My three female rabbits are not getting along, what should I do?

[HipHopBunny]

I have three un-neutered female rabbits who were getting along just fine when we got them 8 months ago.  They are now about 1 year old, and one of them is getting mean and biting the others. They all hump each other, too, which I understand is normal. I don’t have a vet locally that can spay them. One of them recently had a false pregnancy. They had been litter trained until these behavior issues and now they  pee in their litter box and on their hay.  What should I do?

[DanaNM]

This is unfortunately a very common problem when rabbits were living together as babies, and one or both rabbits hit puberty. Females hit puberty later, so the timing checks out.

Baby rabbits do not truly bond (although this is a common misconception), and unspayed/unneutered rabbits do not truly bond because ongoing hormones cause them to get territorial and lash out. Not sure where this myth comes from, but new rabbit owners are often told that babies are easier to bond, so they get siblings. Once hormones come into the picture it very commonly causes fights to break out. This can also occur in pairs where one rabbit is already castrated and the other is not. Hormonal fluctuations can trigger fighting, which is why the general recommendation is for both rabbits to be castrated to ensure a stable and lasting bond.

In these cases, the rabbit that is biting the others should be separated completely (no time together at all, but they can be housed as neighbors), and keep a close eye on the other two, they will likely need to be separated as well.

I’m not sure what you mean by “They had been litter trained until these behavior issues and now they  pee in their litter box and on their hay.” My rabbits have their hay in their litter box and end up peeing on some of it, that seems normal?

The hard truth is that you need to get them spayed if you hope to bond them and regain litter box habits. Females have a very high rate of reproductive cancers, so spaying should be done for medical reasons as well.

. . . 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.  

[Hazel]

What Dana said. There’s nothing you can do other than separate them, then have them all spayed. After that you can try to bond them.

[HipHopBunny]

They are all siblings,  and they get along well at times, but the dominant one, whose name is Silver, keeps biting the other ones. When I catch her biting them I tell her “no” and tap her nose lightly. But other times I poke my head in there and they’re all sleeping side by side looking so happy to be with each other. At one point during Silver’s false pregnancy I had them separated with only brief visits, for Silver was taking fur from them to put in her ‘nest’.  I really hope it doesn’t come to separation because I got more than one due to several people telling me a single rabbit would die of loneliness. If I get them all spayed would this behavior likely stop? The one vet who said she could do it was $600/rabbit and wasn’t optimistic it would change the behavior anyway. If I don’t get them spayed, at what age does uterus cancer typically take place?

Thank you all so much!

[Wick & Fable]

Many rabbits do do better with companions! Unfortunately, as stated above, whether siblings or not, rabbits need to be properly bonded once they are spayed/neutered in order to solidify a safe, forever friendship with each other. That is definitely very much possible if you get them all spayed. Note that spaying them would not be a magical cure though — you need to bond them after they each have had time to recover. You can get a good idea of the bonding process by reading here: https://binkybunny.com/infocategory/bonding/ … and there is a bonding section of the forum you can visit to read some stories!

I find it unusual the vet said spaying would not help these behaviors. It would almost certainly stop false pregnancies and would open the door to bonding. Do you know if they are well experienced with rabbits?

Have you checked in with nearby rabbit rescues or shelters in your area? Some may actually have spay and neuter services for much cheaper or know of vets that are cheaper and very experienced.

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.

[HipHopBunny]

I have found a vet that is says she is experienced with rabbits.  We took OB there when she had a respiratory infection, and they made her a new rabbit! But they unfortunately don’t spay rabbits. No one really spays rabbits for a reasonable cost. I just checked in on Silver and she’s laying side by side with OB and Smokey right now. Although earlier I saw her bite Smokey. Sometimes she bites me, too.  If I do get them spayed, do I separate them until I get them re-bonded? OB and Smokey are great friends, but will I have to re-bond them too? I’ll do some further study on vets that will spay rabbits in the area.  I’ve been told there are none but so far I’ve only found the one that was too expensive for me.  Sadly, our cat/dog rescue has dramatically cut funding and no longer sterilize animals in the county; there is no rabbit rescue that I’ve heard of here

Thank you all so, so much! I really appreciate your help!

[Wick & Fable]

Yes, once each get spayed, you’ll need to separate them. At the minimum, this will ensure that they can recover. Any running or fights or spurts may open up the incision, so you want to minimize any stressors and agitators the week following the spay. In addition  there can be a hormonal spike that occurs after a spay as the body works itself out. During this time, hormonal behaviors can be exacerbated,  so it would be safe to house them separately.

Yes, even the two that get along well now need to be separated after the spay for recovery. Perhaps their first dates and such will go smoother because of their current relationship, but that’s not guaranteed.

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.

[HipHopBunny]

Thank you I so appreciate your help!

 

[HipHopBunny]

As for the meantime, though, until I find a vet who can spay them, what do I do? Right now I have Silver separated because she was being way too mean. Do I continue this until and after spaying? Then re-bond them?  Smokey and OB are doing good together, so can I leave them together? Thank you all for helping me through this difficult process.

[HipHopBunny]

Today, I found out that Smokey is having a false pregnancy, and pulled out a LOT of her fur! She didn’t pull out any of OB’s fur, and OB was getting stressed, so now they’re all separated, Smokey with her nest. I’m thinking of letting them have visits with each other, under supervision of course. Today I’m going to find a vet who can spay them, but until then, what do I do?

