Most of the time, rabbits will bite their cage bars because they are bored. It's their way of asking for more space, playtime, or attention. By giving your rabbit more mental enrichment and meeting their needs for socialization, you can prevent them from rattling on the bars of their habitat.
Give your rabbit a chew toy or branch right after you startle it. As soon as your rabbit stops chewing the cage or hutch, offer it something new to chew. If your rabbit doesn't seem interested, get it out of the cage and give it a chance to play with you or run around a little.
Some rabbits become territorial due to sexual maturity. However, other rabbits simply become aggressive if you reach into the cage or try to remove the rabbit from his environment. Other signs of cage protective behavior include biting you when you try to clean the cage or remove his food or toys.
Acting Territorial
They may bite if they become worried you (or other bunnies) are about to take something away from them. This could be anything within your rabbit's territory including their cage, food bowl, litter box, water bottle or chew toys. Female rabbits will be very protective of their babies.
To keep your rabbit happy and healthy, let it out of its cage at least once a day, giving it time to roam. Though at least one hour is necessary, aim closer to three or four. As a rule, never keep your rabbit cooped up for 24 hours at a time.
Rabbits like to play and need plenty of exercise to stay healthy and happy. Ideally you want to provide them with up to 4 hours daily of supervised time out of their cage. Rabbits are subject to depression and poor health if they're not provided with daily interaction and mental stimulation.
You should avoid leaving a rabbit alone for more than 24 hours. This is because rabbits can get sick suddenly and require immediate medical attention. Conditions such as GI Stasis are very common, so you should always have someone checking in on your rabbit daily even if you are only away for the weekend.
Sometimes rabbits nip to get attention. If this is the case with your bunny, the solution is to squeal loudly every time he does it. This lets the rabbit know that his nipping hurts you. In the future, you'll find that he'll nip softer or will stop doing it altogether.
If you continue toward your rabbit after they've given you this warning, they may start to attack. Lunging. Rabbits will usually swipe and lunge at you with their front paws before they resort to biting. Most of the time this is intended to just scare you away and the rabbit never actually ends up scratching you.
Nudging, head butting or rubbing against you is rabbit body language for loving attention. 'Give them a stroke or cuddle, or what you know they enjoy', says Rosie. 'Rubbing their faces against you is a way of sharing their scent profile, and showing that you really are friends.
If their enclosure, or the environment to which they are allowed access, is too small or under-stimulating, your rabbit may become bored and resort to aggression out of frustration.
Always give a loud eeeeep whenever they bite you. This is how rabbits communicate to one another that they have been hurt. Follow quickly with a firm "No Bite!" Once the behavior has stopped, be as quick to offer praise and love to reinforce their good behavior.
They constantly want to be pet
They love spending time with you, and they love the attention you're giving them. It also shows that they're not afraid of being picked up every time you interact, since most rabbits do not like being held. Rabbits will lay down next to you if they trust you.
If you have enough space, or a garden, you can play "chase" with your rabbit. This does not mean you chasing the rabbit, although some rabbits do enjoy this and may initiate it themselves by flicking their ears and racing away from you playfully. The general idea is that the rabbit chases you.
Some bunnies are fine with being held, but never assume that your bunny likes being picked up just because they don't struggle in any way. Many rabbits hate being held and will actually freeze with fear. Our advise would be that it is always better to get down to your bunnies level and have a cuddle.
Your rabbit doesn't want to be held
Even though many people think of rabbits as cuddly animals, most rabbits absolutely hate being held. In fact, being carried is a scary situation for rabbits. Their first line of defense is to run as fast as they can and hide.