Aggression through the bars.

[Bu20055]

I’m putting this here because I think it’s the best spot for it but I’m not actually bonding the buns as of yet. So it’s day 2 with Blaze, and Esther is being very territorial through the bars. I’m working on getting something up so she can’t nip through his pen. He doesn’t seem fazed by her attempted nips, and keeps coming back to try to sniff her. She is grunting, and tries to bite me if I put my hand near her when she’s trying to nip him. He might be grunting a bit too it’s hard to tell. What can I do to lower her aggression towards him? I’m pretty sure this is territorial issues because she never tried to bite him when she was fostered in the same home as him, and was seeking him out just to hang by his pen. Would swapping some of their things between them help? Any advice is welcome. Thanks!

 

Edit- she’s also been flopping a lot by his pen- I think in frustration.

[HipHopBunny]

Ouch! Okay then, our bonds just might finish on the same day! 😆 Don’t worry though, yours will probably still finish a good day or two before mine. I’m not going to push my luck now! 😆

Esther’s being a bad girl I see! Hmmm, and  Blaze isn’t retaliating, and is just completely fine with it? What almost turned me around, was the Stunt double trick. For more information on it, visit the bonding page in the RABBIT INFO. 🙂  I’ll give you a brief summary of it though! You take a stuffed rabbit, and rub it on one bunny (Blaze in this case) then put it in the other rabbits’ pen (Esther) and, yes they will be aggressive at first, but then realize that the “other rabbit” is harmless, and start snuggling with it. 🙂 However, I said it almost turned my around but didn’t, for I did the process wrong. I thought making a stuffed animal would do it, well, it wasn’t really a stuffed animal, it was more of a long bean bag with cotton. 😆 It, uh, unfortunately, didn’t work! 😆

Yes, pen swapping could be good, I just might give Blaze a bit more time to settle in first. 🙂 I’m thinking that you can do the Stunt Double now though, for it won’t affect Blaze any, unless you think it would be good to make one for him too! 😉

Wishing you a calm Esther! 😉

[Bu20055]

@HipHopBunny

Blaze doesn’t seem to be doing much when she nips him, just runs away then comes running back. I’m betting on same day for our bonds lol 😉 .

I definitely won’t do any full on cage swapping yet, but maybe if I gave Blaze’s somewhat dirty box to Esther and gave him her cleaned out box, that could start working on Esther’s end.

I’ll definitely try the stunt double, I’ll go digging around to see if we have any Blaze-sized stuffed animals laying around. I think once Blaze settles in more I’ll give him an Esther stunt double too so he learns that she’s not so mean and scary 😂!

[DanaNM]

It might help to hang up a towel or a blanket for now. Sometimes it can be a bit too much for them to see each other right away. Hanging up a towel can help them get used to scents first, then you can gradually bring down the barrier.

If they are constantly trying to “get at” each other, they might do better with the buffer of 6-8 inches between fences, rather than the smaller mesh single barrier.

 

. . . 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.  

[Bu20055]

@DanaNM okay thank you! Do I put a blanket up on both of the pens 24/7?

[DanaNM]

I think if you just hang one on the border between them that should work? You’ll have to see if they dig at it or chew it. With mine I was able to clip it to the outside of the fence so they weren’t able to chew at it or lift it up easily.

. . . 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.  

[Bu20055]

Okay thanks @DanaNM .

 

I think I’m already losing some hope. I hate seeing Esther like this, so aggressive and angry. She’s such a sweet loving girl and I thought she’d love a friend for that reason, and I didn’t anticipate how aggressive she’d be. I know it’s only day 3 with Blaze, and it’s going to get better,  but it’s just hard. It helps that Blaze is so chill about it, and isn’t aggressive to her at all. Has anyone else had a bun that was super territorial to the new bun but they bonded well? How soon can I start doing item swaps?

[Wick & Fable]

I don’t see why you need to wait to do item swaps. It’s about scent adjustments.

I do not have bonded rabbits, but I have two rabbits that are generally tolerant of each other. The beginning sounds very similar to yours, except my first was the male, and the incoming was the female. My male was very aggressive and my female was very very loving and still insists on being with him, despite his aggression. It took time, but eventually he got less aggressive. Remember aggression can sometimes be more defensive/fearful/anxious than actually “attack-ready”. She might need time to adjust and learn that he isn’t going to try and hurt her and he is not a dangerous presence.

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.

[DanaNM]

Give it a couple weeks before losing hope. Esther was getting used to being queen of the castle, but I’d bet that she will calm down soon. 🙂

Myra was FLIPPING out when I first brought Bonnie home. She will still occasionally try to nip her through the fence, but they will also lay right next to each other and seem fairly content as neighbors now. It did help to block her view at first, so she could get used to smells, then I gradually removed the visual barrier and they were a lot more calm.

. . . 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.  

[Bu20055]

Thanks guys, you really helped me feel a lot better! Sorry I never responded, I was having weird wifi problems.

Something awesome happened today! While I was downstairs preparing their salads for the next couple days, Esther managed to get past the barrier and the blankets, and got to Blaze’s pen (not inside). I’m not sure if there was any nipping before I got there, but no marks on either bun and no fur was pulled. I pet the both of them and they melted, nose to nose! When I was petting them there was no aggression apart from a moment where I stopped petting Blaze, and he either nipped her or licked her, and made her jump and try to nip him. Other than that it was great! I think I pet them for about 5 mins.

I’m really really happy! This gives me a lot of hope for their bond, and I think after a good amount of cage swaps, it will be a lot better! On day 1, Esther was so worked up that, even when I was petting her, if Blaze made a noise in his pen, she would be on the outside immediately trying to get past the barrier to bite him.

[DanaNM]

That sounds very positive! It’s prob good that Esther got into Blaze’s pen, and not vice versa. Typically in the wild ancestors of domestic rabbits, the males will allow females into their territories (for obvious reasons!), but females will be more territorial.

I have heard reports of bunnies that are just crazy trying to get to each other, but then they are fine! I think it was one of the other moderators, jerseygirl, that mentioned one of her pairs bonding themselves (she just found one in the other’s pen one day, after a long time of living as neighbors).

Fingers crossed they are even better in neutral space. 🙂

. . . 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.  

[Bu20055]

Oh no she didn’t actually get IN the pen, just past the barrier blocking her from the outside of the pen. The whole interacting was noses through the pen. When he first got here Esther couldn’t even be able to even reach through his pen or she would go nuts trying to bite him, so the bar for being impressed is pretty low lol.

I’m hoping cage swapping then neutral territory will help Esther be less nippy.

[DanaNM]

Oh I see! Well still a good sign that they calmed down and no noses got bitten. 🙂

. . . 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.  

[Author]

Messages