Aggressive baby!

[Leopold_Ruby]

So I just brought home an english lop thats roughly 3 months. Is so cage aggressive! Its scratches and lunges at me! Will
This behaviour get worse with age? How do I stop this behaviour from progressing? Its a cute bunny but with a small child in the house I dont want an evil fluff ball! None of my other rabbits are this way.

 

[iLuvMyLilBuns]

Rabbits reach sexual maturity somewhere between the age of 3 to 8 months. When the sex hormones start flowing you can expect to see behavioral changes like aggression. This is normal. The best thing to do is spay your rabbit, if you don't, this behavior will more then likely get worse because she will be hormonal and territorial of her cage. Here's a link that might interest you!
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/spay.html

 

[whiskylollipop]

Yup. Sounds hormonal.

 

[Leopold_Ruby]

Its male and I just rescued him yesterday. He seems fine out of the cage, I can stroke him and feed him treats

 

[iLuvMyLilBuns]

If he just has cage aggression here's some advice.

Rabbits can be very possessive of their personal space and, of course, they have a right to be. As prey animals, bunnies need to know they have a safe place to escape to when they feel scared. make it a point to clean their cages only when they've hopped out on their own accord. Never forcibly remove the rabbits from their cages; doing so could weaken their view of their safe places. Don't even reach in the cage when they're inside, even for feedings, at least for a few weeks. You have to give them time to learn that your presence has positive connotations. If they do happen to get a nibble in, yell out a high-pitched "ow!," so they fully understand that this action hurts you. Or wear gardening gloves. Time, patience, space, a calm approach, and understanding can transform a cage aggressive bunny into a easy-going, sweet pet.

 

[Bville]

My female rabbit Pepper is cage aggressive like that to, even though she is spayed. We just try to respect her moods, talk to her calmly and move slowly when we change her water and feed her. I tend to change her litter box when I give her greens for dinner so she is distracted.

 

[Channahs]

Jovi is somewhat cage (space) aggressive as well. Sometimes she'll guard the area and refuse to leave it because she know's we're coming to steal all her poops. When she's like this, I will place one hand gently on her head while I use the other hand to clean. This prevents the lunge. We've been using this down bunny technique since before she was spayed. She was much more aggressive then. It works well for her and us.

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

It's typical and reasonably understandable for does to display some level of territorial behavior around maturity. But I personally have a no-tolerance policy when bucks are this way.

May I ask where you got your rabbit? Was it from a pet store, a breeder, a rescue?

I'd recommend touching base with the source to see if you may be able to "trade in" this rabbit for one with a more favorable temperament. I don't mean to come across as though rabbits are expendable, but in my experience, aggressive bucks don't settle down. They are typically the more laid back, easy going temperament of the two genders, so getting one with an attitude at such a young age is concerning.

If you don't have the option of a more family-friendly bunny, neutering is the second best option. This may help calm some of his behavior.

The reason I am more flexible with does is that they have a stronger instinct to protect their space and their nest. In my experience, this tends to be the most intense until about a year old, and then they start settling down a bit as they age.