New bunny owner. Help with understanding behavior please

[Tflow]

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Hello

2 female mini Rex bunnies ( one is 4 months the other is 3 months)

my son asked for a bunny for his birthday. He is very good with animals so I agreed. We have 2 black labs (that are not near nor have access to the bunnies)

 

they have a large playpen area about 40 square feet. We purchased them together but they aren’t from the same litter.  The person we bought them from “bonded” them for two weeks prior to our bringing them home.

we have only had them for a 3 weeks. In the beginning they seemed to get along. The 4 month old was aggressive (mounting  and chasing) but it seemed to calm down. But within the last week she is doing it constantly and will not let the younger one rest. This goes on and then they seemingly lie next to one another. Then it starts up all over again.

Can someone please tell me if it’s just dominance or what I can do. I’m at a loss and don’t know what to do. I don’t want the younger one getting hurt.

the video doesn’t show much but it’s constant. Whenever the younger one (brown and white) wants to sit still the other one pushes her out wherever she goes. Then will mount her.

 

[LBJ10]

This looks like normal behavior between two, presumably unspayed, bunnies that are starting to go through bunny puberty. Nothing in the video looks overly aggressive. There’s just some mild chasing and mounting attempts. Unfortunately, there is a good chance that things will escalate. Especially as the younger one continues to mature. Then you will have 2 young bunnies with raging hormones on your hands. You may need to separate them until you are able to get both of them spayed. After they have healed, you should be able to bond them properly.

The person who “bonded” them wasn’t being entirely truthful with you. Baby bonds are easy because babies just love everybody. This isn’t the same as a bond in adulthood.

One more thing… are you absolutely positive you have 2 girls? You don’t want to risk an accidental litter.

[Tflow]

Thank you so much LBJ10!!

They are now separated. Do they have to be in separate rooms? Or is it ok to keep them in separate playpens but the same room.

they have their vet appt on Tuesday. The person we purchased them from seemed honest and has reassured me 4 times they are both girls and I did research the farm prior to purchasing and it appeared to have multiple positive reviews. They also said if a person decides they cannot raise the rabbits please return them to their home and not a bunny rescue so that they can be sure they will be rehomed.

Who knew dogs were easier to raise then bunnies. It was my mistake but my son had been wanting one for a long time and I promised him that a year after he finished his chemotherapy treatments we would try. I couldn’t go back on my word. They are just more involved than I anticipated.

one final question – the reason we got two was because I was told it was inhumane to have just one.  Is that always the case?  It was why I got two dogs. Just checking

 

again thank you so very much. I truly appreciate your kindness

[LBJ10]

They can be in the same room, separate pens. They are probably both girls. BUT… we have had some cases of mistaken identity on the forum. Even breeders can be fooled sometimes, especially when the bunny is very young. It doesn’t hurt to have the vet confirm for you now that they are older.

Yes, bunnies can be a lot of work. Much more than people realize. You shouldn’t beat yourself up too much. You wanted to make your son happy and it sounds like he could use a little happiness. 🙂  The important thing moving forward is making sure you are armed with enough information so you can continue to care for them. You’re doing a good job so far! It isn’t uncommon for people to get 2 babies and assume they are bonded. Then the hormones kick in and everything goes out the window. The good news is that the situation can be remedied. Once they are spayed, you should be able to bond them properly.

As for the single vs. pair debate… I don’t think it is necessarily “cruel” to have a single bunny as long as they are given adequate attention. Single bunnies can form stronger bonds with their owners. That being said, most bunnies do enjoy having a bunny friend.

[Tflow]

Thank you again for your kindness I appreciate it. Just didn’t want to have to take anything else away from my son if I didn’t have to. He already seems very attached to the bunnies. Although of course that’s because he has the easy job of just observing them 🤣

[DanaNM]

*Shakes fist at breeders who do this*

Unfortunately this is a really common and frustrating occurrence. Unlike other small pets (e.g. guinea pigs, rats, etc), female rabbits tend to be more territorial and will fight if they are unspayed and not bonded properly, as LBJ10 has explained.  If you are able and willing to put in the work, you should be able to bond them properly after they are spayed. Female-female pairings can be more challenging than other combos, but people are successful most of the time (here’s an interesting survey on that: https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-care-advice/further-reading/owner-rescue-centre-and-veterinary-professional-experiences-of-rabbit-bonding/)

Since you are new to rabbits, I recommend checking out some info on bonding to get an idea of the process, and of course we can give you some pointers as well. Here’s a good starting point: https://binkybunny.com/infocategory/bonding/

I agree about the single-vs-pair debate. Buns do tend to be happier paired up in most types of home environments (where the humans have jobs, school, and other activities that means they aren’t spending all day with their bunny), but rushing into bonding isn’t always the best move. All my buns are paired up, but I started with a single bun. Having bonding bunnies is also really fun and a source of constant cuteness. 🙂 But, I don’t think it’s always necessary to get 2 to start out… and if they are unspayed/neutered it’s often easier to get 1, get it castrated, and then get the second when you are ready. In that case you can often take your bun on “dates” at a rescue to find a good match. So it’s great you are considering options, but don’t feel terrible if you have to return 1 because things get too complicated or the girls turn out to not be a great match. That said, most bonds DO work out, some just take a lot more effort than others, and if you are already attached to both bunnies then it prob makes sense to try!

