Asking for advice

[purplesky]

I got my bunny 6 months ago. I think he is around 8 months old now, because he wasn't so little when we got him. From the start he was very sweet and wasn't being so shy, he got used to us very fast and liked when we would pet him. He had a lot of energy and was running around and jumping.

Then around a month ago he started circling me and honking. I thought it was just because he was happy and excited to see me and that was his way of showing me.

A week ago we brought him to the vet to clip his nails. And after that he kind of started acting a bit different. He was circling me and kind of nibbling me. I thought that he was being more energized and brushed it off. But yesterday he was circling me like crazy and was kind of climbing me and kind of biting my legs (not hard though). Also when I was sitting on a chair, he came to me and was circling my legs and wanted me to give him attention.

So now I'm kind of worried, because I heard that it means that he is in heat and when they are in heat they can also get agressive. Also today he sprayed his urine to mark his territory for the first time since we got him. So now I don't know if should get him neutered or wait if he will calm down. I'm kind of worried that he will start biting me and I don't really know what I should do now, so would kindly ask if anyone has any advice. Thank you

 

[JBun]

It sounds like he's fully matured and has all his hormones now. That's all typical hormonal male rabbit behavior. Rabbits don't come into heat. Unneutered male rabbits are pretty much non stop hormonal, with a few rare exceptions.

It doesn't always escalate into more serious hormonal aggression like biting, but it is a possibility. The biting is usually just the rabbits normal behavior of what would happen if he was mating with a girl rabbit. The male will bite onto the fur of the female rabbits back to hold onto her while mating. Usually the most common male hormonal behavior is circling, honking, spraying urine, and sometimes trying to mount an owners arm or leg, which may or may not involve trying to bite onto something to hold on.

This hormonal behavior pretty much doesn't go away. It may die down a little over time, but usually only when the rabbit is much older. If you aren't willing to put up with the behavior, the best solution is usually getting the rabbit neutered. If you have access to a good and knowledgeable rabbit vet, the risks are lessened for the surgery. But as with any surgery, there will always be some risk.

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Aggressive_rabbits

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Spaying_and_neutering_rabbits

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Choosing_a_rabbit_veterinarian

 

[purplesky]

It sounds like he's fully matured and has all his hormones now. That's all typical hormonal male rabbit behavior. Rabbits don't come into heat. Unneutered male rabbits are pretty much non stop hormonal, with a few rare exceptions.

It doesn't always escalate into more serious hormonal aggression like biting, but it is a possibility. The biting is usually just the rabbits normal behavior of what would happen if he was mating with a girl rabbit. The male will bite onto the fur of the female rabbits back to hold onto her while mating. Usually the most common male hormonal behavior is circling, honking, spraying urine, and sometimes trying to mount an owners arm or leg, which may or may not involve trying to bite onto something to hold on.

This hormonal behavior pretty much doesn't go away. It may die down a little over time, but usually only when the rabbit is much older. If you aren't willing to put up with the behavior, the best solution is usually getting the rabbit neutered. If you have access to a good and knowledgeable rabbit vet, the risks are lessened for the surgery. But as with any surgery, there will always be some risk.

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Aggressive_rabbits

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Spaying_and_neutering_rabbits

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Choosing_a_rabbit_veterinarian

Thank you so much for your reply!

 

[Nancy McClelland]

All of ours got neutered if they did not come that way--all rescues from various locales/shelters. Early on we found out that the best way to a well behaved companion was to rid them of that hormonal drive, especially when some became overly aggressive. Bonnie used to circle me and bump my legs and would attack Nancy if she was in the room with me--if I was not present, she would not go into attack mode--only one of us thought it was funny!

 

[Preitler]

What the others said, you've got a perfectly normal, rather affectionate to humans boy there. My intact buck became my house bunny because he behaved perfectly, no hormonal behaviour towards me, no spraying inside, etc. - perfect. He did have contact to my girls through the garden fence, so that's where this parts of his attention went.

He seemed lonely though, didn't socialise with me much (I'm not a very social person anyway), so I got him a girl spayed as his cuddlebun, that's when the honking, following her around for hours, and spraying started. That was a trying time at some points, his hormones did surge and wane several times a year, sometimes it was a little better or worse, but there was quite a lot to mop up, and thank god Dotty is such a patient girl. There never was any aggression from him, he was overexited at times, but that was just annoying.

Then I adopted another buck, my house boy had lost his job and got neutered right away - what a relieve. No more spraying, no pestering his cuddlebun. He got calmer and somewhat less active, but does enjoy being cuddled, has more patience for that now.

Of course, a young buck has a lot of energy, your's might settle down a bit with age, but I can't really tell since none of mine ever directed that kind of attention toward humans, and I guess that can be quite individual.