Help!Rabbit getting along then suddenly fought..

[sophia.o_c]

Hello all!

As you can see, today..I tried to bond my rabbits and both of them seem to eat,groom each other well for the first few minutes..p.s the picture above was taken today at a neutral place not in the place they live.

And then an hour after that,one of my bunny seemed to flop then all of the sudden my other bunny disturbed him? Also both of them are neutered male rabbits..

And then ,they sniffed each other a few times and all of the sudden, both of them were fighting? I assume it’s fighting because both of them were full out fight when i saw a big moving ball of fury,and  fur flying out..ofc they only fought for a second because after that I straight away separated them..

Also they are both litter mates since they were small and around last 3 weeks,they started fighting..then I separated them out of sight of eachother for 3 weeks…then today and yesterday I started to rebond them,tried to pet them together, brought them in a neutral place,fed them pellets and veggies to eat together..

Then after that,both of them flopped next to each other which led to what I had stated just now…and so they fought! Did I rebond them to soon? Or should I just let them be close to each other(side by side pen cage..) what should I do? Please help!also they have never been side by side in cages yet…as they are now living in separate rooms..So what should I do??

!!!

 

 

 

[Wick & Fable]

Bonding takes time and also takes several sessions. The bonding process takes, at the minimum, I’d say 1 week and at most, sometimes 3 months– it really depends. It sounds like the session was positive for a bit, and then as they stayed with each other longer, it went sour. This is a good sign to start with shorter bonding sessions, rather than keeping them together for long periods of time. I notice you mention leaving for just a second when the fight happened– It is very important that you never leave them alone during bonding dates, so definitely schedule around when you’re going to be able to stick around. If you need to leave, especially in this early stage, I’d temporarily put up a divider in the neutral space or end the date to ensure nothing happens while you’re gone.

Here is a bonding overview that may be helpful: https://binkybunny.com/infocategory/bonding/

Also, there is a bonding information template we recommend members complete so users have a better idea of what has happened and the situation with your buns. You can find it here to copy and paste: https://binkybunny.com/forums/topic/bonding-template-read-me-for-bonding-help/

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.

[sophia.o_c]

Thank you so much for replying and giving those wonderful advices..also should I copy paste and make a new topic or just reply it over here?

[Wick & Fable]

Please copy and paste the template into this topic.

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.

[sophia.o_c]

Spay/Neuter

Are your bunnies spayed/neutered?

If so, for how long (for each)?

=Yes,both of my bunnies are neutered since 3rd October and it’s been 1 month ( they got neutered together at the same time )

 

Housing

Please describe your bunnies’ current housing set-up (living together, as neighbors, etc.).

= Before they fought,they used to live together in a pen..and now they are currently living in separate rooms so they haven’t seen each other for a few weeks now..

 

Bonding background

Did you allow the bunnies to “settle-in”?

=Yes,I did.

How would you describe your bunnies reactions towards each other (answer for each bunny): shy, scared, curious, calm, aggressive, excited, affectionate, etc.?

-Dash: looks really curious and calm? But a bit ignoring each other and there was a bit thumping..and he was licking my other bunny,grey, old wound on his neck when my other bunny was bowing its head..

-Grey: looks like the dominant bunny, super curious ig I don’t know but he seem to be bowing his head when he saw my other bunny,Dash..he was a bit lunging at each other but I stopped them from doing so,,and since then I’ve only seen positive result before the downfall that is…it’s my fault ig because the bonding session was too long..

Have you done any “pre-bonding” (cage or litter box swaps, etc.)?

If so, for how long?

=I’ve only been doing litter box swaps..( it’s been half of a month now )

Have you started sessions yet?

= Yes,I’ve only recently started two sessions.

How long have you been working on bonding your bunnies?

=Only recently..so two days!

How frequently do you have bonding sessions, and how long are they?

= In a day,I have two sessions which is in the morning and in the afternoon,during the session,I give their meal time so both of them ate together without any issue..and for now it’s been half of an hour?

Have you tried any stressing techniques?

=No,I haven’t

[DanaNM]

Thanks for filling out the template!

It’s good you’ve been doing litter box swaps! If you can, you can also set them up side by side (with a buffer between the pens) and swap who’s on what side every day or two.

So bonding takes a bit more time, even in easy bonds. The basic idea is that you supervise them in neutral territory while they sort out their dominance, but it’s very important that you supervise and prevent fighting. As Wick mentioned, things can change in a split second during bonding sessions so it’s really important to supervise closely.

You can do short dates to start, or longer if they are doing well. It’s important to end the dates on a good note, so they don’t learn that they can make the other rabbit “go away” by fighting. You can also pet them during early sessions if it helps calm them. Setting short time goals in the beginning can help with this. Keep going with the dates until they are getting along really well in neutral territory. You’ll want to see lots of positive behaviors (grooming, cuddling, etc), and no aggression, and work up to longer sessions (6-8 hours). Usually at that point people will try for an overnight in neutral territory (supervised!). I usually wait until they can spend 48 hours in neutral territory with only positive behaviors and no negatives, and then I progress to a semi-neutral area.

 

. . . 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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