Bonded Rabbits Tiff

[amyef2000]

Hi all,

So Nutmeg (male, neutered) and Pebbles (female, spayed) have been living together for almost a month. They’re super affectionate with each other and do almost everything together. Pebbles is the dominant one, apart from grooming, as she has seemed to groom Nutmeg a lot more than he grooms her.

Today I caught them circling and by the time I got to them there had been a fair amount of fur pulling. They’ve never done this before, even when they were first being bonded. I separated them fairly easily and they seemed to calm down pretty quickly, and quickly had begun washing themselves/each other as if nothing had happened. Nearly an hour later and they’ve not shown any more aggressive behaviour. Is this a tiff and should I be concerned? Annoyingly I didn’t see what if anything started the behaviour. I stayed with them for 45 minutes afterwards to supervise and Nutmeg made a strange noise a couple of times, seemingly unconnected to what he or Pebbles was doing each time, a kind of loud exhale, not really a grunt. What does this mean? In all of 10 years owning rabbits I’ve only ever heard tooth purrs before!

As a side note, Nutmeg has been particularly energetic today – lots of binkies (including about half an hour after their tiff) – not sure if that bears any relevance!

[DanaNM]

Hmmm, they sound to be a relatively new bond? Sometimes newer bonds can be upset by seemingly minor changes in the home. Maybe a new smell, pet, person, sound, etc.

Have you checked them over for any broken skin? Broken skin indicates a more serious fight that might have damaged the bond.

If there is no broken skin, I would keep an eye on them 24/7 for several days to make sure they are back to normal.

. . . 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.  

[amyef2000]

A 24 hour update:

I should have mentioned I did check them for injuries straight after but couldn’t see anything amiss. We have been keeping a close eye on them and so far absolutely no signs of aggression – they’ve appeared back to their normal affectionate selves and Nutmeg hasn’t made the strange noise again.

I’ve been wracking my brain as to what could have caused it – the only abnormal thing yesterday was that the rabbits were separated for half an hour earlier in the day because Nutmeg is scared of my mum and she couldn’t get him to come out of their overnight enclosure so just put Pebbles in their exercise pen. When I was free to get him into the pen I did but it was about half an hour they were separated for – could that have made a difference? I wish rabbits could talk!

[DanaNM]

That could have been it? Or if they aren’t used to your mum, maybe her smell set them off? Newer bonds can be more sensitive to small changes.

It’s good they have been back to normal so far. I would keep monitoring for another couple days and if they are still affectionate with no scuffling they are prob back to normal.

. . . 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.  

[amyef2000]

A many more than 24 hour update:

No more scuffling or fur pulling still 🙂 earlier however Nutmeg mounted Pebbles a couple of times (we think triggered by the excitement of my dad, who doesn’t see them often, coming to pet them) but she didn’t seem to care and they’ve been snuggling and affectionate since. We’re now thinking maybe the scuffle with fur pulling was indicative of a dominance shift which Pebbles has now accepted. As Nutmeg has always been the one getting all the grooms, maybe this isn’t surprising – hopefully their bond will properly settle now this seems to have been resolved! Thank you Dana for your reassurance!

[DanaNM]

That sounds very positive! Some bonded pairs do mount, and as long as it doesn’t lead to any aggression or stress in the mounted rabbit it ok!

 

. . . 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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