about a month ago I decided to breed one of them. Her being a first-time mother, she ended up losing the whole litter. around that time i noticed some behavioral changes in that doe that i bred. she began panicking whenever i went to pick her up, but i didnt really do anything about it... but just recently ive had to move them both to a different cage, unfortunately a much smaller one. them being in a more confined space, theyre starting to fight with eachother! now luckily it never gets really bad and they haven't hurt eachother, but it seems worst when i open the cage to change their food or something, they freak out and start fighting again. and just today, i was reaching in to pet them but they started making grunting noises. then, out of no where, one of them bit me! ive never had one of them bite me out of aggression. im wondering what happened and what im doing wrong, and how i can fix this! would it be a good idea to separate them and put them in different cages? would that help their aggression at all? also, how to i address them grunting and not wanting to be held or pet? should i just do it anyway or give them some space, and how do i fix this problem? any advice would be greatly apprecciated!!! thank you!

 

[Latestarter]

@Bunnylady @Samantha drawz ?? Many more, can't think of at the moment...

 

[TAH]

Our friends doe rabbit is doing the same thing except they haven't bred her. So I thought that it was because they haven't bred her.

 

[sadieml]

@LukeMeister , umm, who else???

Hey, @Latestarter, it's contagious...

 

[samssimonsays]

First, it's hormones. They are going to fight and its going to only get worse until damage is done. I am surprised they made it as long as they did. Does can be nasty when hormones are raging. Separate them asap and their stress levels will decrease. That being said, you have a lot of work to do to get them friendly again most likely.

If they come at you (I will take my hand and press their chin to the floor of the cage not hard just enough to control them by punching in the back of the neck/shoulder area) this shows that you are in control. Never end a handling session with them winning. Always end on a good note or it shows them they can act that way and get what they want. Then comes an even harder time of breaking the habit.

 

[samssimonsays]

I have taken in many of "ruined" rabbits and fixed them solely by holding them till they quit kicking and not tolerating any sort of aggression. I've seen some pretty bad cases, yours are not nearly as severe. I have all the confidence in you that you'll be able to turn them around.

 

[Bunnylady]

It seems to me that you have already answered some of your own questions.

Unfortunately, a certain amount of aggressiveness is just normal adult rabbit behavior. Rabbits are normally rather territorial, and they have a "pecking order," but as long as they have enough room to get away from each other, things don't get too bad. Some rabbits don't go there - I have some adult females that have shared cage space peacefully for years - but if these two have gotten to the point of fighting, you need to separate them. This usually isn't something that just works itself out; rabbit fights can get really nasty, even with does.

Most rabbits dislike being picked up and held, but they can learn to tolerate it. Since yours apparently were good with it until recently, I suspect this is the stress they are inflicting on each other spilling over to their interactions with you. Separating them may help somewhat with this, too.

Just a note - grunting and not wanting to be messed with is common with does that are pregnant; even otherwise very friendly does can become "touch-me-nots" when they are expecting. If one of these does has been mounting the other, she could be experiencing a false pregnancy, which could account for the sudden crabbiness. If this is the case, when her hormone levels return to normal, you may find that her temperament does as well.

 

[TAH]

What if it is just one doe by herself? She gets handled everyday.

 

[Latestarter]

Ummmm dinner?

 

[TAH]

She only weighs 2 1/2 pounds so not much meat. And plus she is a pet.