Could smaller cage make bun more aggressive

[kloppie8]

Flynn is currently in a xpen cage, set up to be 4x4, sometimes slightly bigger depending on how I put it in the morning. At night when he is most active I give him 4x10,basically just separate the room(he is set up in the kids playroom). He also gets some free run, but we are a multiple animal household, so he requires 100% attention when out. He also gets free run outside a couple times a week.

I have been really wanting to build him a smaller but bigger cage, something that takes up less floor space but is taller. I am worries that since he has been in this cage since we got him that giving him less space would cause him to be more territorial over his cage. At this point he has grunted and charged one time in the year we have had him. I had given him something to hide under and after that I took it away.

He is so super friendly and the girls (5,2) love him, he comes to the cage and sticks his nose through to be petted. He also jumps on his box and puts his paws onto of the cage so they can pet him over the top. However with his setup he has a sleep house, dig box, and several feet of space he can not be touched, so he knows he can go there if he doesn't want to be bothered and no one is allowed to bother him in those spaces.

I am afraid by making him more enclosed he will feel like he can not escape and chose to bite instead. We have no bites and I would like to keep it that way. The kids are very use to him being friendly , but they can not get him if not on his terms, whereas in a smaller cage he might not feel this way.

Is this a valid concern? I don't know much about rabbit behavior, I just know I would like our happy times with Flynn to continue and I do not want to be the cause of bad memories.

Thanks in advance for any advice

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Hard to say. Usually a bunny that is not aggressive will stay that way. When we moved here from California, Nikki our avatar spent about six months digging out her bedding in her litter box but has returned to what passes for normal with her.

 

[majorv]

We've had limited experience with cage aggressive rabbits, but we did have a Brit doe who was actually a little better when we put her in a smaller cage. Not saying that's always the case. One thing we learned - if you have to reach into a cage to get a cage aggressive rabbit it's better to not put you hand in front of them but reach down from over them. They won't attack if you come in from above.