Bonded bunny stealing food!

[Ellie F.]

I have a pair of bonded rabbits – Julius, younger but bigger, and Willow, older but a tiny dwarf – and I’ve noticed for some time that Julius is a bit bossy when it comes to feeding time and doesn’t really like to share. Since he’s so much bigger than Willow, he’s pretty effective at blocking her from the bowl, too. I solved this problem by getting a second food bowl, but then Julius started chasing Willow away from the bowls when I get their food out and stealing her treat when I give them both treats. (He has a bigger mouth and can eat his treat much faster than she can.)

I didn’t think this was a huge problem, except that lately, Willow hasn’t even been trying to get to the food bowls at feeding time! I know she’s still eating because she’s really eager for treats when I get those out, but she doesn’t put up a fight at all at feeding time and I can’t be certain she gets any pellets when Julius is done eating because I leave for work pretty soon after feeding them.

Is there any way I can train Julius to share, or does anyone have any ideas for making sure Willow gets some pellets? 

[tobyluv]

It sounds like you might need to completely separate Julius and Willow when you feed them, so that she can get her fair share. Could you change the time when you feed pellets, so that you will be home for a while before leaving for work? That would give Willow time to eat some pellets, then you could put them back together. What about greens? Does Julius eat most of those or does Willow get a good amount too? As far as treats go, it sounds like you may just be laying them down in front of them, then Julius scarfs up both of them. If you are talking about small Oxbow treats or something similar, why don’t you put Willow’s directly up to her mouth, so that Julius can’t get to it before she does? I assume that they have hay available to eat at all times. Hopefully, Willow gets enough of that.

[Beetiza]

I had the exact same problem and solved it by separating them, as tobyluv suggested. After a few weeks they were able to eat together again with no problems. Don’t worry, Willow won’t starve if there’s plenty of hay and you’re doing your best to see that she gets a portion.

[Ellie F.]

When giving them treats, I hand them both their treats directly to their mouth. Willow will even take hers and run to the opposite side of the playpen from Julius to eat it. Problem is, Julius has a huge mouth and can gobble his treat up, whereas Willow is tiny and can really only nibble, so she only gets to finish about a third of her treat before Julius wants the rest. As for greens, Willow usually gets a couple of them, but she never really liked to eat her greens even before I adopted Julius, so the fact that she’s eating any at all now is good enough for me.

The past couple of mornings, Willow’s been doing better at fighting for her share of the food, so I think they’re doing better… I just wish there was a way to get Julius to be nicer to her in general.

[Stickerbunny]

They might work it out. When I first bonded my two, Stickers gobbled food and Powder was more the “pellets would still be in the bowl next morning” kind of eater. He ate what he wanted, left the rest for the next day. So, Stickers ended up eating his share with her share. And if he got a carrot or something, she’d take it out of his mouth. He learned to stand up for himself though after a bit, now he gobbles right along side her and insists he gets his share of the pellets. And if she takes his carrot out of his mouth, he chases her and takes it right back.

Only problem is, he’s become a bit too enthusiastic about gobbling food as he gets it. The other day he bit my finger as I was trying to hand them pellets! haha

[Love4Bunny]

When I first bonded my pair, I also had a similar problem. I scatter feed in an upturned stove cover, which works for my rabbits. Even the sound of pellets still makes Thor chase Crysta away outside the pen, so I have to feed inside the pen, and then I don’t have issues. I would separate them during feeding times, as suggested. At the moment, I am feeding greens separately due to Crysta having some issues with gut movement (as well as CC). Thor will eat all the greens so fast, I couldn’t take any chances. Crysta can leave it or take it with greens, but it’s very important she gets back to normal (and like your dwarf, she is the smaller one). Crysta has also learnt to fight for her place as she has matured (not physically, but just standing up for herself, similar to Stickerbunny’s rabbits), so it may simply be an issue of time, even though your girl is older. Perhaps it is also a confidence thing…

With treats, I would break them up into smaller pieces for Willow, in particular, and continue to feed them at the same time. This way, Willow can eat her treat with one mouthful, preventing Julius from finishing it off. I do this with the papaya treats, and I will often break one piece up into multiple pieces so I don’t overfeed treats.

[Gina.Jenny]

I have similar issues with Pippi and Jenny, who both think with their tums. I scatter pellets over as much ground as possible, I also shred their daily greens and scatter them too.

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