Neutered Male got attacked by Un-altered Female

[Isabelle]

Hi everyone,

So, I have these two bunnies, one of them is a male and one is a female. They had little interaction with each other once I got them, but they seemed to really like each other, constantly grooming each other and hanging out. I then took my male rabbit who was of age to get neutered. The female is not spayed yet because she is too young. However, when I let my neutered male go to say a quick hello to the female, she put her head down requesting grooming from him, (as she had done in the past) he did not groom her or pay much attention to her and hopped away. Then she came charging at him with her head and kind of attached her (from what it looked like) I was shocked and pulled her away from him immediately. I had never seen this happen between them before so I didn’t know what was the reason or cause…So I let her out from her cage to go to him again, and this time she attacked him even worse, she charged at him and seemed very angry. I don’t know whats going on, and honestly its stressing me out a lot, because I got my male neutered so they could interact more… and she is going to be spayed as soon as she is 4 months old, but now I’m worried that they might never get along, even though once upon a time they were perfectly fine??? I am so confused, if anyone can offer an information I would appreciate it so much. Thank you all..

[Bam]

I’d say this was her hormones in action. She’s hit puberty. She makes a clear invite, he ignores her request, she gets really annoyed with him.

Keep them strictly separated until she is spayed and has healed. Healing physically takes about 2 weeks, but  emotional volatility (known as post-spay craze) can persist a few weeks longer.

Then you can start a proper bonding procedure. We have a bonding section where you are very welcome to post when the time comes. We’re very happy to try and help with bonding, most rabbits benefit greatly from having a same-species friend.

[Isabelle]

Thank you so much for your reply. I will definitely try bonding them the right way when she is spayed and will post in the section if I have more questions. Thank you!!

[LBJ10]

I would also say that her hormones are probably starting to kick in. Plus he probably smells different since he was neutered and that could have contributed to setting her off as well. I agree, it’s best just to keep them separate until after she has been spayed. It will cause more damage to their future bonding chances if they get into a really bad fight.

[DanaNM]

Agree with what’s been said so far, and just wanted to add it’s prob for the best that she attacked him if he was just recently neutered, because males can still have sperm in their systems for a couple weeks after neutering!

. . . 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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