Is this aggression in a bonded pair?

[Etihtsarom]

Hello

Our bunnies may have an aggression problem, I wanted to ask if any of you experienced this and what to do with it. 

We have a bonded pair, and the boy, who is younger and slightly bigger, SOMETIMES charges at the girl like he’s some kind of linebacker, but no biting, followed by chasing her away into a corner or some such hiding space.  The word Sometimes basically means when there is some kind of startling noise or sudden movement interrupting a serene, cuddly moment, or when both are being petted but Somebody feels like he’s a redheaded stepchild who’s not getting More petting than somebody else, or when for example, everybody is getting some treats but a certain Somebody feels like somebody else May be getting slightly more treat than he is, and Boom, we have a problem.

When he lunges at her, he basically nudges her in the body, though not hard, but startling her, she runs away, he gives chase, but no fighting ensues, they go back to lovey dovey in 55 to 88 seconds.   Yeah, it sounds inconsequential, but I’m not so sure, since the stress level increases during this time, and that cant be good for Emma, who has had a rough year with 3 visits to the vet (stepped on, clogged tearduct, and upper respiratory infection, in that order).  Its my understanding that increases in stress decreases immune system which in turn decreases my wallet and so on…

We’ve tried verbally reprimanding Sparkplug, but he looks at us like he doesn’t understand the reasons why bunnies should not be aggressive towards one another in a civilized society-household-thing. 

We adopted Emma when she was about 1 yr, and after 2 yrs with us, she was well adapted and absolutely sweet, but slightly lonely when we’re at work.  We took Emma out to find a mate, had a good date with Sparky.  So we adopted Sparky, right after his castration, he was about 1 yr old.  We bonded them ourselves after bringing him home.  He sprayed and humped and tried to assert some control, but bc Emma is a dwarf, smaller sized and more docile than the rambunctious  Sparkplugg, we wanted her to be in charge (otherwise she might get picked on).  So we helped her subjugate him.  This is how they were bonded and things were fine in the kingdom.  Other than the occasional Emma-humping-Sparkys-face, they were sweet and caring towards one another as your bonded pairs usually are.  Not much has changed except now, 2 yrs after Sparky came home, after he has grown a little more (5lbs Sparky vs. 2.5lbs Emma), he has sort of subverted the power structure through some complex and subtle political maneuvers.  As of now, the kingdom is peaceful, with lotta snuggling and flopping, and binkies,…but it is uncertain whose kingdom it really is…

 

So what does this mean?  Do we need to re-establish dominance? Squirt water?  Car ride?  Ignore the problem and it will go away?  Call the British Supernanny lady? 

[LBJ10]

I’m not really sure how you help one bunny become dominant over the other. It is generally something that they would work out on their own. The fact that things have shifted was probably something that was going to happen. And there will often be “power struggles” in bonded pairs and the dynamics will change over time. The behavior you are describing doesn’t sound out of the ordinary to me. Bunnies are jealous creatures. Not jealous in the way people are, but they certainly think they need to have what the other one is having (even if they have the exact same thing right in front of them). It is pretty normal. Does Emma appear stressed? Perhaps it isn’t as stressful for her as you think it is. Like you said, they return to their loving relationship shortly after the chasing. No biting is involved and nothing sounds like it is prolonged. Honestly, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. At least not yet. They may eventually work things out once they have (re)established who has what role.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’m going to move this to the Bonding Forum 

[MoveDiagonally]

You can’t really force one bunny to be dominant over another. They need to work it out naturally and this could be a contributing factor. If they didn’t completely work out the dynamic they may be trying to do so now.

I agree with LBJ. I would keep an eye on the behavior in case it escalates but I wouldn’t worry too much about it right now.

[Etihtsarom]

OK thanks guys.
In the beginning and because he was just a few days after being neutered, Sparky was still hormonal, aggressive, humping and bullying Emma around, spraying everywhere, and was basically on the path to dominance. Anyway I sat in the pen with them, held him down on my lap and gave Emma the freedom to do what she wanted. And after 2 more such bonding sessions, she started to hump him, in the face. By the end of the bonding process, it was basically Sparky on Emma’s turf; she chased him around, humped him, etc…So that’s what happened. I think it might have been a little rougher under Spark’s rule, but I guess that’s coming up in the near future. (They’re Just running around doing binkies right now as I type this) Emma is a pretty chill bunny except for when the chase happens, she appears so scared, tucked away in a corner. But it isn’t a prolonged state of being so probably I’m being overprotective.

Any how, thanks for the input, we’ll let them work things out for themselves.

[MoveDiagonally]

In the beginning and because he was just a few days after being neutered, Sparky was still hormonal, aggressive, humping and bullying Emma around, spraying everywhere, and was basically on the path to dominance.

I think you misunderstood this behavior. It’s really common for rabbits to get “worse” for a month after neutering because their hormones are unbalanced/dissipating. It’s why generally bonding is not recommended for 4-6 weeks after a rabbit is neutered. It’s likely his behavior would have leveled out at that point.

They need to work out a natural dynamic on their own for them to stay mentally healthy/happy and for their bond to be consistent and long lasting. Just keep an eye on them and please keep us posted.   

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