Fighting or playing?

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 1sd reply, 2 voices, and was last updated 3 years, 10 months ago by DanaNM.

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- 03/21/2022 at 8:12 AM
  Kai
  Participant
  1 posts
  I have two bunnies the same age both females, had them both for a year now.
  
  This morning just like every morning I let them out of this play pen to let them free roam the house for the day. For the past 2 hours it’s been the one bunny chasing the other, not constant chasing though. The one would start chasing the other around the room and the other would jump up onto my bed and hide behind me making the other stop the chase until the one getting chased returns back to the floor. It continued like that for a while.
  
  But it’s now gotten to a point where if there one chasing makes any sudden noises on the floor the other would jump up from its laying position on my bed as if she’s ready run.
  
  as well as as soon as the one chasing walks by or just stands by the other one the other one immediately runs away.
  
  and just now after the recent chase as soon as the one getting chased got onto my bed she thumped a couple of times
  
  They have fought before and the one chasing had bitten the other one pretty badly, but that was last year November and was quickly resolved.
  
  I’m extremely confused if this is just them playing or if it’s fighting cause my one bunny seems almost as if she’s scared of the other one now.
- 03/21/2022 at 10:17 AM
  DanaNM
  Moderator
  9064 posts
  Are they spayed? Are they chasing with ears back and tail up? Or ears forward?
  
  It sounds like they could be fighting. If you’ve had them together since they were babies and they are not spayed, that means they were not properly bonded and their hormones have caused their bond to break. If that is the case, you’ll need to separate them, get them spayed, and then go through the bonding process with them (you can read about it here: https://binkybunny.com/infocategory/bonding/)
  
  If they are spayed, it could still be some fighting. The fact that they have fought badly before makes me think their bond isn’t the most stable. This time of year can trigger some hormonal fluctuations and craziness, even in spayed/neutered bunnies. Could you move them to a neutral area for a bit together and see if they calm down? They could need some bonding sessions to re-solidify things before it escalates to a full on fight.
  
  . . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.
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