Bonded Bunnies suddenly fighting!!

[BugsnHoney]

Hi All,

I’m hoping someone can help me out with this situation. I have a pair of rabbits that have recently been bonded through a rescue. I’ve followed all of the protocols for keeping them in a small neutral space when they were first brought back home then gradually increasing and then moving them into their permanent cage (2 story bunny condo) and then giving them free roam access. All was well for the past month and they were totally in love!!

My problem now is that they have been chasing each other and pulling hair! I finally caught them this morning as they live in my room and made a huge ruckus. I’ve separated them for a day with the bars in between and tried to place them together again in neutral area. I finally found what the problem seems to be. Pumpkin, my boy is constantly trying to get at HunnyBunny’s (girl) genitals to groom and when he doesn’t get his way he will get frustrated and paw her. She is the dominant bum and does not react well to this in any way. I’ve checked her underside and can’t seem to find anything abnormal and even cleaned her glands. I’m scheduling an appointment with a vet to see if they can find anything wrong as well. I’m hoping this will calm his incessant need to groom her there, but I don’t know what to do if I he won’t stop. She’s fed up and I can’t House two separate bunnies in one space! Any advice is welcome, please! I only got Pumpkin as a companion for HunnyBunny and while I have fallen in love with him I can’t risk their safety!

[Nutmeg]

Hey, Are they both spayed / neutered?
I know some people thinks its fine to just do one, but its hard to bond bunnies when they aren’t both done.
Hormones can big a big factor, especially if you live in my area of the world where we are hitting “Spring”.

[BugsnHoney]

Hi Nutmeg, thanks for the response! They are both spayed and neutered, I spayed the female myself and adopted the male from a rescue where he was neutered. They’re currently all cuddled up and grooming each other so i’m Hoping this means the bond isn’t broken. ?? I’m planning on keeping them in their condo for now where I can keep an eye on them and they can’t get too territorial about space. They always seem to do when when they are together in their cage.

[Nutmeg]

I’m new to the bonding thing myself and am currently doing the pre-bonding.
My understanding from reading a TONE of posts on here is that there can be a few factors;
a) they may not have been fully bonded. Sometimes the more submissive one will put up with a lot before finally SNAPPING and turning on the other … or
b) something in their environment could have changed. New smells, even just a new cool toy they both want to claim… or
c) Spring fever… if you have seasonal weather where you are sometimes the new spring weather can get them a little riled up – fixed or not.

As I said, I’m no expert. So I’m hoping my post draws someone else to see your post and put in their two cents!!

[BugsnHoney]

Thanks again for the response Nutmeg! 8’m hoping it is just spring fever or something of the like. For now they are back to restricted space in their condo with a few hours of exercise outside. I’m moving soon so maybe a completely new environment might cement the bond as my female won’t have any “cliam” over space.

[Daisy]

Chasing and pulling hair points to deciding the picking order. Some couples will do this every now and then, it is nothing to worry about and you can leave them together. During spring they may do this more frequently than normal. Only seperate them if they start injuring each other (grabbing hold of each other with kicking and boxing).

[BugsnHoney]

Hey Daisy, glad to hear it’s pretty normal. My girl did have a scab on her, but I couldn’t tell if it was from a bite or scratch or from getting her fur ripped out. It’s healed up though I don’t really know if I should put anything on it?

[Author]

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