Male Bunny biting/licking and removing fur of other male bunny. Both neutered.

[Bunnielove]

Don’t know what to do. Separated them and put cage right next to each other. Trying to let bunny heal. Every time we put back together the one goes right back to doing the same thing. Had them on bed today. Both relaxing. The one doing the poor behavior growled and then started scratching other. Not sure what is going on.

[Wick & Fable]

It sounds like they are not properly bonded. You cannot just put two neutered rabbits together and expect them to get along. You need to provide a structure for bonding slowly and steadily. Keep them separated from each other for now and read the bonding section on this website. It can be very helpful, as well as essential for rabbit bonding.

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.

[Wick & Fable]

https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/tabid/53/CategoryID/9/PID/940/Default.aspx

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.

[Wick & Fable]

https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/tabid/53/CategoryID/9/PID/940/Default.aspx

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.

[LBJ10]

How long have they been bonded/living together full-time? Humping and fur pulling is not uncommon in bonded pairs. It can occur for a number of reasons including annoyance, feeling the need to reassert dominance, etc. Relationships are dynamic and sometimes there are “disagreements”.

Another thought I have is from my own recent experience. Wooly suddenly became obsessed (OBSESSED) with humping Leopold and he was pulling chunks of fur out everywhere. Keep in mind, they are both 7 years old and have been bonded since they were both young. They had a very easy bond too! I had no idea what had gotten into Wooly. Well, it turned out to be stress-related. He was upset because the internet guys were drilling into the brick right outside their room. I guess the sound was distressing to him. And he kept humping Leopold for days. The vet said to give him 1mg of Melatonin and it seemed to help. So I have that on hand for whenever he gets stressed out.

[Bunnielove]

They have been together since 5 weeks old. Together 4 months now. Both neutered on the same day 6 weeks ago.

There is no longer any humping or spraying of urine going on.

But when I put them back in the cage together the one immediately starts up again right in front of me.

I read something about misting with a water bottle when there is bad behavior. But that seems kind of mean to me.

I don’t know if keeping them separate, but right next to each other is helping or hurting them.

I’m so new to this bunny thing.

[Sirius&Luna]

I think you need to totally separate them, and then go through the bonding process. Spraying with a bottle for bad behaviour will not help, as it’s not ‘bad behaviour’, it’s rabbits fighting because they’re not bonded and they’re stressed about being made to live together.

Just because rabbits are from the same litter/together from a young age, it doesn’t mean you won’t need to bond them after hormones kick in and they’ve been neutered.

Please separate them for a month, so they can forget this aggression. Once they’ve been separated for a month, start swapping them between each others cages every other day (not in the same cage, as in bunny 1 goes in bunny 2’s cage and bunny 2 goes in bunny 1’s cage). After a month of that, then introduce them on neutral territory for short sessions, that you gradually increase, intervening before any aggression occurs.

Please visit the bonding forum for more information on bonding.

[Bunnielove]

But they have been bonded. For 4 months. Why do we need to bond them again?

[Konijn]

Baby rabbits will usually always get along – problems arise once they hit puberty and become more territorial, which is what’s happening with your rabbits. They will need to be separated and gradually reintroduced to each other in a neutral area.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Bunnielove on 11/22/2017 10:30 AM

But they have been bonded. For 4 months. Why do we need to bond them again?

Because they are not properly bonded. 

[Wick & Fable]

Agreed with S&L and Erika. Rabbits and the concept of “family” isn’t really a thing. A mother will attack its child eventually for territorial reason, a brother will mate with a sister, brothers will fight, siblings of opposite sexes will fight, etc.. These come about due to hormones, which is why separation is important.

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.

[Deleted User]

Take the advice of rebonding them. Trust me this has happened to me and the result was having one of my males rehomed because they held such a massive grudge after fighting. I have repeated this story on here a few times to people experiencing this or those not fully willing to accept the importance of proper bonding. I won’t go massively in to detail again but my boys were fine with each other until two weeks after their neuter. I like you naively thought that litter mates would be okay together but that’s not the case. One of my poor buns had a piece bitten from his ear after this first altercation. This has been one of the most upsetting things for me and I still carry a lot of guilt about it even though things turned out okay in the end with me now having a new female bonded to my male and my other male finding a lovely home and having a female friend of his own. You really need to intervene appropriately to prevent a really bad situation from occurring

[Sirius&Luna]

Even if you believe that they have been bonded for 4 months, clearly something isn’t working now if they’re fighting and you’re asking for advice.

Pretty much all baby rabbits will get along with any other baby rabbits. Sometimes, they live happily ever after, and everything is fine. Other times, they start fighting, and one or both ends up seriously injured.

Yours have been fighting, one has been injured, and really, it will not get better if you just leave them to it.

[Bunnielove]

Ok. I will absolutely read up on rebonding them.

They were not from the same litter.

They are not fighting. The one just keeps going to the same spot on the others back.

They have been playing like normal when they are together other than that.

I just saw the “victim bunny” (lol) licking the same spot on himself a little while ago and had a thought. Could there be a reason they are BOTH going right to that spot? When we first noticed it the fur was all gone and a few small spots looked like they were blessing. The fur is slowly starting to grow back now.

These are not only our first bunnies, but our first pets ever.

Love these little guys that my daughters wanted. But frustrated too.

[Bunnielove]

Thank you all for your input. It’s greatly appreciated. I feel so ignorant on this topic.

[sarahthegemini]

Maybe the other bun scratched/scraped it and ‘victim’ bun is licking it because it’s painful and uncomfortable.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Don’t feel bad, Bunnielove. Bunnies are very complex little creatures. Even after having bunnies for over 13 years, I’m still always learning.

[Author]

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