Sisters Bond Broken?

[Persephone]

I’ve had my rabbits Asterlix and Oberlix since very young (going on 4 years together) and they are sisters from the same litter. They are both spayed and have always gotten along and only ever had one or two fights when establishing dominance in a new area as a result of moving and it seemed to resolve without much intervention.

One bun got sick a few days ago (the usual dominant one if that makes a difference) and we took her to the vet. It was determined to be GI Stasis and we were advised to keep them apart for 24 hours to monitor and see if she is pooping normally. To separate them, we had a pen inside their normal roaming area that we put the sick bun in and was still viewable and accessible through the pen but not able to touch.

24 hours passed and she seemed to be getting better so we monitored a get-together time between them before we locked up sick bun in the pen for the night.

This continued until last night. I opened the pen to let the rabbits be together. I wasn’t watching them closely as they had no issues for the past 2 days but as I was in the room I did manage to break up a nasty fight between them. No injuries sustained but lots of chunks of fur were lost. I couldn’t figure out what the cause was but we separated them into their areas again. However, I was woken up during the night to sounds of them trying to fight between the bars of the pen. We put up blankets and towels on the pen until I could attempt to rebond them today.

I thought the attempt was successful. I put them both in the bathroom with my supervision and held one or the other while they got accustomed to each other. I split up a couple tiny nips, but afterwards my usual dominant one was able to mount without an attack from the other and they were grooming and laying next to each other so I thought it went well. This was over a few hours.

I brought them back out to their usual area but switched where they stayed (previous sick bun in the open area with healthy bun in the pen) so they can use their litter box. But they started trying to box each other through the pen again and biting the other when their nose is through the bars.

This is the worst fight I’ve seen between them so far and I’m reading up on every forum and blog post to help, but I’m not sure what rebonded buns look like or what I could be doing wrong or better for them to repair this. My relief from one getting better after GI Stasis has quickly been reversed into anxiety over their fighting.

 

[DanaNM]

Ahhh, that’s so stressful. I’m sorry you are going through that. I think you probably moved too quickly from neutral space back into their home turf. Usually it’s recommended to “cement” the bond for about 48 hours or so before moving them to a new location.

Was either bun injured at all? Wounds can be disguised in fur, so I would check them over thoroughly. If so, I think it would be good to give them a little break to calm down, possibly not side by side if they are constantly being aggressive through the fence. Sometimes a couple weeks to cool down helps a lot.

Then you will basically have to start from square one, but there have been other cases of bonds breaking over vet visits that have re-bonded relatively quickly.

It does sound like they were doing OK in the neutral space though, so you could try again and just keep them there for much longer. Or continue to do short sessions there until you feel they are more solid.

As for the fighting between the bars, you should add a second x-pen to make a double walled fence so they can’t nip each other through the fencing. Usually about 6 inches between the fences is good for x-pens. Those nose nips can lead to some hard feelings and also cause injuries.

. . . 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.  

[Persephone]

I think you’re right about moving from neutral to home too quickly. I think part of the issue is that it was my normally dominant bun that was sick this time as opposed to my lesser one. When the submissive bun got injured, they fought briefly for dominance, but it resolved quickly because she was already weaker and separated from her normal area. Now the balance is totally out of whack with my submissive bun enjoying the area and food without her bigger sister dominating. I already feel this will be a big project.

I worry about keeping them apart for a long time due to the fact they’ve been together 24/7 for 4 years. If there was another x-pen 6 inches away that we kept one in, would they still be able to sense/smell each other so it will seem like they are still around? I worry about depressing them with total separation but understand it’s necessary to an extent to quell the bad memories of fighting.

[DanaNM]

Well, since they are fighting, the bond is more or less broken. So separating them probably won’t make them depressed. But if you at least keep them so they can see each other and smell each other they will know the other bun is there, which might be what you want, or need to avoid depending on how they are acting.

You could see how they do with just side-by-side separation. Just removing the ability to nose-nip might be enough to start calming things down a lot. Then if it seems like they are still really agro towards each other you can opt for a longer separation?

. . . 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.  

[Persephone]

That’s good that they won’t be depressed alone at least. I’ve given each of them a stuffed animal to keep them company somewhat and letting them chill out by themselves for a few days before I attempt another rebonding. If that rebonding fails than I will go for a longer separation and total restart on bonding.

Is it possible for them to never rebond again after multiple failed attempts? That’s my biggest fear and if so, I’ll allow more time in between my reattempts to really allow them to cool off.

[DanaNM]

It’s possible, but I think I know of more cases where the bond has been repaired than not. And sometimes the bond just kind of snaps back together suddenly, like they are like “Oh, I remember you!”

The longer separation is usually recommended if a bunny got a severe injury. If they were just pulling fur, then you are prob OK to go with shorter.

I think I would base it off how they do side by side. In pre-bonding, usually it’s good to swap sides until they don’t seem to react to each other anymore and you don’t see aggressive behaviors through the fence. Usually this takes a few weeks. If you are still seeing lots of aggressive behaviors through the fence after a few weeks, it might be best to do a full separation for several weeks and start from scratch.

. . . 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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