One Rabbit attacking the other?

[Luke.bryan]

Hi there, we have two rabbits, a lop and a Dutch and recently the Dutch, it looks as though is attacking the other. She always goes for her side and takes clumps of her fir. The lop then runs away and the Dutch chases her until she is cowering in a corner or we intervene. It’s been going on for some time now but didn’t always happen. But past few days it has been constant. Any idea why this is or any solutions would be greatly appreciated? On another note the Dutch has always been the dominant one so I don’t think it’s a dominance thing.

[Wick & Fable]

Are they properly bonded? This means 1) they are both fixed and 2) they have gone through the bonding process (prebonding, dates, supervised monitoring…). Hormones change rabbits drastically, regardless if the rabbits have been together since birth or are from the same family. So my initial thought is your rabbits may not be fixed and are now acting on hormones.

If they are not bonded and you would like to have them both, they will need to go through the bonding process or they may seriously hurt each other. They may seem happy sometimes, but in the end, an unhealhy bond is very dangerous.

The first step would be to separate them from each other for their safety. Two separate pens/habitats.

Are they both fixed? How long have they been together? And how old are they?

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.

[Author]

Messages