Fighting after several days of love :(

[jmdb]

I’m so lost… Video for reference : https://drive.google.com/file/d/1j3S2kiPF_gjtsBqMUDvuF88VASttdw76/view?usp=drivesdk

After just posting about how loved up my bunnies are, a fight broke out.

For the silliest reason, too: both were having their usual morning binky/zoomie party. Monkey (female nethie) stopped to groom Tokki (Monkey is the dominant bun, I believe) and thumped at him before she did it (not sure if this makes a difference but I believed it’s a dominance thing). After 90-120 seconds of grooming him, she did a double binky and accidentally kicked him in the face both times.

 

Tokki, who was in a daze from the grooming, jumped up and chased her,which took her by surprise and ended up in circling. I managed to catch it all on camera (because they were being so happy and cute just before!) and I’ve watched it back to try to see what went wrong.

 

Can anybody tell if am on the right page? And where do I go from here?

I made the pen slightly smaller and they are now sleeping together after sharing some makeup treats. Tokki has also groomed Monkey a couple of times after she demanded it.

I’m just so lost because I was planning to move them to a part of the living room tomorrow (part they’ve both accessd but never lived in, and vinegar washed 3 times, furniture rearranged etc) in preparation for eventually transitioning to free roam. I’m thinking to leave them in a slowly expanding pen there for at least 2-3 months while work is busy/my partner is away and then make the move to free roam in the autumn when our schedules are much quieter.

 

Will I be okay to move them tomorrow if I keep it small??

 

We’ve been doing 24/7 bonding all week – this is day 4 – and there has been no bad behaviour other than a few 2-3 seconds scuffles that I haven’t had to intervene for until this. Now I’m worried!

[Wick & Fable]

Things still need to be worked out. 4 days in is actually not very long at all in terms of a bonding process– the fact that you have grooming is a great sign. Bonding can take literal weeks/months sometimes. There will be better and worse days, and it’s all a part of the rabbits figuring things out.

If you/your partner will be away for work, I would highly recommend separating them with at least a pen wall. You don’t want no one available if there’s a chance of a fight breaking out.

I would just keep things as they are until things are more stable in the current space, then consider expansion. If things seem to be stuck or in a rut, you can try relocating to a different, new neutral space like a bathtub to shake things up a bit.

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.

[jmdb]

Thank you, Wick. Sorry, I should have mentioned that we’ve doing bonding dates for about a month, with 2 weeks of pre-bonding before that. I switched to 24/7 because they were getting on so well and showing lots of positive behaviours, and no fighting.

The problem is I can’t expand the current space anymore and they both seem a bit on edge after this morning’s scuffle. I’m wondering if moving them to a neutralised space in the living room will help give them a bit of a fresh start. It would also be more feasible for us.

When you separate them, do you do that in the bonding space? If so, how do you stop them claiming sides?

[Wick & Fable]

If the living room is neutral, I think it’d be fine to start in that space then.

Re: separation, you could potentially use the space you’re using currently for bonding, that way no ownership occurs in the new bonding space.

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.

[jmdb]

Thanks again, Wick.

Shortly after this another fight broke out, so they’re now back to side by side enclosures. I’m going to give them a day and then start again with the new bonding area in the living room.

It seems the fights always start when one or both of them starts doing binkies and zoomies and kicks/lands on the other one. I don’t know how well overcome that and it makes me nervous to reduce the space (because it seems it would increase the chances) but I guess it’s something they will figure out…

[Wick & Fable]

My interpretation– understanding that we can never know what bunnies truly think and we tend to personify them– is that binkying/zoomies will cause tension when one or both rabbits is still nervous about the other. You see such a flail of motion and you’re nervous, so the thought may be to attack instinctually. I think continued exposure to each other and setting in better the sense of security that all movements do not mean harm will help.

This happened a bit with my pair. One of them flops and binkies regularly while the other doesn’t, and all that activity definitely wound up the other rabbit who was definitely on edge. Over time, he seemed to understand they were not harmful movements and was generally more relaxed when the other moved.

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.

[jmdb]

Thank you again, Wick. That does make a lot of sense. Sometimes they make me jump too! What did you do when one bunny got wound up? Did you just keep exposing them and breaking up any scuffles caused by it?

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