Bunny issues post spay

[Bunnylover]

Hello everyone! 

I’m just wondering if anyone has any advice regarding my little ones! 

So we got Thumper in July last year, we only had her for 10 days when she had a very unexpected baby! (We were told she was a boy and hadn’t taken her to the vet yet) We kept the baby, Lola and things were great. They are free roam bunnies and they loved each other, would groom each other, sleep beside each other and run around together. But not anymore 

We had Thumper spayed on the 15th so she was kept in a cage to protect her incision while it was healing. the cage was in the same room as Lola and they would often groom each other through the gaps so i was hopeful things would be fine as they were in contact the whole time. Thumper had some trouble getting back on track so has been on some medication to help her eat and her bowel movements but I got the go ahead from the vet an let her out to get back to normal on the 24th. Within a minute or two of them seeing each other they were chasing each other, tornadoing and fur was flying. So i stepped in immediately (got bitten twice in the process drawing blood!) and they were both caged (seperately). A day or two later we have an x-pen set up as a barrier. and have split their living space in two. It has made me so sad to see them behaving this way towards each other. 

They can see each other through the cage and every time they are both there, Lola will nip at Thumper’s face and even started growling at her last night. We have a blanket over the fence 90% of the time so they cant do this. 

Lola is now 6.5 months so we are planning to get her spayed too in the next few weeks. Most likely when Thumper is eating and pooping on her own again. 

I think deep down I know it is best to wait until after Lola’s surgery and her hormones have calmed down to try and re-bond them but I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions in the meantime to try and lessen this bad feeling between them? 

I should also mention, we do have a third bunny, Lucky. We adopted him 1 month ago and he was already neutered but we kept him seperate from the girls until after they are both spayed. Lucky can see Thumper and Lola (well only Lola now with the new set up) through the fence and they seem pretty relaxed around each other, curious at first and now they sit side by side through the fence and have a nap! So there doesn’t seem to be any tension there. 

Any advice would be much appreciated!

[Luna]

Hi! I agree with keeping Thumper and Lola separate until a month after Lola is spayed (she will be healed from surgery before then but it still takes about a month for the hormones to dissipate). But since Thumper is spayed and Lucky is neutered, you can start pre-bonding them after another couple weeks. After pre-bonding, you can move onto bonding. Hopefully, if Thumper and Lucky bond successfully, you can work on making them a bonded trio with Lola a month after her spay and they can all be together .

In the meantime, I don’t know whether or not Lola should be able to visually interact with Thumper (and Lucky during the time you bond them if you decide to). Hopefully another member can weigh in .

[Bunnylover]

Hi Luna!
Thank you for your reply! I thought that would be the best plan. We are hoping eventually they will all bond as a trio once the hormones calm down!
Lola is such a sweet bunny but she’s been a little troublemaker recently between the issues with Thumper, chewing up the couch and marking everywhere with poop! That might be a good idea stopping her having visual contact with either of the other two. Might have to brainstorm and rearrange the apartment again!

Another quick question. Do you know if bunnies change their food preferences after a spay? Thumper has little interest in much besides kale at the moment and I don’t want to feed her too much of that. She’s still been eating her hay and some pellets too. She is back on an appetite stimulant so right after she has her medicine she will also eat some other food. I was just curious if she could have gone off the greens she used to enjoy permanently?

Thanks again!

[Luna]

I haven’t heard of buns changing their food preferences due to a spay alone, but they can change their preference from time to time (depending on their mood I guess!). My friend’s bun didn’t like certain veggies as a juvenile, but then as an adult bun he started eating the veggies he wouldn’t eat before. There was also a thread recently where some other members mentioned their buns will start favoring other veggies due to the bun wanting something different or one veggie being fresher (more in season) than another veggie. Luna doesn’t care though; she’ll eat anything , except cilantro.

[Sirius&Luna]

I recommend you pop over to the bonding forum and read some threads about bonding it will give you a good idea about what to expect!

Thumper will be having a post-spay hormone surge at the moment, so it’s not unusual that she’s extra aggressive during this time. Having an additional bunny in the house might also be affecting them.

You can start getting them all used to the smell of each other by rotating them between hutches, which is known as prebonding, and will help a lot when you get to the actual bonding

[Bunnylover]

Thanks Luna! She has been eating better the last few days so I’m taking it as another sign she is feeling better – Yay! Haha Luna sounds like our Lucky! He has happily munched on everything we have tried him with so far!

Thanks for your response Sirius & Luna! I have started looking into the bonding process and will have a thorough read of that section of the forum now that the time is approaching! I’ll need to find out the best way to introduce Lola to the mix after her surgery too! I’m so nervous, hopefully we have an easy bond..

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