rabbits start argument between 9-12pm?

[saelwia]

So I have a problem,

I have a few rabbits and they were already bonded for a while, they’re also castrated, however now since about 3 days, they started fighting ONLY between 9-12pm, and when I say fighting I mean the whole jumping, kicking, biting kind, I just interfere, they stop and 10 minutes later they’re back to their usual self being besties, grooming, eating, sleeping together, etc..

I don’t really understand, because I didn’t know rabbits can really go from fighting like kicking and such, to just being besties in 10 minutes again? And also what confuses me more is that they only do this between 9-12pm, during the day and night they’re completely fine? Does it have to do with a peek of the small amount of hormones they still have in their bodies, since castrated bunnies always keep a small amount right?

Any insight would be appreciated!

[DanaNM]

That level of fighting is not normal in a bonded pair. My guess about the timing is that it’s because that is a very active time of day for rabbits, rather than having to due with hormones (unless they were castrated very recently)? Something appears to have upset their bond. Do you notice any particular trigger? Such as aggression over food or an unmet grooming request? or maybe a mounting attempt? Mounting should not cause fighting in a bonded pair.

What did you do to bond them, and how long specifically have they been bonded and castrated? With that level of fighting I would advise you to separate them and work on repairing the bond, especially since this has now happened multiple days in a row. It’s very likely that it could get worse and a rabbit could get injured, which would make it harder to repair the bond.

. . . 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.  

[saelwia]

They’ve been castrated and bonded for several months now. There seems to be no obvious trigger, and the rest of the day they’re just back to their usual self, just grooming each other, eating together, sleeping together in a pile like they always did and do. It’s or at around 9:30 pm or around 11:30 pm that they’ll have this fight and will imediately stop afterwards too and will be back to their usual self. But I don’t understand one thing, if something has upset their bond, wouldn’t they be like this the entire day? Here they’re their usual self the rest of the day, that’s what confuses me.

Like I had heard about rabbits having issues with their bond all of a sudden, but then they would have issues with each other the entire time, like they would have to be seperated, they wouldn’t have issues with each other only within a specific time of day to immediately after be fine with each other, that’s just what confuses me the most, I have never heard about this before.

I would also like to mention that right after their fight, they immediately apologise to each other, by pressing their heads together.

[DanaNM]

I was mostly curious about how long they had been castrated at the time they were bonded. If they were bonded really close to the time they were castrated, they could have been going under hormonal changes which made the bond a bit less stable.

I would try moving them to a totally neutral space during the times you have issues and supervise closely. It’s possible that with a few sessions in a neutral space they can sort out whatever dominance struggle is going on and go back to being peaceful.

. . . 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.  

[mia]

I’ve had this happen to two groups of buns. Fully bonded (years with no incidence), then suddenly have a really bad fight sometimes even breaking skin, and immediately make up. Recently, this also happened at a certain time of day for a couple weeks, and then magically the issue disappeared. The only thing I’ve been able to find in common is that the groups had one bun with a chronic illness.

[DanaNM]

@mia brings up a very good point. Illness in one bun can trigger upsets to the bond. @saelwia , it’s been some time now, how are your bunnies doing?

. . . 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.  

[DanaNM]

@mia brings up a very good point. Illness in one bun can trigger upsets to the bond. @saelwia , it’s been some time now, how are your bunnies doing?

. . . 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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