Bonding, typical siblings or enemies?

[Kaylabri]

I don’t know if you can answer this question/problem but here it is: I ended up with 2 male Flemish giants bunnies (7 months) they are from the same liter. They share liter boxes eat drink and cuddle each other. There’s obviously a dominate rabbit. They both recently got neutered. My dominate bunny keeps biting my other bunny end will even go for his privates. My other bunny will run away from him but then as soon as he gets away he will go to the dominate one and they will lay next to each other. At first I thought it was ok but it’s an ongoing thing and his bites are looking more and more agfressive but if I separate them by a small little wire fence they lay next to each other the whole time they are normally free roam but are in a super large play pen part of the day.

[Wick & Fable]

To answer the question from this topic’s name…. yes. This is typical siblings, which can also mean they can be enemies. Rabbits do not acknowledge family units like we do– they will mate and fight with their siblings, parents, and children all the same. The reason rabbits get along with each other when they are younger is much more due to the lack of hormones; not because they are siblings. Now that both of your rabbits have gone through puberty and their ‘baby bond’ has dissolved, it’s time to start some formal bonding steps to provide a safe way for them to establish their life-long bond dynamic.

Firstly, I would wait at least 2 weeks to a month after both rabbits’ neuters before starting. This is because there is a bit of a hormonal “craze” that can happen directly after a neuter which takes time to dissipate. In some cases, it seems to last longer, but typically that’s apparent behavior wise (i.e. their hormonal-driven behavior remains amplified and frequent). It will dissipate eventually.

Secondly, if there is any risk of one rabbit injuring the other, they should be separated when you cannot supervise. Regardless if they were able to free-roam happily and safely before, you need to assess what is currently happening now, and it that is open to one rabbit potentially injuring the other, it cannot happen. The “being fine” when separated by a wall, but then aggressive when sharing a space is not unusual in unbonded rabbits.

There is a good outline of bonding steps to take and what signs to look for to go further in the RABBIT INFO section of this website. Be mindful of territorialness for your rabbits, as they both probably view the free-roam space as theirs, so being there together with not pen wall separating them is likely to cause territorial aggression in one and/or the other. Do you have neutral space you can work with? Typically people use their bathrooms!

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.

[LBJ10]

How recently did they get neutered?

Nipping is normal. Even bonded bunnies will nip at each other sometimes. Biting and fur pulling are another story. I agree with Wick. You may need to take a step or two backward and follow some bonding steps to help reestablish the bond.

[Kaylabri]

This is so helpful! It has been driving me crazy, thank you so so much! I will look into that forum.

there was fur pulling but that was before the neutering now it’s just face attacks (not as intense as it sounds just lack of wording). I will take a few steps back and wait a few weeks, that makes complete sense

[Kaylabri]

Just within the past 3 weeks the aggressive one was neutered and the submissive one within the last 3 days but my “vet” told me to keep them together.. but I do feel like I should separate and restart the bonding process in a few weeks

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