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I decided to go with birch plywood instead. The website says that it contains 100% natural wood bonded with a food-grade soy based adhesive that is formaldehyde free and does not emit toxic air contaminents. I think this sounds safe to use.

Ah, very stressful! I just had a bun jump a fence, and thank goodness I was home or it could have been very bad. Now I’ve made the fences much taller!

It’s hard to tell from the picture about stitches, I think having the vet check it out on Monday would be OK.

This probably goes without saying, but please be 100% sure your rabbits cannot…[Read more]

Wick covered all the bases, just wanted to give my two cents on stressing. I have had success using it as a tool, especially with tough bonds, but it should never be the main method. I also find the tiny space with stress methods very inhumane (and many HRS chapters are in agreement on this).

After pre-bonding and all of that, I like the first…[Read more]

That could help for sure! I wouldn’t do treats (since we are trying to encourage hay) but you could scatter his some pellets in the pile of hay to make him forage for them. Some bunnies just don’t seem to realize hay is food, but then once they do they eat it like crazy. 🙂

How long have you had them, and are you very sure on their ages? Usually buns are separated from their mom’s at 8 weeks, so I would be surprised if they were really that young.

In any case, since you have some scuffling and are not 100% sure on their birthdays, definitely separate the male, and keep a close eye on the females. Females can get…[Read more]

Agree, it depends on the type of chasing. Are Nova’s ears forward or back? Back is an aggressive chase. Forward is playing or often a mounting attempted, which is not negative as long as they cuddle and groom after and it’s not bothering the chased bun.

Stress bonding is somewhat controversial because you are inducing stress. I think it is highly dependent on the pair you’re working with, your timeline, and what resources you have (ex. time to dedicate, space, physical things you have). To my understanding, stress bonding “works” because the rabbits lean to each other for comfort, but there are…[Read more]

Thanks Wick! That’s really helpful.

They’ve never humped anything and the spraying stopped shortly after they were neutered. I didn’t realise chinning was just standard behaviour; I think most things I’ve read put chinning in with humping and spraying!

I allowed Sephi to chase Cloud today to let it “play out”. I just made sure I was there to st…[Read more]

Flopping after being chased can be interpreted as a “Well, I don’t actually care… look how relaxed I am.” It commonly happened with my Fable after she got in Wick-initiated scuffles and chasing. Now that is just an inferred interpretation — in reality, who knows what it means, but at the minimum, we know that rabbits who are significantly…[Read more]

It is normal for young rabbits to begin not getting along when they reach puberty. Young rabbits, because they aren’t acting on hormones, tend to get along very well with any other young rabbit, regardless if they’re siblings or not. What you are seeing is likely them working out, as young-adult rabbits, who is the “dominant” one in the…[Read more]

Oh that’s really good points, thanks!

Thank you!

It’s hard to tell in the pictures if she needs stitches. It doesn’t look serious enough though that it can’t wait until Monday. I would still have a vet look at it when you can though, you don’t want it to get infected.

Hmm… to me, when they say “whatever”, they mean “if you want to waste your money on that…”. If you have your own money (I assume you have a job), then I can’t see how they could be upset with you spending your money on neutering your rabbit. After all, there are much worse things you could “waste” your money on. 😉

You may check with local…[Read more]

Update and a few more questions: I’m still slowly making progress with bonding Nova and Pekoe, and I’ve noticed chasing has increased. Nova will nip and chase then sometimes pinky afterward. Pekoe is always the one getting chased and a few times I’ve seen him lay down relaxed after being chased or even a flop. What does this mean? He doesn’t seem…[Read more]

Are you positive on their ages? It sounds to me like the boy (lionhead) is starting to get a little taste of hormones. This can happen relatively young, before they hit full-on puberty. I’m talking 10-12 weeks-ish. My guess is he was the one who started the scuffle. I think it’s time to separate him from the girls before something happens. You…[Read more]