Think I know answer, but when our male rabbit sort of aggressively scratches me...

our six month (fixed) old male mini-lop (Benjamin Bunny), about twice a week, will come up to me pants leg and aggressively scratch my pants leg with his front paws. No obvious reason, except it feels as if I am "in his way."???
I do not get the feeling that he dislikes me, but as this is the first time we have ever had a pair of rabbits (bro/sis), he seems to "tolerate" me and my wife. His sister bunny is a bit sweeter- she has never reeeeally warmed up to us as our previous (single) bunnies, but she is never particularly assertive or perceived aggressive to us, as he occasionally is. So my basic question is this: Should this occasional scratching of pants legs be considered what we are thinking: aggressive, and why is this? Again, yes, he is neutered (at three months).

UPguy said:

our six month (fixed) old male mini-lop (Benjamin Bunny), about twice a week, will come up to me pants leg and aggressively scratch my pants leg with his front paws. No obvious reason, except it feels as if I am "in his way."???

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My response, would be to pet him on the neck and rub his forehead with the back of my fingers. My guess is that your rabbit is just trying to be friendly. Rabbits usually like to have their neck and shoulders gently massaged. Also, when rabbits groom each other, they will grab of hair tufts of neck/shoulder hair and gently pull on it as if they were trying to pull out lice/fleas. Massage your bunny's neck and shoulders and
pull the hair on bunny's neck and shoulders very gently to simulate a rabbit companion doing a tick/flea check.

One of my Flemmish babies is so friendly. After massaging her and doing the gentle hair pulling bit, she begins licking my hands. I think she really likes her neck and shoulder being massaged.

It's hard to say when you don't see the behavior, but rabbits like to scratch at soft things. Both of my rabbits have always scratched (as if they were digging a burrow) in their pillow and on my clothes when they are on my lap - it can be when they are tired of being held but I get the feeling they just like to do it (and digging is a natural behavior). He doesn't do it at all to your wife? Are you doing something in particular when he scratches at you? Is his sister spayed, because the proximity of an intact female can trigger 'hormonal' reactions with a neutered male (when I had my first rabbits, my male tried to mount my female and got his butt kicked about once or twice a week even though he was neutered - as soon as she was spayed, it stopped and he never tried it again)?

I wouldn't say it is aggression. He's trying to get your attention, and since rabbits can't really vocalize to let us know they want something, they have to find another way to do it. Sometimes they will head bump us, but your rabbit has decided scratching at your leg works. Now you have to figure out what it is he wants. He may want you to move out of his way, he might be saying he wants more food or treats, that he wants you to pet him, or if he likes to be picked up and snuggled that may be what he wants.