Hierarchy Confusion

[Ddee82]

We have 2 male rabbits – brothers we got last year they are now a year old, both neutered

Scamp is the more dominant I thought,

They are very different

Simba is passive, easier to pick up and hold, generally less inquisitive, prefers to lay in the bedroom all day

Scamp is more naughty he’ll investigate a new toy and chew it up, if you enter the hutch to clean it out he’ll be around you seeing what your doing up on his hind legs

About 3 months ago I noticed fur in the hutch, they had clearly had a falling out as scamp was in the bedroom and Simba under the hutch , the next day everything was back to normal.

Everything was fine for a month then again another incident fur over the hutch and I witnessed scamp chasing Simba to which he stopped when I went over

Same again Simba banished from the hutch all seemed fine the following day

Again about a month passed all fine and then the 3rd Incident this one the worst, fur everywhere and a lump of Simba a nose ripped but could this have been an accident caused by something in the hutch? I’m still unsure

Simba went to the vet and we separeted them, we put another hutch in the enclosure and seperated the outdoor space in half

Now they live seperatly, they can see each other, sit next to each other on opposite sides of the fence, bump noses through the fence, I swap them between hutches daily, and we have had them in doors in a neutral territory pen with no problem, similar behaviour, scamp looking around standing up, Simba being submissive

As this was all going well I put them back together in the enclosure but after 10 mins Scamp started chasing Simba and again fur everywhere where it has been pulled from Simba a rear So seperated again

tonight brought them in again to the pen Simba initially thumped at scamp but then went over and layed his head down under scamps chin and scamp proceeded to groom Simba , but after a few mins scamp went to simbas rear and done something that made Simba jump

then again back to scamp grooming Simba and then again to his rear like he’s trying to get under his tail and bite

 

what is going on- who is the dominant bunny? How do I proceed from here? Help welcomed

[DanaNM]

How long have they had to calm down from the fight? I’m fairly certain the nose injury was a bite, and injuries like that can cause hurt feelings that take some time to heal. Bunnies definitely hold grudges.

It sounds like you were working on bonding them in neutral territory, but I’m not clear on how long you were working with them there or what positive signs you saw?

. . . 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.  

[Ddee82]

it’s been 2.5 weeks since the fight and they have been living seperatly but still can see each other through the fence since then

we bring them in together most days and started off with just 5 mins then 10 yesterday was about 30mins together

 

what positive behaviour should I be looking for? Some sites I read say the chasing and fur pulling is ok and just sorting out the hierarchy but I don’t want it to re-escalate, looking at them each day it’s like they miss each other and sit hunched up next to each other by the fence looking sad but I’m new to this and the more I read the more confused I get over what to do

Thanks

[Hazel]

As Dana said, they will hold grudges. It might be best to start from scratch, give them a month to calm down before doing any more bonding sessions. Every falling out they have will make it harder to bond them in the future. If possible I would house them away from each other for a while to help them forget.

[DanaNM]

Agree with Hazel. With a bite that required a vet visit, it’s best to give some time to calm down with no pre-bonding or bonding sessions. Then start from scratch with pre-bonding and dating.

Positive behaviors are grooming, cuddling, sharing food, sharing litter box, etc. When bonding, you want to stay in neutral territory until you see lots of positives and no negatives (chasing, fur pulling, lunging, tussling, circling, etc.).

So my sense is you just need to go more slowly in neutral territory (after the break). A certain amount of nipping and chasing might happen, but you must prevent fighting, so in your case I would err on the side of intervening too much at first. That will help them rebuild trust and safely sort out their hierarchy.

. . . 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.  

[Author]

Messages