Bunnies fought this morning – help!

[boogercj]

We’ve only had our Lionhead siblings Ariel and Miranda for 3 days (from a Rabbit Rescue), and up until now they’ve been really happy – playing, grooming, binkying, flopping and generally being really silly. They are both 4 1/2 to 5 months old and havent been spayed yet (we were going to wait until teh 6 month mark since we don’t know when in June they were born)

This morning we woke up to hear them tearing round their pen, until one of them squealed really loudly. We ran in to find them fighting, managed to intervene by shouting “no” and  temporarily separating them. We stroked them both to calm them down, gave them their breakfast and watched them closely for about an hour. All seemed fine and they retired to their dig box and huddled down together.

 Since there was mostly white/grey fur in places I assume it was Ariel (the black one) that was the aggressor (neither of them appear to be cut or injured in any way) and she seems quite subdued now, as if she knows she’s been a naughty little rabbit. We’ve both had to go to work but we’re going to pop home at lunchtime to check on them as we’re really worried they might hurt each other.

So, my questions are:

Should we separate them asap?

I believe we need to get them spayed asap, would I be right in my assumption?

Is there any such thing as a “one off fight” with rabbits? Will they have broken what seems to be a strong bond?

Thanks,

Chris.

 

 

[Rolan]

Sounds like their hormones have kicked in. I would seperate them until they’re spayed, and then try bonding them again. The more they fight now, the harder it’s going to be for them to re-bond later.

Bonded rabbits can have some arguments occasionally, but since they’re reaching/have reached puberty now I wouldn’t take the risk to see if it was just a one time thing. And if you’re that worried they might hurt each other, it’s best to seperate them anyway.

[MimzMum]

Hi Chris, welcome to BinkyBunny.com!
I am sure those more experienced will chime in on this, but unless a forum leader is online right now, I think I can answer a few questions.

Most likely the two bunnies are fighting because they are becoming sexually mature. Even experienced bunny folks can have trouble placing gender on a rabbit, so I think until you have a more definite word that they are both female, I would keep them apart until they have been spayed/neutered and the proper amount of healing/hormone depletion time has passed. Besides the fighting, (any injuries should be checked by a vet), you probably wouldn’t want to have a litter on the way and bunnies are ready to reproduce from at least this age forward if not sooner.

Once the bunnies are altered, you can begin a rebonding process to bring them back together to their cuddly selves again. All is not lost!
I would go ahead and make an appointment with a rabbit savvy (exotics) vet that you trust and see about setting up their surgeries. The vet will be able to tell you if they are ready or not. In the meantime, they probably shouldn’t be left alone together.

I hope this helps. And I know if I left anything out our more knowledgeable members will patch up my post.
Please check our Bonding, Diet & Care and House Rabbit Q&A threads for more information on these subjects. Plus there’s a green bar (Bunny Info) at the top of the forum that has most often asked questions and topics to peruse.
Once again, welcome and as we admonish all new members, be prepared to produce pictures of your little furbabies! We all love to ogle and ooh and ahh over them!

[boogercj]

Wow, thank you both for the speedy and detailed replies (I’m actually in the UK so I didnt think that many people actually be awake to read this!)

Sounds like great advice, so I think we’ll separate them at lunchtime (luckily we’ve doubled up on food bowls, litter boxes and we have 2 pens and lots of toys!). The lady at the rescue centre did say to check once a week to confirm if they are actually females. Actually I did notice Miranda following Ariel around sniffing her behind last night, which I guess is linked to all this.

Thanks for the warm welcome as well; I’ve posted a particularly cute pic of them in the “lounge/new members” section

[Rolan]

Ah, a fellow European =)

Good luck with them. I just wanted to add: If you place their pens right next to each other, make sure there’s enough space between them so they can’t bite each other through the bars. And if one gets frustrated (digging/pulling at the bars) for not being able to get to the other, hang a sheet or something between them. Thye can still smell each other that way, but it should help.

[boogercj]

Cheers for the advice.

Well, I went back at lunchtime and sure enough within 5 minutes of waking up (luckily it looked like they’d been chilling for most of the morning) I witnessed Ariel chasing Miranda round and round the cage. A swift and loud “NO!” put pay to that!

We’ve set up the other puppy pen next door (with a 5 inch gap), and placed Miranda in there which she actually seems to quite like (a big piece of carrot helped!). It’s a good job I love them as much as my girlfriend does, as the little buggers are now taking up half the living room, lol!

Things are much calmer now, and we are much happier with the situation, so thanks all for your advice

[MarkBun]

My immediate thought/fear is whether or not they are both female. Even experienced bunny handlers can make a mistake. However, I have found that if there is mounting/fighting going on, usually when you pull off the aggressor, it is quite obvious that they are a boy.

