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Happy New Year! We started a session yesterday afternoon and they really started to click. They napped cuddled together for hours. Since then, Ruby has been much better, the occasional chase and half hearted nip but she has stopped being so aggressive. There is still the eye situation, I’m really hoping it resolves soon but I don’t think it’s too…[Read more]

Aww, poor guy. That’s cute though.  It’s a little hard to tell where his ears are since he’s a lop but they look forward to me and he’s buzzing most of the time so after hearing this I don’t think it was aggressive.

After this I tried to take the advice and just see what happens but it really hasn’t happened again, he tried once more the day…[Read more]

A tiny piece of the papery skin isn’t going to hurt anything. I’m sure your bunny will be fine. Onions are not good for rabbits, but I think a large amount would need to be consumed in order for it to be harmful.

Dana,

I told my husband “I betcha he was busy smelling the mini’s and Scout was in his blind spot” because she approached from the front. Smudge really is the sweetest so I know he doesn’t mean it. That little baby doesn’t even tug treats out of my hand like the other 3 will do. I don’t expect my mini’s bond to break since it’s so well-forged and…[Read more]

Thanks for your repsonse! I have seen fur pulling but also gromming in between. They are outside so I an not sure if anything else is going on when I am not there but I haven’t seen any signs of it other than fur on the ground. Do you think I should separate them? And if so should I separate the targeted rabbit (Fern) away from the other two? Will…[Read more]

Rabbits go through some major hormonal changes after spaying, so this is probably what’s triggering things. Because you bonded them before they were all spayed, their bond was also probably a bit unstable. Have you noticed an fur pulling? Do you still see snuggling and grooming between them?

If you haven’t seen any serious fighting, I would keep…[Read more]

Thanks for all the info!

What you witnessed is called “referred aggression”, and it happens pretty commonly in bonded pairs when a new rabbit is around. It’s also very common for existing pairs to split up in the process of bonding a trio or quad (I also volunteered at a shelter, and we had to watch out for this in our pairs, since there were new…[Read more]

Smudge is 7 months, neutered since 10/8/21. Scout is 10 months, spayed since 10/8/21. They both came home on 10/13/21 and they had already been housed near each other at the shelter, so we kept them close during their quarantine process for 2 weeks. Then we started face to face dates and within a month of them coming home, they were moved in…[Read more]

Thank you! I wasn’t sure if I should put it in behavior or bonding. I know he isn’t being mean to be mean either. He is by far the sweetest most gentle bunny I’ve ever met, which is why it seems so out of character for him to randomly have a fit. I appreciate you rerouting this and I fully trust that Dana will have great advice. 🙂

If I’m understanding the set-up and pairs/bonding correctly, Smudge’s aggression was most likely due to your husband introducing the scent of the minis into Smudge’s space. Rabbits have great hearing and smell, though their vision is not great, in addition to their judgement relative to how quickly they react to things. Act first, think after…[Read more]

I moved this post to the bonding section, because this really sounds like it is about changes in group dynamics. I dont think Smudge was envious of the minis getting playtime while he was penned – I rather think he saw the minis as invaders of his territory.

Smudge isnt being mean because he likes to be mean.

@DanaNM is our bonding expert and…[Read more]