Thank you so, so much!

[Hazel]

I would just keep all three separate, even the two that are getting along. Their hormones make them unpredictable, they can very well be fine for a while and then one day you come home to a blood bath. It’s not worth the risk in my opinion. I wouldn’t even do supervised visits before they have been spayed and recovered. If they’re loose in a room and get into a fight, by the time you get your hands on them, one or both could be seriously injured. It’s hard to catch up to an angry bunny tornado tearing around a room, been there done that. 😉  That’s why people usually start out their bonding sessions in the bathtub, it’s a small enclosed space and if a fight breaks out you can intervene immediately.

I agree that’s it’s a good idea to find a different vet, they don’t sound very experienced and $600 is a bit outrageous (although to be fair prices can vary greatly depending on location). Make sure to ask them how many spays they do and what their mortality rate is. Another good question to ask is if a rabbit should fast before surgery. They should NOT, if they tell you to fast them you know they aren’t bunny savvy. Make sure to get the vets opinion on that though, the receptionists usually just don’t know any better.

Good luck with your search , I hope you can find a good vet with reasonable prices. 🙂

 

[HipHopBunny]

I did find some vets this morning. For lower prices, so that’s good! 😀 They are all still separated, but they can see each other through their cages. Would it be alright if they visit each other on my lap or on the couch with me sitting there? With Smokey’s false pregnancy, do you think it will be too much longer before she realizes she’s not pregnant?

Thank you! 😀

[HipHopBunny]

Hi again! Sorry to keep bugging you guys, but OB is now having a false pregnancy, and she is RESTLESS!!! She dumped out her litter box scattered it around her cage, and keeps pulling out her fur! She is by far the most difficult false mama of them all. I don’t know what to do! She started getting restless this morning, and then in the evening, she started pulling out her fur! So, I knew it was a normal false pregnancy, and since Smokey was done being a false mama I switched their cages. But OB is SO stressed! I want to help her, but she won’t let me.

I’m going to get them spayed as soon as I can, but as for right now, what do I do?

Thank you so very much for the help you’ve given me through this difficult process! I really appreciate it!

[Wick & Fable]

I do not have direct experience, but it may be more stressful for her if you keep trying to interact with her. She probably has a really heightened sense of protection right now, so my instinct is to say leave her alone and just make sure she has access to food and water at all times and read her body language for any worrying signs. If she’s nesting somewhere, don’t touch it because that’ll probably really set her off to.

Hopefully some others may be able to chime in with advice from direct experience. This is what I gathered from doing some cursory searches online.

How long has this been going on for?

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.

[HipHopBunny]

I’ve put some towels over her cage for privacy, and she seems to have calmed down. But earlier today she just kept tipping over her litter box, and making a mess EVERYWHERE! Smokey’s false pregnancy only lasted a day. I wonder if OB’s will last that long. I gave her Smokey’s old nest, she seems to be good right now. It started around yesterday. She was honking at Smokey when I let them see each other. She even attacked her- well not attack, but chases her and gave her a nip. Which I find shocking since OB gets along with all the rabbits, we sometimes joke that if you have OB all the rabbits will come to you. But I don’t think OB is sick or has a health issue. I don’t know why she’s so stressed though.

Thank you!

[HipHopBunny]

Good morning! When I went to check in on OB her cage is a mess, but she looks happy and is gathering materials for her ‘nest’ do I clean her cage? Or would that stress her out?

Thank you!

[HipHopBunny]

Hi! So, right now, they’re all currently separated in three different cages. Would it be OK if I rotated them through those three cages? Also, they don’t really have a ‘neutral’ territory for when I do, do re-bonding sessions.

Thank you!

[DanaNM]

You can rotate them if you’d like, but it might not help too much since they will smell differently to each other once they are spayed.

As for neutral space, you may need to get creative. Some bunnies do ok in a manufactured neutral space, where you set up a pen as far away as possible from their main area, add some linoleum flooring or other clean plastic floor, then cover the pen walls with something so they can’t see where they are.  Bathrooms, kitchens, garages are good. Nice friends that will let you use their garage or kitchen are also good. 🙂

. . . 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.  

[HipHopBunny]

Silver is the territorial one. She will sometimes nip or bite the other ones if they enter her territory. Smokey and OB are good with others in their territory. But, OB sometimes gets stressed when the others are around her. Would putting a pee pad on a couch work as a neutral territory? If I switch their cages every day, would that be okay? Or every other day? I am working on getting them spayed, although, that may be in late June or July. Are they going to lose their bond completely in that time?

Thank you!

[DanaNM]

They aren’t truly bonded now, so don’t worry too much about them “losing” their bond. But if they remain within sight and smell of each other they won’t forget about each other.

The pee pad on the couch might work, but a hard surface that you can de-odorize with vinegar would be better, as the couch probably smells like your home.

. . . 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.  

[HipHopBunny]

OB is back to being a false mama. Glad to hear they won’t forget about each other, though. Will these false pregnancies continue going on and off after they are spayed? If they rotate cages, I’m worried OB would get more stressed, so, I’m thinking of leaving them all in their original cages. Although, since OB is the timid one, I have towels on the top of her cage so she is more sheltered, but since she’s next to Silver, would it stress her out if I let them see each other, or should I just leave it so she is still sheltered from the other rabbits?

Thank you!

[Wick & Fable]

False pregnancies do not occur in spayed rabbits.

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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