How To Stop Your Rabbit Attacking You
This question comes from Robbie: My rabbit is attacking me and if I pick up something to protect me he gets more aggressive. Maybe he has rabies I'm not sure but his mouth isn't foaming I forgot to mention when he attacks his eyes turn RED it's so scary. Anything you suggest I should do??? My gardener caught him today and put him in his cage so we leaving him there before he bites one of us. He's so cute and I love him so much I don't want to give him away or put him down...... Please any suggestions??? Maybe is he lonely?? Rabies?? He is a dwarf rabbit. Please please suggest soon. Please suggest what i should do????
First of all, do not get another rabbit. I repeat, do NOT get another rabbit. The problem your rabbit has is to do with territory and him protecting it. If he's willing to attack you, a human, what do you think he is going to do to another rabbit? It is possible for rabbits to beat one another up badly enough for one to die. In the wild, rabbits fight over territory like most animals, but in the wild, one rabbit is able to flee. In a cage situation, the rabbit is stuck, unable to escape. It's very common for people to buy their rabbits 'friends' and it quite often ends badly.
Having said that, I think we can move onto what you should do, which is neuter your rabbit immediately. Though you don't say whether he is neutered or not, his behavior sounds typical of an intact male. It is important to understand that rabbits are incredibly territorial animals, even once your rabbit is fixed, he will probably be somewhat territorial, though it should decrease the ferocity of his 'attacks' quite considerably.
In the meantime, I would suggest that you keep your rabbit in a large hutch that allows him to have a run of his own space that is his. The garden is therefore yours. Now will he necessarily acknowledge this? No. He is a rabbit, and he believes that he owns all he surveys.
He does not have rabies and you should not have him put down, though if you cannot handle him being this aggressive and territorial, perhaps someone with more experience with rabbits would be willing to give him a home. The problem with keeping rabbits, especially the dwarf kinds, is that they don't always have the best temperaments. For every snuggly success story, there is at least one rabbit caged away like Hannibal Lecter somewhere. In this case, I would recommend that you build a large, secure run, get him neutered at the vets and see how things go.
This article, Why Does My Bunny Bite Me will also help you understand what is going on with your rabbit.
