Rabbits fighting

[Lauren64]

We have 2 male rabbits from the same pet shop who are 15 months old and live in an indoor cage. They are handled daily and let out to have the reign of the downstairs of our house. We had them neutered as soon as possible and they have generally been fine together. They play, groom, sleep together and will always crash out together under our coffee table, practically lying on top of each other. One rabbit is much bigger than the other as he eats very fast but the other is generally a lot quicker and more agile. We started feeding the smaller one more separately a few weeks ago but he’s not that interested. They always have hay anyway.

They have been in a few fights together, it seems to be every 3 months or so and we’ve just kept them separate for a day and then reintroduced them back together. We thought it was on days we hadnt given them the space to run round properly. About a year ago they fought and the bigger rabbit had a clean hole through the end of his ear that the vet checked and said was ok but to keep an eye on them. Three days ago, they started fighting again so we separated them but they kept fighting when we reintroduced them outside the cage and inside the cage. The smaller rabbit has a big scratch across his eye (thankfully it’s more his eyelid and brow part, and hasn’t touched his actual eye). But we rushed out and bought another cage to keep them separate properly. The cages were next to each other and they kept sniffing each other through the bars and lying against the bars to be as close as possible together. We decided to leave it a few days before reintroducing them though as we want his eye to heal properly. But this evening they kept trying to bite at each other through the bars and were really skittish whenever the other moved.

Do you think is the permanent solution now? If they have fought and actually injured each other, is it worth the risk of putting them back together? Also, what do we do about letting them run round outside the cage? Is it going to cause problems if they can smell the others scent around the house? If they are in seperate cages, will they ever get on outside the cage? I hate to split them as they are inseparable inside and outside the cage normally but I just couldn’t forgive myself if I let one of them really injure the other!!

[Little Lion Head]

Have you tried any stress bonding techniques like the bathtub, car rides in the same carrier, or putting them in a laundry basket on the dryer? The stress of the situation might be what they need to start re-bonding.

[Lauren64]

I’m afraid to put them close together in case they fight again. We were thinking of waiting a few more days until his eye heals as we didn’t want to cause any further damage. Will it be worse reintroducing them after a few days apart? Their cages are next to each other and they have tried a few times to bite each other through the bars but I don’t know if this is more frustration than aggression?

[Little Lion Head]

I’m not an expert but I’ve read things that says it’s ok to give them a break for a few days. So I think thats ok!

[BubbaBunnies]

This has happened to by bunnies and is currently happening! My buns were hard to bond to start with and the only thing that worked was marathon bonding, so I thought maybe thats why they sometimes just can’t stand each other after awhile i need some encouragement. Anyhow they were bonded early last November and I believe had a full on fight again mid December, which was during my University exams so I had no time to rebound them. I was so desperate that I just locked them in their cage together with the hut and everything taken out except the litter box and they figured out their problem quite fast (in hindsight i realize how risky that was but I was desperate). Last night my buns started a chase and full on fight, my room was covered in bunny hair, no exaggeration. I tried just letting them settle it but it was getting worse so i separated them in an xpen for the night and they fought through the bars on and off. I woke up to the female (Lily) grooming Alfie (male – both fixed) through the bars, which isn’t such a surprise because she is more into the peace and he’s usually the territorial aggressor. Anyhow since I am in exam time again I just have them in a recycling bin with hay on the bottom and an xpen around it for today while i study and there is just humping going on and grooming from Lily and I guess I will try them in the xpen later (I tried them about 1 hour ago and they fought really aggressively). Im thinking they pick up on my exam stress considering the pattern. Im sorry you are going through this too, its far from fun. I would recommend just putting them in a bin and just lifting it up and shaking it lightly/walking around with it if they fight (only thing that breaks up my buns fighting). I recommend you don’t wait too long as it might fuel more frustration as you said, but then again do what stresses you least as your stress will just provoke the fighting.

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