2 Sisters just got into a fight

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 12sd replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 10 years, 11 months ago by ChesnutKC.

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- 04/24/2015 at 1:47 PM
  JC
  Participant
  4 posts
  Hi guys, we have had 2 bunnies that are sisters since they were a couple weeks old. Normally they are inseparable and are always with eachother. We have never owned rabbits before so sometimes we don’t know what is normal and what isn’t.
  
  As I said, usually the rabbits get along really well but we woke up to them fighting in our living room (we have done our best to “bunny proof” our apartment and let them run around our house). The more submissive rabbit had some fur pulled out by the bigger sister. We were really worried that something happened and that they would maybe never be friends again, but we slowly kept our eyes on them and watched them as they interacted with each other after they both were separated for a little bit. They seem to be doing OK now, but my wife insists that the more dominant sister “keeps smelling her sister’s butt”. Im not sure if my wife is just seeing normal behavior, or if now that the more dominant one is becoming more mature sexually, if she really is sniffing her sister’s butt in a sexual way like my wife believes. I know this is kind of ridiculous lol, but:
  
  is it normal for 2 rabbits of the same gender (2 sisters) to occasionally get into a fight or argument?
  
  Whats up with this butt sniffing?
  
  Thanks!!
- 04/24/2015 at 1:59 PM
  Sarita
  Participant
  18851 posts
  Even siblings will fight. Are they spayed?
- 04/24/2015 at 2:39 PM
  JC
  Participant
  4 posts
  They aren’t spayed. And my wife was right- I have been watching the bunnies run around the apartment, and the bunny that looks to be more dominant is constantly trying to mount the more submissive bunny. I am reading conflicting information on the Internet – some say separate them, some say don’t separate them. Some say eventually the dominant one will get it’s point across, some say they’ll never get along again…. Not sure what to believe! It is interesting to note that both of the bunnies “shove their head” into the other one to get groomed, almost as if they both are trying to be dominant.
- 04/24/2015 at 2:49 PM
  TheWhiteRabbit
  Participant
  13 posts
  Are you sure they are both “Sisters”? Could there maybe have been mix up with finding out the Gender of 1 of them? Maybe you have a male and a female..
- 04/24/2015 at 2:52 PM
  JC
  Participant
  4 posts
  Posted By TheWhiteRabbit on 4/24/2015 2:49 PM
  
  Are you sure they are both “Sisters”? Could there maybe have been mix up with finding out the Gender of 1 of them? Maybe you have a male and a female..
  
  I guess that is possible. Im not 100% sure they are both sisters, but the one that is doing the mounting and being aggressive has one of those “dewlap” things which I thought was a sign that the bunny is a girl.
- 04/24/2015 at 4:06 PM
  Sarita
  Participant
  18851 posts
  I definitely recommend you get them to the vet and have them properly sexed.
- 04/24/2015 at 6:01 PM
  Hazel
  Participant
  2587 posts
  You should separate them right away, if you’re lucky they’re both female and you don’t have a pregnant bunny on your hands. Even if they’re both girls, they should be kept apart until they’re fixed to prevent fights. Intact rabbits can’t be properly bonded. Once they’re spayed you can bond them again.
- 04/24/2015 at 7:16 PM
  Roberta
  Participant
  4355 posts
  All bunnies are different. Pipi and Blossom adored each other, sadly Blossom crossed the bridge last year. They were in a bonded group with their parents Pepper and Piglet. My rescue babies from Pandora however couldn’t stand each other once their hormones kicked in and keeping them together was not an option. Pepper is the alpha bun in the family group and though Pipi challenges her occasionally it usually ends in a quick lap around the bunny room and a long grooming session with daddy Piglet.
  Get the spayed and they will probably rebond, there might still be a few rounds to sort out who is in charge and the hormones won’t be interfering with the process.
- 04/25/2015 at 1:31 PM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  This is an all too familiar story! Yes, unfortunately, familial bonds don’t last through puberty in many cases. Siblings of the same sex will fight, siblings of the opposite sex will procreate… :-\
  
  If they already have dewlaps, I’m guessing they are closer to a year old. Have they been seen by a vet for an initial exam yet and have you discussed spaying?
- 04/26/2015 at 1:37 AM
  JC
  Participant
  4 posts
  Thanks for all the input guys. I am 99.9% sure they are both female rabbits, but I will be taking them to get sexed soon.
  
  The submissive rabbit all today has now been trying to mount the more dominant rabbit. They will fight and go in different rooms for a while then come back and lie down next to eachother again. There is a definite power struggle going on, lol.
  
  Getting them spayed will make them fight less, right?
- 04/26/2015 at 1:32 PM
  tobyluv
  Participant
  3312 posts
  It would be best to separate them now, and keep them separate until they have been spayed and have recuperated. Then you can rebond them. Rabbits can severely injure one another when they fight. There might be a little scuffling and mounting when they are rebonding, but hopefully that won’t last long and they won’t fight any more.
- 04/26/2015 at 4:23 PM
  Little Lion Head
  Participant
  1706 posts
  They will most likely continue to fight until after they are spayed and their hormones have died down. Rabbits can be seriously injured when they fight.
  
  Spaying also has health benefits and lowers your girls’ risk of getting reproductive cancers. You’ll be fine to separate them and start bonding sessions a few weeks after they are spayed.
- 04/28/2015 at 7:51 PM
  ChesnutKC
  Participant
  74 posts
  It sounds like they are going through a hormonal stage and seem to be confused about which rabbit is dominant now. My rabbits did the same thing. The older bunny was always more dominant but when the younger one went through her hormonal stage she fought back and is now the dominant one. Neither rabbits were hurt but they chased and mounted each other for a few days till they figured it out. As long as neither of your rabbits are injured in these little qualms I wouldn’t be too worried. Rabbits will mount each other AAALLLL the time no matter if they are same gender or not.
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