Same old, same old…

[Tate]

 Velvateen and Fievel were out together last night for about an hour. All week, they have been laying next to each other on either side of the xpen and Velvateen has even groomed Fievel’s face a few times. When they were running around, they would run up to each other and kind of poof up and they run away. Or a few times, they would just ignore each other. Then, they started fighting. I should also say that V went to the vet today to get the pin removed. I thought that it was causing him some pain and making him more irritable. It wasn’t taken out because the vet didn’t see any need to. It’s actually still in the exact same spot as it was when it first went in and the x-rays from the vet from a few weeks ago were misleading. There’s no possible way V is in pain, as the doctor bent his leg and moved it in any way possible. Plus, I’ve never seen V limping and he binkies like no other! He is not a rabbit in pain. Also, they haven’t gotten along in about 3 weeks and before that they didn’t fight… little “tiffs” here and there before Fievel was neutered, but nothing big. They shared a 4ft x 4ft xpen.

I think that when they do get into fights, it’s a dominance thing. They don’t just go attack each other. They both put their heads down in front of each other for grooming. I haven’t seen them mount each other yet, but I think maybe one tries to do that and the other won’t have any of it. I think V should be the dominant one, but Fievel just doesn’t want to get humped. Velvateen seems to initiate most things, although Fievel will strike back. Their behavior is exactly what it was like when I brought Fievel home to V, except for the fact that Fievel is going to defend himself. I think V is (for whatever reason) is dominant/protective mode and it’s not just an attack thing.

I’ve read quite a few things on here about what to do in that situation. I am completely determined to bond them because while V might be a good lone bunny, Fievel isn’t. I know he’s so sad to not have his buddy with him. But now is not the time to do it. 

My boyfriend is willing to take Fievel for a few weeks. We live 7 hours away from each other, so it’s not like I could visit Fievel every night. Boyfriend comes to see me every 2-3 weeks and the next time he comes to Pullman (where I live), he would have Fievel with him. Would it be helpful to have them apart for a few weeks? Velvateen follows me around and I think he would be sad if I left him with Boyfriend, but Fievel is SO ALOOF. I think I could give him to Charles Manson and as long as there was food and pets, he’d be fine.

 

[Sarita]

No, I don’t think having them apart is helpful.

Are they actually fighting though or just trying to see who’s dominant which they must work out themselves.

[Tate]

It ends up being a full blown fight. Their tails get raised and their ears fall back, but it happens in an instant. They smell each other intently and just seem to have a skirmish which ends badly. They both clearly want to be dominant. They end up biting each other and while I’ve never seen blood, I’ve put my hand between them when this happens and it HURTS! I’d be worried that they would really hurt each other in the end. I’ve been reading the bonding guide from Save A Bunny and that’s why I think it’s a dominance thing.
I was also thinking of getting two stuffed stand in bunnies and letting them take out any fighting on those. Would that help with a dominance issue?

[Sarita]

A stuffed double might help with bonding – will it help with determining who is dominant, most likely not since there is normally a top bun in a pair or group. Somebun normally has to be boss. I think you should give that a try though if you haven’t used that technique just yet.

[Author]

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