Bonded Rabbits – Quick Fight, acting normal – Advice?

[vdemske]

Good morning everybunny,

I have two lion head rabbits, a male (Jay) and a female (Lola), that have been bonded for about a month. This morning while getting ready for work I noticed Jay chasing Lola, and Lola getting territorial over their hidey house. There was some chasing and Jay managed to bite off some of her fur. We immediately stopped the argument and removed their hidey house and watched them for an hour, frantically researching what to do, etc. Within that hour, Jay coyly went up to Lola and asked for grooms and groomed her instead, and then flopped next to her. Lola still seemed a bit nervous, but flopped within minutes of Jay. After a little while they were cuddling and sitting next to each other like everything was fine.

My boyfriend and I were nervous to leave them the whole day (as we don’t know if this would reoccur), so we put up a barrier in between them – they can still have contact but until they settle down we wanted to keep them from fighting. We will take the barrier later when we get home from work and monitor them.

Was this the right thing to do? They both seemed so sad when we put up the barrier, I just don’t want any unwanted fights and injuries. Has anyone seen this happen before? We think it was more than a tiff as the chasing occurred more than once and it looked like there was intent. This is the first “fight” they have had.

Thoughts and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers.

[DanaNM]

I would check them both over very well and make sure no skin was broken. If not, then I recommend doing some stressing bonding sessions to make sure things stay solid. If in doubt, separating is OK as you did. Better than risk another fight when you weren’t there!

New bonds can be a bit tenuous at times. Since the dispute was over a hidey house, I would remove things like that. Has anything changed in your home that could have set them off? A new pet or house guest?

It’s a good sign that they went back to cuddling. Do you have time to supervise them for a couple days to make sure they are solid?

. . . 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.  

[vdemske]

Hi DanaNM! Thanks for the response!

We did a quick check – no skin was broken. When we got home from work that day, we put them in a carrier and walked them around the house, then put them back in their pen and monitored them for the rest of the night. I slept with them on the couch and they had no issues.

We didn’t change anything, which I find odd. Rabbits are little enigmas. The other day we expanded their living space to the whole living room and they seem much happier. I have a funny feeling that they felt a little cooped up in their pen space and wanted out and it may have caused some angst. We removed the hidey house, as they have other hiding spots around the living room. So far, so good!

It was quite sweet, after their argument on Friday morning, before we separated them, Jay crawled over to Lola and started grooming her. She obviously was pretty mad and thumped and hopped away, but it’s almost as if he was apologizing for his behavior, haha. It was so interesting to see them communicate!

[DanaNM]

Glad they seem to be back on track!

New couples can have little issues pop up, and I had a bonded pair randomly have a chase-fur pull incident after years, and then went straight back to normal.

I would just keep an eye on them and if it seems like they are getting tense around each other do some more bonding sessions until you feel comfortable with them again. Trust your gut! Sounds like you are taking the right steps now.

. . . 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.  

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