Neutered males, hair pulling

[hinkypunki]

So, I’ve had two bucks since last June. They were neutered shortly before I got them, but they’ve been together since they were born (January last year). First after I got them, they fought a lot, but once their sex hormones dwindled following the neuter, it all settled down.

It’s been getting slowly worse again since last fall, and it’s always Bilby’s fur that I find in little clumps on the floor (they roam freely around my apartment). Janus clearly overgrooms Bilby as well, since Bilby hasn’t had his whiskers for several months now and his fur around the eyes is, well, slowly disappearing (I’ve taken him to the vet because of this and this was the only possible explanation she found).

Yesterday I was checking Bilby’s fur thoroughly, and there were huge patches (size of a thumb print) of short dark fur, where Janus had pulled his hair out, and one new patch of completely bare skin (no blood or sores though that I could find).

Should I separate them or keep their together play time supervised?

I think Janus could become used to being in a large cage most of the day (he’s big on food and flopping, not so much on exploring and binkying) and only getting free time with his brother under supervision.

I’m just feeling a bit worried about Bilby.

[RabbitPam]

I’m kind of surprised that the vet had nothing to recommend. Since you took them, and none of the behavior is due to an illness in either one (which was my first thought) I think I would separate them and begin a new bonding process. Supervise their play time, follow the process of bonding step by step (see the drop down menu at the top under Bunny Info. or read some posts in the Bonding section) and try to train them back into good behavior. You can possibly offer them a small treat (one raisin each) after each play session that is peaceful and successful. You can NOT reward them, and just separate them, if they start fighting and pulling fur. They may get the idea quickly that it’s better to stick with good behavior. Positive reinforcement combined with supervised bonding may bring good results. You can’t allow the fur pulling to continue.

I am not opposed to one more check up with the vet. I can’t help wondering if Bilby has an underlying illness that Janus is smelling and trying to fix with grooming. BB’s Jack had a problem with excessive humping of his female bond mates, which turned out to have nothing to do with sex, but rather was caused by bladder stones. Once they were found and removed, the humping behavior stopped. It makes me wonder what may be going on with Bilby.

[hinkypunki]

Thank you so much for your answer.
I’ll get a second opinion from another vet on Bilby’s health and try bonding them again. I also feel that Janus is in general quite “territorial” of Bilby and when I’m taking them to a neutral zone to bond with my third rabbit, Janus only spends time humping Bilby, pretty much ignoring the newcomer (but just to be clear, Janus pulling Bilby’s fur started long before I got the third bunny).

[Author]

Messages