Well, they broke out in fighting after they had been bonded for a month. Both got some minor bites. Frank was spayed last year and Winston I got already neutered (and was then vet checked to be double sure). I tried doing some bathtub sessions but Winston was still really aggressive, so I decided to hold off for awhile. Basically the site of Frank alone made him lunge, even between bars. In the initial fight Frank was relaxed until she was attacked, and then got right in there and defended herself. Winston’s going to turn seven months old in March. Once school is over and the weather gets nicer I’m going to start doing some car bonding sessions. I’m going to have a laid back summer so this will be my focus.

Currently they switch living spaces once a day for several hours (litter boxes included). Recently I’ve noticed them really start to be more relaxed together (through bars). They do the head down to be groomed thing. They nap most of the day laying parallel against each other, fur touching and all. I’m hoping they will work a few things out before I put them together again.

I think i will try the banana trick! Thanks!

Well, when I initially introduced them through bars when I first got Winston, Frank tried to box him and seemed pretty worked up. When they got their first structured face to face encounter, Frank chased Winston around quite a bit, and Winston just wanted to disappear. After a few days I realized that Frank was not going to hurt Winston, I let them work it out for about 45 minutes. They both got tired and ended up napping together. Winston was still a little uneasy, but after a week I was able to leave them out together without supervision 24/7.

They were literally inseparable during this period. Winston had to go on a vet visit and I made the mistake of not taking Frank along…my boyfriend said Franklin thumped for literally 15 minutes straight the second I went out the door with Winston. I don’t know if I ever saw them groom each other but they did everything together, playing with the same toy, napping, eating, etc…

About 1.5 months later I noticed them running in a circle together, nose to tail. I thought it was a new game, especially since Frank would do a binky every few seconds. Now I’m realizing this was probably a warning side on Winston’s part.

A few days later I woke to them fighting. I’ve never once seen either one hump. They really looked like they wanted to kill each other. Winston slammed Frank into the wall, then had her on her back and was biting her. It was like a ball of fury. I obviously separated them, and Winston circled and honked for several minutes.

I think it was a hormonal issue since this was right around Winston turned 4 months old. I asked my vet about it she thinks that is probably the case. I think he wants to be the dominant one now. The only time Frank ever seems aggressive is in defense.

I’ll definitely keep you updated! I;m going to try and do a photo journal as well. Fingers crossed! Thanks for the support!

Winston is actually already neutered (has been for 3 months), and Franklin is spayed (has been for almost a year)! So Winston hopefully will clear those hormones out of his system in the next weeks and months. I’ve been doing as much research as I can, and both the house rabbit society and my vet said that hormones can take awhile to disappear even in a fixed bunny :

“When one rabbit or both are teenagers (known for competitiveness and volatility), you may want to take a 3-6 month break before trying again. ” from the hrs.