Rabbit Suddenly Attacking

[LopsAreGreat]

My 8 year old neutered buck suddenly started attacking our doe who he’s been bonded to since she was 10 weeks old or so. She’s now a year old. We took her out of their playpen for only a minute and once we put her back in with him, he suddenly starts attacking her like he’s never seen her?! He full on lunged and attacked. Fur flew everywhere. It’s VERY unlike him to start up a fight with her. In fact, the only time he ever has started up a fight was when he first met her. So this is kind of a first. He’s a super sweet, docile, friendly buck. Every bunny we’ve bonded him to, he’s been super super good with. He’s been bonded with 6 bunnies in his lifetime, never starts up fights. Until tonight, we noticed he initiated the fight. We were very surprised because it’s not like him at all. Does anyone know why this is happening? He’s separated from her for safety reasons. We recently did move them to our new house. But they’ve been there now for about a week and a half. No issues. Until tonight. I’m hoping it’s not something neurological or anything. He is generally unbalanced if he rears up, doesn’t hop very coordinated, he doesn’t have control of his tail, he scratches his ears frequently, shakes his head, and sometimes his ears smell. But we’ve taken him to the vet for it, they don’t seem concerned.

So again, not sure why he suddenly attacked her tonight. I’m hoping we can try rebonding them and things will go back to normal. Please let me know if you know why he could’ve suddenly attacked or if you’ve experienced this. Thanks!

Here’s a picture of our boy

 

[JBun]

Smelly ears, excessive ear scratching, excessive head shaking, and balance issues, all point to a likely ear infection. If may not be readily apparent by an external exam of the ear canal by the vet, as it's an infection in the middle/inner ear that affects the balance. This can also be a very likely explanation for your rabbit behaving uncharacteristically aggressive, as underlying health conditions can cause unusual changes of behavior, because they're in pain and lashing out.

Medirabbit: ear infection clinical signs and treatment

Has your rabbit ever been prescribed antibiotics and anti inflammatories for a possible ear infection? Were xrays ever taken? If not, I think you may need to find a more experienced rabbit vet for your rabbit if possible.

https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/

 

[LopsAreGreat]

Smelly ears, excessive ear scratching, excessive head shaking, and balance issues, all point to a likely ear infection. If may not be readily apparent by an external exam of the ear canal by the vet, as it's an infection in the middle/inner ear that affects the balance. This can also be a very likely explanation for your rabbit behaving uncharacteristically aggressive, as underlying health conditions can cause unusual changes of behavior, because they're in pain and lashing out.

Medirabbit: ear infection clinical signs and treatment

Has your rabbit ever been prescribed antibiotics and anti inflammatories for a possible ear infection? Were xrays ever taken? If not, I think you may need to find a more experienced rabbit vet for your rabbit if possible.

https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/

Yeah that might definitely be what’s causing his aggression. He hasn’t been prescribed anything or had X-rays done.

 

[LopsAreGreat]

Update: we took him to the vet last Friday. They checked his ears and they said his ears were completely healthy. They let him run around and didn’t see any unbalanced hopping or bad coordination. Maybe it’s just him getting older that he sometimes is uncoordinated. Or maybe we’re paranoid? We bonded him back to the doe (Ruby), they are doing very well together again. Grooming, laying together, eating together, etc. They really enjoy each other’s company and we’re happy they’re together again!

 

[Panda Lacroix]

My 8 year old neutered buck suddenly started attacking our doe who he’s been bonded to since she was 10 weeks old or so. She’s now a year old. We took her out of their playpen for only a minute and once we put her back in with him, he suddenly starts attacking her like he’s never seen her?! He full on lunged and attacked. Fur flew everywhere. It’s VERY unlike him to start up a fight with her. In fact, the only time he ever has started up a fight was when he first met her. So this is kind of a first. He’s a super sweet, docile, friendly buck. Every bunny we’ve bonded him to, he’s been super super good with. He’s been bonded with 6 bunnies in his lifetime, never starts up fights. Until tonight, we noticed he initiated the fight. We were very surprised because it’s not like him at all. Does anyone know why this is happening? He’s separated from her for safety reasons. We recently did move them to our new house. But they’ve been there now for about a week and a half. No issues. Until tonight. I’m hoping it’s not something neurological or anything. He is generally unbalanced if he rears up, doesn’t hop very coordinated, he doesn’t have control of his tail, he scratches his ears frequently, shakes his head, and sometimes his ears smell. But we’ve taken him to the vet for it, they don’t seem concerned.

So again, not sure why he suddenly attacked her tonight. I’m hoping we can try rebonding them and things will go back to normal. Please let me know if you know why he could’ve suddenly attacked or if you’ve experienced this. Thanks!

Here’s a picture of our boy ❤
View attachment 57742

It could be because she's coming sexual mature, rabbits can mate at just four months , however I do not breed mine untill they are a year old there's definitely a huge rise in testosterone in bucks between 6-10 months.. it's possible.. are they fixed or is she? Sometimes rabbits that are bonded will fight.. I've had it happen.. I've had one rabbit for all out brawls with pens full of four and five rabbits that were all bonded perfectly fine for years one rabbit jumps in and starts fighting and then they are all fighting with each other.. rabbits are definitely strange when it comes to their fights back and forth maybe you could try and put them in a cage that was close together so they can smell each other and swap cages back and forth so they are still in with each others smell.. some neutered bucks will still try and breed, I have a few that will still physically breed with females even though they are fixed and it won't amount to anything.

 

[LopsAreGreat]

It could be because she's coming sexual mature, rabbits can mate at just four months , however I do not breed mine untill they are a year old there's definitely a huge rise in testosterone in bucks between 6-10 months.. it's possible.. are they fixed or is she? Sometimes rabbits that are bonded will fight.. I've had it happen.. I've had one rabbit for all out brawls with pens full of four and five rabbits that were all bonded perfectly fine for years one rabbit jumps in and starts fighting and then they are all fighting with each other.. rabbits are definitely strange when it comes to their fights back and forth maybe you could try and put them in a cage that was close together so they can smell each other and swap cages back and forth so they are still in with each others smell.. some neutered bucks will still try and breed, I have a few that will still physically breed with females even though they are fixed and it won't amount to anything.

Our buck is neutered and 8 years old, the doe is 1 year old, she’s not spayed but we were thinking she was probably at a peak fertility at that time. But they are bonded back together again! Thanks for the help! He does try to breed her though sometimes lol! She lifts her tail too for it at times. But rabbits are definitely odd with the way they fight. Crazy bunnies, but I love them, even though they can drive me crazy sometimes.