Before rabbits hit puberty, they don’t really have much of an opinion and they’re personalities haven’t “developed” fully. So most of the time kits (baby buns) don’t fight. But when hormones become a thing, their territorial instincts kick in and they will fight to the death.

Separating them is the best thing to do, and should have been done before the spay. But this is a common thing that happens with new owners who buy pairs.

After spaying/neutering, hormones remain in the body for about a month after (sometimes longer). So separating after the surgery is also best, as you probably found out with their scuffle.

After you come back from your trip, begin the pre-bonding process. Every two or so days, switch them around. Put Meadow in Rains cage, and put Rain in Meadows cage. Then after another couple days, switch back. Keep doing this for about a month.

This technique gets both bunnies used to each others scents, so they become less territorial and less likely to fight each other because they feel less threatened.

After a month of cage swapping, begin introductions. Put both in a neutral space, set out maybe some hay or veggies or treats, and let them sit for about 5-10 minutes at first. If you see any signs of aggression, aka thumping, circling, grunting/growling, and full blown fighting, separate and do another week of cage swapping.

If there is no aggression, go ahead and do the 5 minute sessions for a week and slowly increase (i recommend 5 minutes at a time) the following week.

Having their cages side by side is a great idea as well, so great job on putting them next to each other!

Best of luck and keep us updated!

Seconding everything Onyxmoon has said Well said!

You really shouldn’t let them in their existing territory while they’re bonding, and you definitely shouldn’t move them into an existing cage. It sounds like you’re really rushing the process. It should be as follows:

– pre bond for a month
– introduce on neutral territory for 5 minutes
– slowly increase their time spent in neutral territory over the course of a few weeks, until they can spend 8 hours plus together
– monitor them for an entire night in neutral territory
– move them into semi neutral territory, and monitor again until they can spend a night together
– move them into their permanent home, which should be completely neutral (if it’s an existing hutch it should be thoroughly cleaned with vinegar, and rearranged if possible), and monitor them for 48 hours. do not leave them alone for a minute. After 48 hours of only positive behaviour you can call them bonded.

As for having no teeth and not being able to defend herself, rabbits should never be allowed to bite or fight during bonding anyway, so it shouldn’t affect bonding.

My worry is now that they’ve been allowed to fight many times, and have sustained injuries, meaning they may well not trust each other and will be very tricky to bond.

I agree with S&L, very good points.

No need to throw out the hutch you already have, neutralizing the territory with Vinegar and Water is good. I personally, (you of course don’t have to) would also make everything in the hutch new or at least clean them really good, just to make it more neutral. But first they need to be bonded. 

Bonding is a process which takes a lot of patience, time, and effort. It can be stressful for us, and especially them, but it will be so worth it in the end when you have two bonded bunnies.  Trust me, there’s nothing cuter than watching a pair of bunnies take turns grooming each other.

Neutral territory can really be anywhere neither of them have been before, or any surface they haven’t been on before. Some people use a coffee table, I’ve read that some people have even done introductions outside in a pen (weather permitting) because they didn’t have anywhere inside that’s neutral enough. Some people recommend smaller spaces and then expanding, others suggest just starting with a large space. (i think starting smaller is the better approach though)

I would recommend going back to pre-bonding for another couple weeks or even another month though, especially if they are still fighting. One thing that could help is getting them each a stuffed toy or item (i used a fluffy sock from the dollar store when i was trying to bond a trio), putting it in their cage/hutch/area with them and after a few days switch them. So Meadow has Rain’s and Rain has Meadow’s. Just make sure that they don’t have any glass/plastic pieces or eyes and aren’t made of anything toxic or anything like that. 

As for exercise; You could get them a pen each, and put the pens next to each other with a couple inches in between. That way they can both have exercise and still be near each other. I would neutralize the territory in the basement as well if you decide to put them each in pens for exercise, though. It could be a good way for them to see and smell each other, and still both get exercise. 

Neutral space doesn’t need to be a brand new hutch. In fact, it’s better if it’s not an enclosed space like a hutch, so you can easily dive in and grab one if needed. Lots of people use the bathtub or bathroom floor as the neutral space. I used my kitchen table top. If you have a garden then a pen outside can work well. You can ‘neutralise’ a space, by using pen walls with a clean blanket on the floor and draped over the sides so they can’t see where they are. Or you can buy a cheap pop up pen online. The idea of ‘neutral’ is that neither has been in the space before, so neither feels possessive over it, meaning there’s one less thing for them to fight over. It also puts them both on the backfoot a bit, as they’re discovering it together.

I’m not saying you can’t move them back to the original hutch eventually, but while they’re in the bonding process, they should not be moved into non-neutral space. You can move them back to the original hutch once they’re bonded, but it needs to be thoroughly cleaned. Perhaps you could leave it outside to air as well after, so it picks up some different scents! New litter trays are a good idea too.

I would go back and do some more prebonding though, especially since Meadow has to have an op in a week. So do at least another two weeks of swapping to give her time to recover.