littermates

[Kathyb]

 Thanks in advance, great forum!  My daughter has two littermates, males.   They were neutered about three weeks ago.  They are about 5 mos old.   They began to fight shortly before they were neutered.   One bunny is much bigger than the other.   Since they have been neutered they are in my daughters room but separated.  They have been getting together outside in a large area with no problem.  No fights, or agression at all , but one bunny is pretty scared of the other.   Tonight we put them both into the bathroom, no fights but still one bunny scared of the other.   Not really into the stressing them thing, seems cruel.  What would the next step be to try to get them to like each other.

[Valkyrie]

They should have been kept completely separated from the time they were neutered until one month after neutering, Their hormones go crazy during that month and bonding can be broken. You are probably back at square 1 of bonding. I recommend cruising the Bonding sections of this forum to find other similar situations or advice that might work for you.

[NewBunnyOwner123]

Bonding in general is stressful on the bunnies anyways so I don’t understand how you think the stress bonding is cruel. It just helps them lean together for comfort, making the situation less stressful for them. They are already stressed about the bonding but making it just a tad more out of their comfort zone isn’t cruel. It reaps alot of benefits of you are struggling with fighting.

With that said though, I don’t think you need to stress bond. It’s usually used when two buns won’t stop fighting. I think with time and more bonding sessions they will both grow to trust each other and not act fearful do go back to the first step in bonding though. They need to rebuild trust for each other before he will stop being fearful. If they fight, stress bonding will have to happen though.

When they were in the bathroom how did they act? What were they each doing? We need detailed descriptions on how each session is to offer advice for your personal situation.

[Kathyb]

While I am sure many bunnies are very hormonal after neutering, these two are not. No fighting, humping, or chasing. They were doing fine in the big area. They interacted a little. Every now and then the smaller bunny, Theo would run away from Thumper. Since the neuter Thumper has not been aggressive at all. In the bathroom Theo runs away every time Thumper gets near him. Should we move back out to the big area or keep putting them together in the bathroom?

[NewBunnyOwner123]

I think you should start small and then work your way out if you are wanting them to actually bond and live together. Put them in the bathtub. In a big space they don’t have to interact and can avoid each other. So put them in the bath tub for a couple minutes and see how things go. Keep in mind, things might be different when they are actually forced to interact and sort out their dominance order. Humping may occur, it’s how they assert dominance.

Remember start small and work your way up. The smaller space just makes them see and interact and figure out who’s going to be top bun in their little bun family.
End it on a good note like offering them a treat at the end of each bonding session. Just go back to step one.

[Kathyb]

 Thank you, it went very well.  

[NewBunnyOwner123]

Awe very sweet!

[LittlePuffyTail]

Cute!

[Author]

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