This sounds like he is just very dominant. If it's that, and not aggression, he is probably just nipping rather than biting hard, drawing blood and/or holding on. It would go along with his grabbing your sleeve. (Great question,
@SLRS!) If that's what's going on, then you can probably train him not to bite using the method
@RabbitsOfTheCreek mentioned. As
@ladysown notes, though, his tendency to be nippy may eventually impact his behavior with does, so keep that in mind.
Rabbits are a species that develop a dominance hierarchy and maintain it by using certain ritual behaviors. The submissive rabbit responds to/acknowledges a dominant one by putting its chin on the ground and/or pushing its head
under the dominant one's. (Most people have seen this submission behavior when they pet their rabbits, as most rabbits understand that they must submit to people.) A dominant rabbit will put its head over the top of a submissive one, and frequently lick or nip its head or ears. The submissive one submits to this nipping; it might twitch, but it rarely runs away. The nips don't draw blood unless the one getting nipped runs or responds aggressively itself, in which case you get the chasing, fur-pulling and biting that happens among rabbits that are new to each other and need to establish the hierarchy.
This is why we suggest to new rabbit owners that they approach their pets from above, and stroke the head and ears. To the rabbit, it's a demonstration of dominance. We counsel people
not to approach a rabbit by putting their fingers under its nose like they would a dog, as to a rabbit that is a submissive signal and basically an invitation to nip, as well as confusing to a rabbit that would like to submit.
When I have a rabbit that wants to be boss (and it seems to happen more often to rabbits that are really used to people and handled a lot since they were quite young), I make opportunities to show him he's
not boss. Watch him come up to the front of the cage and make sure you pin him, by putting your hand over his head and shoulders, before picking him up. Then grab a handful of scruff along with the ears to restrain him, and slip your other hand under his hindquarters to lift him and pull him out of the cage. You're not lifting him by the scruff or ears, it's more for stabilization and control of the biting parts.
If I expect a nip, I usually roll the rabbit over on his back so he can't reach my arm or side (ouch) and carry him cradled in the crook of my elbow to a table. Roll him onto the table and watch. He'll probably start investigating; dominant rabbits are more curious and less fearful. Reach toward him and do the dominance display by pushing his head to the table, similar to what you'd do if you were posing a compact type rabbit. In a submissive rabbit that would look like this (as you can see, the rabbit is not fighting it):
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In a dominant rabbit, you will probably have to move your hand rearward to cover the ears and shoulders, as he will most likely be pushing up with his forelegs and trying to buck you off. He will probably fight you for quite a while. Keep restraining him gently but firmly till he stops, then let go. Give it a minute, then repeat a few more times. It will most likely take a few rounds of this, and he may or may not give in the first day. The key is to not stop until he has submitted each time you pin him. I'd suggest going through this training one or twice a day until he lets you subdue him without fighting it at all. It may take several days or more... some rabbits are more determined than others!
Any time a youngster nips I use this method,
immediately. Except for really confident, dominant rabbits, it usually only takes one or trials to stop the behavior.
It's true that most rabbits don't prefer being picked up, although there are exceptions. However, behavioral responses to this preference can range from complete submission to fearful aggression. Selective breeding for temperament isn't about blaming the rabbit, rather it's about perpetuating the tendency to exhibit behaviors that the breeder finds acceptable, and eliminating those that are problematic. Every breeder has to decide what those are for his own herd. We had six children and innumerable neighborhood kids that wanted to interact with the rabbits, and provide 4Hers and FFA kids with breeding and show stock, so fearful, lunging, biting or nippy rabbits weren't going to cut it. After a few generations of culling, we rarely have bunnies any more that are fearful or aggressive.
As for mouthiness, I watch that closely. While the Mini Rex were lickers that never went beyond licking, in most cases I don't allow the rabbits to put their mouths on us at all, since that is often part of a dominance display. In the bigger rabbits, licking almost always progressed to nipping. As far as I'm concerned, a better way for a rabbit to get close to you is to come up and shove its head under your hand:
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