re-acclimating femail enemies after fixing

[BeefGir]

so i have 2 females. and they hated each other. i could not have them out at the same time because they would fight and rip chunks out of each other. LITERAL CHUNKS OF SKIN AND FUR! so i got them fixed. i was tired of the constant peeing and pooping infront of the others cage. i have plastic tarps in front of the cages just to protect my carpet! point is, it was affecting my life, and becoming a burden. so i got them both fixed.

i know it takes a month for the hormones to compleatly leave there systems. so far its been 10 days. every now and then i try and let both of them out to see if they will try and kill each other. so far its been the same result.

the problem before was one bun wanted to be the dominant one, and the other was sick of being humped and bit, and eventualy just started fighting back. because the humping was a constant thing. every time they where both out, the one bun would make a b-line for the humping. and the other was just super sick of it. it got so bad that they would just fight imediatly.

since the fixing, i have seen less drive to do the humping, but tentions are still super high, and very close to fighting. i just broke up another fight where i got bit as collateral.

SO: what do i do? what are the steps i should start taking to try and get them to be friends? how do i defuse this situation and actually get to enjoy my bunnies without fighting, and blood on my part, and pee everywhere.

please help.

[vanessa]

I woudl give them a 4 week break. They need to get over their hormones, and they also need a break from the fighting, and time to fix their hurt feelings. After that, you have 2 options. Try bonding from square one, meaning give them at least a month to get to know eachother through a fence, as in live close enough to see but not touch. Not closer than 6 inches. Even thought they have knowledge of eachother, I woudl give them more time to get reaquainted with distance between their cages – now that they have been fixed. THEN start bunny dates. Introduce them in a box, laundry basket, or other really small area that doesn’t give them enough space to move around and fight. And make sure that for the first few weeks of bonding, you don’t allow them to fight. OR – you could keep them as two single bunnies. I have 2 separate pairs of bunnies. They live in the spare room with a divider fence. They are aquainted enough to have 1 divider fence, and they don’t hurt eachother through the fenc.e They each get attention from me, and although it is difficult to care for 2 sets of bunnies instead of 1 set, I am super glad I don’t have to deal with fighting. But I think it is too soon to let yoru bunnies spend time together.

[Azerane]

Yes, they need a long break from each other. Not only to continue to recover from surgery, but to forget about all the fighting and bad feelings. You’re going to have a tough time bonding with their past relationship but it’s possible and can be done. Though you need to remember that there is no guarantee that they will bond.

Vanessa has given some great advice, put their cages near each other so they can be used to being in each others presence without actually being able to interact. You can also introduce their scent in more ways by switching items from the different cages. Swap toys and blankets etc.

When you do reintroduce them it MUST be done in a neutral area. A room in your house where neither rabbit has been before, so neither rabbit has a claim to that area. You need to start off with very short sessions, one minute tops, and just put them next to each other laying down and pet them. That way they enjoy being petted while in the company of the other rabbit and it’s a positive experience. You may need to roll up a towel to put between them rather than having them directly side by side, but whatever you need to do to have them there so you can just pet them for a minute, and then end the session. Always end on a positive. You need to take it very slowly with these two, and will likely need to do several of these sessions a day for a few days before considering moving on.

To prevent injury to yourself, you can wear thick gloves and use a dustpan to slide between them if they start bickering.

Here’s a couple of resources: http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/bond.shtml

BONDING Bunnies

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