[jerseygirl]

Welcome here! You’ve received great advice. Def separate. On bonds, true long lasting bonds happen when all the hormones are out of the way (in my opinion). You may find they’ll bond easily after the spay as they’ve become accustomed to each other. Only time will tell. When the hormones come, they can become completely different rabbits so everything is up in the air until that’s dealt with.

Do get them sexed to ensure they are both female. If it turns out one is male, there is the option of spaying the female now (“emergency spay”) incase she’s been impregnanted.  If  that’s the case, then time is of the essence.  I’m curious to know if the shelter gave any info about fighting as it’s pretty common with intact rabbits.

If you haven’t do so, do check your bunnies over for bite marks very closely. They can become abcessed very quickly.

 

Wow, thank you both for the speedy and detailed replies (I’m actually in the UK so I didnt think that many people actually be awake to read this!)

There always someone kicking about on here. Members range from US, Canada, UK, Europe, China, Australia, Malaysia, NZ…. It’s Fab

 

[Monkeybun]

And some of us silly people in the states have a bad habit of being awake at ungodly times… like, say, going to bed at 6 am… *whistles innocently*

[boogercj]

We’ve booked in at the vet to get them checked over, so we’ll know for sure what’s going on, and book in for their spays. The rescue centre didn’t give us any info about fighting, apart from insisting we get them spayed within a month. I think they’d been as good as gold up until yesterday morning.

We gave them a good groom each last night, which allowed us to give them a thorough check over. No cuts or wounds that either of us could see; we intervened very quickly, so luckily I don’t think they have had the chance to have a “no holds barred” fight.

One other question I have is about “playtime”. We’ve been letting them out into a large fenced off area in our lounge for the entire evening  We’d like to continue doing this as it gives them chance to run around before we eventually let them have the run of the house. Being that we can’t do this for them both together now, is it acceptable to maybe take them individually to another room for a run-around for a couple of hours each, until they can become friends again?

[katie, max & penny]

individual playtime is totally fine!

[RabbitPam]

Definitely can do separate playtimes. If they start marking because they smell each other in the play area, you may want to have slightly separate play areas for each as well. See how they act first, in the same space but just different times.

Glad you saw the vet. Getting them spayed, then waiting about one more month after that for the hormones die down, will bring you to the new year. It will go by fast.

[sally]

Welcome! A fellow British member No real advice for you really, as I’m pretty new to owning my 2 buns! But just thought I’d say hello, and you’ve found a brilliant forum everyone is very helpful and friendly here : )

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Welcome!

I believe we need to get them spayed asap, would I be right in my assumption?

YES unfixed bunnies should never be together unless they are siblings in a litter. At 2-3 months they need to be seperated until a month after spay/neuter.

neither of them appear to be cut or injured in any way)

A great trick to search for injury is to put your hair dryer on low (and no heat) and use that to move fur so you can see. GLAD your going to the vet though-that’s a good idea.

Is there any such thing as a “one off fight” with rabbits? Will they have broken what seems to be a strong bond?

It depends, sometimes they can fight and stay bonded…but this sounds like a pretty serious fight and I would await spaying and recovery before puttint them back together.

Being that we can’t do this for them both together now, is it acceptable to maybe take them individually to another room for a run-around for a couple of hours each, until they can become friends again?

Oh yes-that sounds perfect

Keep us posted!! *off to see your pictures in your other thread*

[boogercj]

Excellent tips, thanks – I’ll definitly try out the hairdryer trick, if only just to see how they react! We’ve had a few seperate playtimes now, and they’re great in actual fact. We’ve got quite a big apartment with a carpetted hallway, so we just let them run around in there and sit in with them. Binkies and bunny flops galore!

We’ve noticed that since they’ve been seperated though, Ariel has been quite “sulky” and spends much more time in her cardboard box (that was meant to be a dig box!) than Miranda, doesn’t like to be stroked and is a bit more jumpy than usual. I know we’ve only had them a week so it’s probably fair to say she’s still settling in, but is it possible she feels a bit exposed without her “sis” to look out for her? Or does that sound like typical adolescent behaviour?

Sorry for all the questions, but these are my first indoor bunnies, and their awesome range of behaviour really interests me!

 

[Beka27]

It’s hard to say really which behaviors are “normal settling”, what is “adolescence”, and what is missing the other bun. Since they’re new, you don’t have a good idea of what their real personalities are yet, and hormones will make them behave strangely as well. Keep them exercising and eating well, and after the spays we can give you direction on how to proceed and get them back together.

[Author]

Messages