Aggressive behaviour from one rabbit

[Emsie]

Hi everyone. Sorry if this isn’t the right place for this, I’m very new here!

I got two rabbits around a month ago. When we got them, they were estimated to be around 3 months old. We were told they were a bonded pair and we’ve never had any problems with them. They usually cuddle, play and groom each other. They also seem to comfort each other in stressful situations (like when we brought them home).

However, this morning Barbara started chasing Lyndsey around and trying to bite her. Lyndsey didn’t seem to be retailiating. She just ran away and didn’t want anything to do with it but Barbara just kept chasing her. We separated them and had to put Barbara in their cage while Lyndsey stayed in the kitchen. We had to go to work so it was the only thing we could think of to keep them safe while we were out.

My boyfriend has been home and apparently Lyndsey was missing Barbara because she’s somehow managed to get through the baby gate (something they’ve never done before) to find her. So he tried letting them back out together but Barbara is chasing Lyndsey again.

They both haven’t been spayed yet. The vet said to wait until they are a little older.

Does anyone have any advice on this situation? We don’t want them to have to be separated but we can’t let them keep fighting like this.

Thank you in advance!

[Bunnybuzz]

Hi! How old are they? It seems like it’s their hormones kicking in. Once they reach about 6 months of age (although it always depends on the bun) they should be spayed

[sarahthegemini]

They’re not bonded. Babies can not bond. They need to be separated and then you need to go through the bonding process once they have been spayed and hormones have disipated.

[tobyluv]

Definitely keep them separated now. When rabbits start entering puberty and the hormones come flooding in, they can develop attitudes, become aggressive and can fight and severely injure each other. It doesn’t matter if they were litter mates or grew up together for their first few months. They will have to remain separated until they have been spayed, and about a month has elapsed, then you can start the permanent bonding process. Don’t even let them out together for a few minutes to play or interact at all now, they will have to have separate play and exercise times, and be housed separately.

Also, some people have been told that they had 2 females, then they were presented with a surprise litter. Even vets can sometimes get the gender of a young rabbit wrong, so you have to be very careful when you have 2 rabbits that are at the age where they are entering sexual maturity – as yours are.

[Emsie]

Hi everyone! Sorry it’s been a while but I thought I’d give you all a quick update.

We did separate them at first but they were extremely anxious and distressed without each other. They both made several escape attempts to find each other! So we put them back together under close supervision at first to see what happened, and nothing did happen. They were so excited to see each other again, they started grooming each other and playing together like before and we’ve had no issues since.

We are keeping a close eye on them and will separate if it happens again but for now they seem happy!

Three people have so far confirmed that they are both female. They will be spayed but our vet has recommended we wait a little while longer, because the bigger they are the better the chance of them recovering with no complications from the anaesthetic. Although we are going to ask again, at least about the one who did show that behaviour.

[Bunnybuzz]

That’s wonderful! It makes me so happy to hear that they are okay and are going to get spayed?

[sarahthegemini]

It’s really not very wise seeing as Barbara tried to bite Lyndsey out of nowhere. It just shows how unpredictable a hormonal bun can be.

[Deleted User]

It’s not worth the risk of putting them back together. If you can’t literally watch 24/7 then it is not safe. Your risking the next incident being worse. I can give you this advice because I have been in this situation where you think it’s safe and all sorted when in fact it’s not. I also think rabbits tend to have these disputes when humans aren’t watching so your unlikely to catch the whole story. Your risking serious injury and potentially making them unbondable. I know it sounds extreme but it’s the truth. I know some cases rabbits can get along without spay/neuter but if they are showing signs of disagreement this means your bunnies aren’t that exception

[Author]

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