To get a sense of the timeline (something that is often not clear from bonding info online), the girls can be spayed between 4-6 months of age. Some vets prefer to wait till 6 months. After that, they need 2 weeks of healing time where they are confined to a smaller space so they don’t pull their stitches, and a further 1-2 weeks for their hormones to settle a bit more. During the hormone settling time you can start doing “pre-bonding” side swaps, where you swap who is in what pen every day or two. Once they seem really relaxed about the cage swaps and towards each other through the fence, you will start bonding sessions in a neutral space (an area neither bunny has been before). During dates you will prevent fighting and supervise while they sort out their dominance hierarchy. Most new bonders will start out with short dates and gradually increase the amount of time they spend together. The goal is to get to a point where you have no aggressive behaviors and lots of positives (cuddling, grooming, food sharing, etc). This phase of actually dating can take anywhere from 2 weeks to several months in a tough bond. So, it can be a big time commitment and requires a lot of patience. It’s worth it in the end though! Not sure how old your son is, but if he’s old enough then perhaps he can help with some of the bonding supervision. 🙂

. . . 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.  

[Tflow]

@dana Thank you so much for such a detailed response. I am a bit disappointed in the breeder not being fully honest with me. As I mentioned earlier my son (age 10) had gone through a year of chemotherapy and all he had been asking for was a bunny. I told him he could after we knew he would be strong enough to enjoy it. He’s very good with pets and because he already has 2 black labs who were so easy to raise I figured “how hard is it to raise a little bunny”. Famous last words.

so I found a breeder who seemed genuinely dedicated to rabbits and their care and explained my situation that I am raising my son alone and he this had been my gift to him for finishing up cancer treatments. I told her that I had no real experience with rabbits so would trust her advice. Originally I wanted just the one. But she advised since I work that the bunny needs a friend.  So thinking it’s best to have 2 of the same sex I went with girls. She told me she would keep them together for a week to get used to one another. They seemed fine …for a week. But that changed rather quickly. It’s not that they fight but I can see it will lead to that by natural instinct. Right now I have them in a 62 square foot playpen. So plenty of space. I put up a gate that divides it in 2 so they can see each other. Interestingly right now they want to be together. They eat together, lie down together. The younger one grooms the older one. But I separate them by the gate at night. When I wake up they are lying next to each other on either side of the gate.

I know it will all change bc heck…they are women :-). I have an appointment with the vet this week and will see what they say. They do specialize in bunnies too (I take my dogs and my son has a bearded dragon lizard too) so I trust them. And will see what they say.

I feel stupid and am very disappointed in not doing the research further. I don’t want to split them up – I doubt they are actually bonded so am likely putting human emotions on them but  I’m not certain I am able to invest the time once they get older and the aggressiveness gets to be too much to handle.

thank you again. You are all very kind

[Tflow]

One final question and I promise I won’t bother you anymore. I assume that they get jealous like any other animal so I try to be equal in attention. However should I always feed pay attention  to the one who seems to be the dominant one in order not to have her target the younger one. They are only a month difference in age but I suppose that could be alot in terms of their development

[DanaNM]

Don’t feel bad! And you aren’t bothering us at all!  (Also I just watched your video, beautiful bunnies! And wonderful set-up!)

It’s actually really good that they still like each other through the fence, and they do look good together during that video for now, but you are right in that this will likely escalate to more serious scuffles. But this means odds are good that once they are spayed you will be able to bond them easily. People have more problems when they wait till a bad fight breaks out to separate.

In terms of “jealousy”, I don’t think you need to worry about any thing you do affecting their hierarchy. In many bonded pairs it’s actually hard to tell who is “top bun”, so during bonding I just focus on preventing fights and building some positive associations between them. Since they are separate now I would just focus on paying equal amounts of attention to them both so you can build trust with both of them.

 

. . . 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.  

[Tflow]

Thank you for your replies again. These two girls seem to really dislike one another but I’m going to keep trying. The vet won’t spay the older one for at least another month – when she reaches 5.5 months.  I’m going to try your wise advice and timeline. If it’s still feeling hopeless I may have to give one up and try again in the future.

just feel like I failed and my intentions were good but ignorant. And I feel as though I have made life harder for these two bunnies and they may have been better off staying with the breeder.

best wishes and I’ll keep you posted

[DanaNM]

If it really will be a burden and stressful to keep them both, I don’t think you should feel shame in returning one rabbit to the breeder (if they will still take them). Then in time you can adopt another rabbit to bond with your current rabbit.

I know your son has become attached to them both though 🙁

. . . 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.  

[Tflow]

I think I came up with a solution for now. My sister offered to take the older bunny as a foster. Then when we have them both spayed and they have the time to heal then we will try to bond them. They can have “meet ups” to get used to each other’s scent again.

then if that still doesn’t work I can at least say we tried. My sister said she would keep the bunny if the bonding doesn’t end up working out

[LBJ10]

This sounds like a reasonable solution. Both bunnies will be cared for and there is the chance they can be reunited later.

[DanaNM]

That sounds like a great solution!

 

. . . 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.  

[BZOO]

When you do try bonding and are swapping their areas, swap a little dirty litter from the litter boxes too.  And maybe get them each a small stuffy and swap those around too.  Smells, smells, smells!😁

[Tflow]

Thank you again everyone!! I don’t know what I would do without your wonderful insight.  It’s crazy bc they have been getting along really well these past couple days but I’ve read enough  on here to understand that’s all going to change with hormones. And it’s better to separate them before they possibly end up fighting and thus making it harder to truly bond them after they are spayed.

I will definitely heed all of your wonderful tips. I have printed them all out and put them in a “bonding bunnies binder” 😊

 

 

will keep you posted for sure

 

[DanaNM]

It really can be so hard to know what to do, but I think you are making the right call since you would need to wait awhile before you could get them spayed!

. . . 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.  

[Tflow]

Thank you !

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