bunny broke out, fighting ensued

[thumpers momma]

i had baxters cage blocked off (put stuff in front of it so the buns can’t fight through the bars) while thumper was having play time, as always. i heard noise and walked over and sure as hell baxter broke out and they were fighting. four or five good tufts of hair pulled out on both sides, no bleeding or injuries other than that

how will this affect the bonding process? i was feeling so good about the stress bonding we did the other day, and i know stress bonding is just them finding comfort in each other in stressful situations but it might have given me a little bit of false hope that maybe we were making progress. if we did make any at all, i feel like this fight will take them ten steps back. i just want my buns to love each other and it feels like i’m doing everything wrong 🙁

just some more info on my bonding progress in a nutshell. they nip and fight in the neutral bath tub, but they’ll flop next to each other when they’re in their cages that are side by side. they’ve been together since 8 weeks old, even living in the same place until they turned about 2 months (9 months now). they’re both neutered. they loved each other during stress bonding! and i also kept them in the same box for about 20 minutes after the car ride, and there was no fighting when we weren’t doing something stressful, so i thought we maybe had something

[Serenity]

It seems there may have just been a bit of a scuffle. I would watch their behavior and make sure there are no more scuffles. This could set you back a bit but there’s really no telling, all rabbits are different. George has always been kind of a bully to Fred but Fred is fiercely loyal to him, adores him anyway. You just never know. Keep up the bonding as normal and if there is more excessive aggression and fighting then take it back a few steps but as long as things stay the way they’ve been going I think you’re making good progress.

[DanaNM]

These things happen sometimes, and since no injuries happened you should be OK to continue as you have been. Just be sure to modify the space however you need to to prevent it happening again. Sometimes all that is needed is an extra x-pen to make sure things are really secure. NIC cube grids are also really helpful as they can be zip-tied together in any way you want.

Since the bathtub doesn’t seem to be working, I would keep going with the stress sessions, and try to find a bigger neutral space for non-stress sessions. Bigger spaces seem to work better for many people on this forum than small spaces (at least when the small space isn’t stressful).

I’m assuming you did pre-bonding and let their hormones settle and all that?

The strategy that I’ve been using (at the suggestion of my local rescue coordinator) is to stop nipping and fights BEFORE they happen by petting them both a LOT whenever they approach each other. This can be especially helpful when they’ve fought in the past. I found my two that I’m currently working with were getting more and more aggressive each date, so we had to break that cycle. The goal is to build a positive and calm association with approaching each other.

I would try a stress session next, and in that time after the car ride, pet them both a lot and swap scents.

If your bathtub is all you have to work with, try the petting strategy there to see if you can break the cycle of fighting when they approach.

. . . 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.  

[thumpers momma]

thank you!! petting in the tub works well. sometimes i’ll smush them together and pet their heads, and after i stop, they’ll just sit there and do what looks like quick breathing, which i assume means they’re both nervous to make the first move.

i did wait for their hormones and everything to settle down. they were neutered late november and i just started doing some bonding about a month and a half ago. interesting to know that bigger spaces work better than small ones! for some reason i assumed it would be the opposite.

two questions. you said you were trying to break the cycle of aggression between your buns: did you do that by the petting you suggested? and for swapping scents, i will switch their litter boxes every once in a while and their toys, and even some of their bigger structures (ikea bed, hidey place). is there anything else i should be swapping that would help?

[DanaNM]

You’re welcome, and yes, I’m currently using the petting strategy to break an aggressive cycle with my two, and it seems to be working! In the midst of things, but have had several positive sessions in a row using the petting strategy.

I would say with your two, pet them lots, for a few more sessions. Once you feel like they are getting more calm around each other, keep petting, but then stop for a second, then pet more, then stop for a few more seconds. Very gradually increase the amount of time that you stop petting them for. (But over the course of several sessions). The idea is to have them get used to being calm near each other, and to wean them off the petting.

So for you, since petting in the tub works, keep it up. You can wait to pet until they naturally approach each other, just be sure to be right there ready to pet!

With mine, I actually swap which bunny is on which side, rather than swapping items. I just swap them after each bonding session.

. . . 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.  

[thumpers momma]

thanks so much! thumper has discovered that he can jump over the xpen so we have to keep him in the half of the room where it’s impossible for him to escape lol so i just try to swap out what i can!

one last question how often should i be doing bonding sessions? if they have a fight like the one i described should we take a little break? and if they’re nipping in the tub during a session, should we call it quits and try again another day or keep going?

[Sirius&Luna]

A bit of nipping is fine as long as it doesn’t escalate. You don’t want them to get into a cycle of nipping, but bunnies also communicate by nipping, so they do need to learn to ‘talk’ to each other. Eg, if someone nips someones bum to move them out the way, then they carry on and go about their business, that’s fine. If someone nips someone, they run, and it turns into a chase, that’s bad. But if it’s very early in the process, I would be trying to intervene before nipping happens at all.

[DanaNM]

Posted By thumpers momma on 2/24/2018 10:24 AM

thanks so much! thumper has discovered that he can jump over the xpen so we have to keep him in the half of the room where it’s impossible for him to escape lol so i just try to swap out what i can!

one last question how often should i be doing bonding sessions? if they have a fight like the one i described should we take a little break? and if they’re nipping in the tub during a session, should we call it quits and try again another day or keep going?

Ideally you should be doing sessions every day, but go at your buns pace. If they start showing physical signs of being too stressed, you might need a day off here and there. 

You don’t need to take breaks for fights unless a bunny is injured. If just fur is pulled, no break is needed. You just need to identify what caused the fight, and prevent it from happening. Try to identify what triggers it, and make sure you get in between your buns before that happens.  If they seem to always fight in a certain space, try a new space or something different. Bigger and more stressful is usually better. 

Also, definitely do not end a session due to nipping, and always try to end on a good note. Bunnies can learn that when they nip or fight, they get to end the session, and then you end with a negative association. So, if they are getting a little aggressive, try to smoosh pet them for at least a few minutes before stopping. 

It think it’s best to set clear, short time goals early on, so you aren’t inclined to push things to the point where they start getting antsy and aggressive. 

. . . 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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