Rabbit relationships

Question
Hi again, sorry about all the questoins!  My female bunny(who is DEFINATLEY the dominant of the two) always seems to nip my male bunny.  He doesn't usually respond straight away, so she does again harder, until he either runs away or turns around and gently nips back.  I shout 'no' for her to stop and sometimes she does.  I think she does it when she knows I want to pick her up.  However she is always very easy to pick up (unlike him, as I have explained to you in a different question) and is quite calm when I hold her apart from eating at my jacket! They went in seperately to the rescue home, but they were bonded there and living together fine until she was adopted to go to another male who didn't like her and bit a chunk out of her ear so she was taken back to him and they were not to be seperated from then.  Could that have something to do with her 'bullying' of my male bunny? Or is it something else? Is there anything I can do to stop this behaviour?

Answer
Dear Dani,

As I mentioned before, every rabbit has a different personality, and your girl is just an Alpha.  It's actually a good thing that the male is submissive, or you'd have worse problems than him being occasionally nipped:  there would be all-out warfare!  

The best thing you can do to prevent this from stressing him too much is to provide both rabbits with a HUGE space so that he can get away from her (and vice versa) when he doesn't feel like being pursued or bullied.  They will be able to work things out between them much better in a large space than in a small one where they have no choice but to interact.

I have seen fighting rabbits become pals with no more than the provision of a very large space where they can gradually come to terms with each other.  So that's what I'd recommend.  And if you have to enclose them at some times, and the hutch is too small to allow him to get away from her, then add a separate chamber to the hutch where he can by physically--but not completely (sight, smell, touch) away from her so she can't beat him up.

I hope that helps.

Dana