Sibling bunnies not getting along

[Booboo]

I have 3 bunnies. The oldest is an unspayed female who is about 8 months. The other two are a pair of siblings that are also unspayed/neutered and about 3 months old. The girl sibling is the runt of the litter and is generally smaller. While the boy bunny is active and bigger in size. The two siblings are lops. When I got them, they all got along. I took them all to the vet together about 2 weeks ago and since then the little baby runt girl is constantly attacking her brother. It’s gotten so bad that I have seen bite marks on their ears. I have separated them for the time being and am looking into spaying and neutering them but I’m wondering what else it could be? They all used to get along.

[Bam]

This is most likely about the babies starting puberty. When that happens, siblings will nolonger get along. Puberty hormones give rise to aggression, skittishness and territoriality. Girls are as a rule the worst when it comes to territoriality.

Your buns need to be separated now and then desexed in order for them to form a lasting friendship. You should separate them asap, before they get into any really bad fights, because if they become real enemies now, it may be very difficult, perhaps even impossible, to bond them later.

[Sirius&Luna]

Why would you keep unneutered opposite sex bunnies together? Both female bunnies could well be pregnant.

[Booboo]

We are planning on neutering and spaying them all.

[Wick & Fable]

It’s great that you’re planning to spay and neuter them all. I know the expense can be high, but the benefits are (subjectively) higher!

I agree with bam that it’s hormone. There tends to be a belief in humans that when young males reach middle school, their voices start cracking and they start thinking about more sexually-related…. Things. You’ve reached puberty and everything changes! The idea is young men experience this surge in hormones and it affects their judgement.

With rabbits, it’s like that. Except grossly amplified. Humans have a wonderfully complex brain that gives us a lot of space to learn restraint and understand family relationships and the idea that getting along is beneficial. For rabbits, hormones hit, and they fixate on mating and surviving. This means attacking a lot of the time, as well as destructive behaviors, like trying to dig a burrow perhaps. For females, we see false pregnancy and generally even more aggressive territorial protection (probably to protect potential babies).

I echo bam and support your action of separating them until those spays and neuters are complete, there is a month of recovery at least so hormones can regulate and they can heal, and then begin bonding (which, in order to circumvent their gut reaction to attack/hump (still there after neuter/spays, but less amplified), is a long process). You’ll find info on bonding on this website! See BUNNY INFO as well as bonding diaries in the Bonding section of the forums.

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]

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