Help Needed With Two Tricky Rabbits

[FreeRoamBunMan23]

<p class=”_1qeIAgB0cPwnLhDF9XSiJM”>Hello all,

Firstly, apologies if I have put this in the wrong section – it regards topics which fit multiple of the forums so I thought this seemed like the most general one?</p>
<p class=”_1qeIAgB0cPwnLhDF9XSiJM”>I have two male rabbits, Patch (a rex rabbit) and Binky (a lop), both of whom are about 7 months old. They were the best of friends since I got them but both got neutered last month and then started full-on fighting and had to be separated. They’re now free roaming in different parts of my apartment, able to see each other but not reach. I’m going to restart the bonding process soon although I’m worried they’ll continue to fight as they have done the last few times they were able to reach each other. They also seem to dislike each other – Binky looks like he wants to lunge at Patch when they get to a tiny gap whilst Patch puts his tail up when they’re near each other and growled yesterday when I cleaned up near him when they were in close proximity.</p>
<p class=”_1qeIAgB0cPwnLhDF9XSiJM”>But the main reason I’m writing this post is that my bunnies both seem to completely disagree with the many things I’ve read online about rabbits and are causing me a few issues. I’ve scoured the internet for answers but none ever seem to apply to my two so I thought I’d ask for help on the following topics:</p>

1. <p class=”_1qeIAgB0cPwnLhDF9XSiJM”>Hay – My rabbits will eat hay but they don’t seem too bothered about it and will only eat it as a last resort, not seeming to have much of it and leaving plenty of what they’re given. They’re already getting the recommended (by rabbit owners of the internet!) sized portions of pellets but they just don’t seem too keen on hay and I worry they don’t eat enough of it. They’ve always had a mix of meadow and timothy hay rather than alfalfa and will eat some but the vast amount seems to just be left.</p>
2. <p class=”_1qeIAgB0cPwnLhDF9XSiJM”>Vegetables – Similarly, my rabbits have difficult attitudes towards vegetables. Patch will sometimes eat them; I gave him a bowl of mixed greens, parsley and broccoli yesterday and he ate the whole thing. He loves treats like apples and bananas but will only eat any of these things from a bowl, will not take them from me or directly from an apple/banana. Binky on the other hand shows no interest in fruit or vegetables whatsoever. He received the same bowl yesterday and ignored everything in it. I’ve tried putting the vegetables by his mouth in the hopes he’ll bite them away and get the taste but he just moves away instead. I even tried wrapping one of his treats in a leaf, thinking he’d have to bite it out, but, no, he just pulled it straight out and ate it, ignoring the vegetables.</p>
3. <p class=”_1qeIAgB0cPwnLhDF9XSiJM”>Litter training – This is the one that’s driving me the most insane! For whatever reason, my rabbits refuse to litter train despite me trying everything I’ve seen online. They each have two separate litter trays but instead ignore them in favour of other things. Patch (who is currently in the lounge and kitchen) likes to go on a piece of cardboard or on the kitchen floor – both easy enough to clean up – whilst Binky (who has the bedrooms and corridor) only seems to want to go on the beds which is extremely frustrating to the point I now consider closing the bedroom doors which would reduce his free roam space. I pick up all their business and place it into the litter trays and have put hay into the litter trays even though my two have never shown interest in eating whilst they do their business or vice versa. I’ve tried moving the trays to where they’ve last done their business but they then just move to the side next to it and do it there instead. I’m aware they’re also both going near the barrier between them to claim territory but that just leaves me picking up even more after them!</p>

<p class=”_1qeIAgB0cPwnLhDF9XSiJM”>Thank you for taking the time to read this and any advice on any of these things would be most appreciated as I have no idea what else to try with them and really don’t want to be spending the next ten years constantly cleaning urine stains off beds.</p>

[LBJ10]

Hay can be difficult for some rabbits. How fresh is the hay? Is it soft or rough? You could try something different, like Orchard. It tends to be softer and a little sweeter tasting, so a lot of bunnies like it.

How long have you been trying to feed them veggies? It’s important to introduce things one at a time so you can make sure something doesn’t cause an issue. As for getting them to simply try something, sometimes you just have to be patient. One of my bunnies was very unwilling to try new things. It literally took a dozen times of offering him banana before he would even try it. And that was banana!

As for the litter training, how long have they been neutered? Hormonal behaviors can actually increase in the weeks following neutering, before finally tapering off. Another thought is that they just have too much freedom right now. Litter training sometimes requires a smaller space to get them used to using a litter box. Then you can allow them access to a larger space once they are better about using the litter box.

[FreeRoamBunMan23]

Thank you for your response and feedback! 🙂

 

The hay seems pretty fresh and is a mix of soft and rough. I’ve noticed Binky eating a bit more of it over the last couple of days which is promising although Patch seems less keen. I’ll try orchard though to see if they like that more!

I’ve been tested them out with veggies since they were a couple of months old. Patch has been eating what he’s given but Binky has not shown an interest in any fruits or vegetables at all and Patch ends up getting Binky’s as well as his own so they’re not wasted! I’ve tried many different things separately so many times and he just ignores it all.

They’ve been neutered for just over 6 weeks now. Would you recommend restricting their space then? I feel bad at the thought of it as they’re used to having plenty of space and are already slightly restricted compared to before due to the fact that they’ve had to be given separate parts of the apartment but maybe it’s worth doing if it will get them more used to the litter tray.

[mia]

FYI, not all orchard is the same. There are some with texture that’s closer to timothy and some that’s incredibly soft. I’m dealing with a very sick bun and I had to go and poke sealed bags of orchard to find the softest ones. A company I order from actually said they’d be willing to send samples from different lots for the bun to try if necessary, so then one could order from the lot the bun preferred.

My youngest bun also does not like greens (or pretty much anything other than hay). It’s taken her over a year of watching her friend eat to begin to taste some greens.

 

[LBJ10]

It might not hurt to try. Although they might get upset if they are used to having a large area 24/7. Do you have exercise pens or baby gates that you could use to make their spaces smaller?

[FreeRoamBunMan23]

They’re separated through a baby gate which splits the apartment in half so they each get half of it. I’ve just bought a pen too with the intention of using it for bonding them but I’m currently suspecting they’d fight through it so may need to use it for other purposes than intended.

[Bam]

As mia says, hay is very variable. Most hays are harvested several times per season. First cut hay is thicker and “stemmier” and crunchier, second cuts are softer, some seed heads have formed, third and fourth cuts are softer still and more leafy. Buns are often particular to a certain cut.

To further complicate matters, hay quality also varies with amount of sunshine and the composition of the soil on which the grasses have grown. Wild rabbits forage over large areas, so they eat grass (hay is of course dried grasses) from many different spots. To mimick this natural feeding pattern it’s recommended that we give our buns a good variety of hays.

[FreeRoamBunMan23]

Thank you both for your answers. It’s interesting because I’d never looked too much into the variations of hay.

I’m starting to wonder if perhaps I’m just not getting the right hay for them as I’ve always got the same Timothy/Meadow mix from the pet shop they came from. It seems there are far more options online so I may test out a few different types to see which they like best. I tried putting some dried mixes and a few pellets into their hay this evening and both had a good dig through although I fear they were mainly digging out the things they like though rather than actually eating much of the hay!

Relieved to know that other rabbits also reject vegetables for such a long time. Patch would be a good role model for Binky there as he’s currently eating all of his but they seem to hate each other’s guts (broke through the gate and had another fight this morning) and I’m not sure if they’ll ever be able to live together at this rate – Patch is terrified of Binky and both want to attack each other 🙁

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