Why is my female rabbit aggressive and attacking me after being sweet?

Sorry you are having this issue. She is most likely being territorial as she is becoming sexually active. Females can get very territorial and aggressive when they reach this stage. My honest recommendation would be to have her spayed - that will diminish any sexual drive and that may help decrease territorial behavior. I suggest you read these articles. They may help you try to correct this behavior. I still recommend spaying her..... http://rabbit.org/faq-aggression/ http://www.wikihow.com/Socialize-Your-Rabbit Hope this helps. Best wishes!

It sounds as though you are described territorial behavior. Female rabbits that have been spayed usually don't develop this type of behavior once they get to be several years old. She may be becoming defensive or fearful if she has an illness she is trying to hide and therefore protect herself. Some illnesses to consider in this case are dental diseases, urinary tract diseases or sometimes skin issues. If she has not had a recent (3-4 months or less) veterinary examination, I recommend starting with an examination to ensure there are no health issues involved. Beyond that, you could consider placing her in a new cage or hutch, feeding her directly from your hands (if possible to do safely) and giving more social interaction time outside of the cage.

The best way to reduce aggression is to have both of them spayed. Spaying females drastically reduces aggressive behavior, as hormonal aggression is most common in female rabbits. Hormones drive them to compete for territory and to protect their home from invaders. I recommend having them spayed before bringing them together.

Thanks for reaching out about Zoomie. Most likely it is because she is an intact female, and is fighting for territory and dominance. She needs to be spayed to prevent uterine neoplasia anyways, so now would be a good time. If she continues to be aggressive to the dog and cat, something bad is bound to happen, so isolate her for now. Good luck.

Hello. I would definitely consider neutering Bun Bun in case this is testosterone/sexually based aggression. If so, his attitude should improve over the next 4 weeks. This could also be aggression based on resource protection. Some rabbits become a bit aggressive when an owner is changing food or even putting out fresh hay or treats. A rabbit can perceive this as a threat to his "stash". But the easiest thing to do is neuter him, & of course, never reinforce his aggressive behavior ( some people will see this as cute & funny & inadvertently cheer the behavior on ). Good luck & thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

It is hard for us to say without watching your rabbit's behavior but it is possible she could be either feeling territorial (rabbits can be aggressive if they feel a territory is their own) or feeling scared/threatened by the dog. It may take some time for her to adjust to the new dog. Also be sure she has an area where she feels safe/somewhere she can hide such as a sheltered box so that she doesn't feel exposed at all times and can go to this area if she is feeling scared.

Generally spayed/neutered rabbits tend to be less aggressive as the sex hormones are eliminated. Aggression and dominance do also have some behavioral component so the surgery alone does not necessarily mean that EVERY rabbit that gets it done will gentle down. In general though, they become more tame. I hope this helps!