Behavior

[KierstenNK]

My husband and I have three rabbits; a 2-year old neutered male, a three-year old spayed female, and a nine-month old spayed female. Whe got the nine-month old when she was about six weeks old. We already had the other two, who were already bonded. We got the baby spayed when she was about 6 months old. Things were fine, she bonded with both of the others and they all loved to cuddle together both when in their cage at night and when they are out during the day. However, a few weeks ago the baby has started acting differently. She has started to randomly chase the three-year old for no reason. Not all the time, but a few times each week. Whenever my husband or I see this, we stop it. The three-year old will avoid the baby most days, but the baby only wants to be around her when in the cage. They no longer all cuddle together. The older two will sit together outside of the cage or the boy will sit with the baby. Or they will all stay away from each other. Today, the boy and baby were cuddling in their favorite spot. My husband, like he usually does in evenings, laid down on the floor to pet them. The boy absolutely loves attention and usually will follow my husband for pets. When my husband went to pet the boy, the baby started to growl at him and tried to bite his hand. Every time my husband tried to pet the boy, or the boy tried to hop over to my husband, she would start to growl. We are concerned; we have not seen her do this before. We are worried that she has been doing this to the three-year old and that this why she has been keeping her distance from the other two when out of the cage lately. I have no Clue what might be causing this or how this can be fixed. Does anyone here know what I could do to get the baby to stop being aggressive to the three-tear old and how to help them spend time as a group again?

[jerseygirl]

Usually with a behaviour change like this, I would be suspicious a health issue might be the cause. Was there anything unusual about her spay? ie. like only one ovary?

If not health, is there any new changes to your household?

[KierstenNK]

No, there was nothing odd about the spay. We haven’t had any changes in the household. I was chalking this up to her age at first because she has also gotten more destructive.

[jerseygirl]

Mmm.. it really does sound hormonal to me.
Even neutered rabbits can have a bit of a rise in hormones, people might notice that during Spring.

Is she going through a big moult at all? Some rabbits can get really cranky during that time also.

[KierstenNK]

No, she hasn’t been shedding. The three-year old is though. I’m just baffled by her behavior. Yesterday, she lunges at the three-year old and started chasing her. My husband broke it up and put the baby in the cage for two hours as a “timeout” and so the three-year could relax. After he let the baby back out she was as sweet as could be and stuck to the three-year old like glue wanting cuddles and grooming. I just don’t get why the baby will be aggressive to the three-year old and then wants to be loving towards her a few hours later. Also, this behavior is directed to the three-year old. She has never been aggressive towards the boy.

[jerseygirl]

Is she doing this when food arrives? Or do they compete for a favourite hidey-house or litterbox even? Is there a certain time of day you notice when she is acting out, or is there no real pattern.  Is it mainly when you are about, or your husband? Or it makes no difference who is present? Are either of you regularly around other pets when away from your home?

I mentioned a possible hidden health issue in my first reply, but sometimes it can be another rabbits health condition that causes some unusual behaviour in the healthy one. For instance, if one had a urinary issue and had a different smell about them, their bond mate may not react the same toward them. I really think they rely on their sense of smell a lot!

I had a trio of bunnies a few years back and one of the girls became ill with head-tilt. I had to take her out of the trio for some weeks to nurse her. As she got better, I tried to keep letting her have interactions with the other 2, which she was really looking for. She was quite thin and incontinent for a while but she was craving bunny company. The boy acted completely fine with her and lay next to her etc, but the girl (her daughter!) was less so. It took a little while for their bond to come back to what it had been before illness.

[Author]

Messages