Slow Chases and Rough Grooming

[Cherry3.142]

Being new rabbit owners, our pair of Netherland Dwarves are constantly teaching us new things about their behavior and their language.  The most recent developments have us slightly concerned, so I’d like to describe the situation as we see it, and hopefully anyone with the time and the experience can help us decide if things are going well or not.

The situation is this:  Chibi, our 19 week-old male, has been fixed for four weeks and has been living in a seperate cage within sight and smell of Pixel’s cage during his recovery.  Pixel is 10 weeks old and has yet to be spayed because of warnings we’ve had about spaying a female too early.  Being this young, I didn’t know if hormonal behavior could be expected, but I’m assuming so, since I know they’re able to bear litters already.  

We decided that three weeks of smelling and interacting in their cages had warranted a meeting, which we held in neutral territory (the bathroom).  Our expectation was that Chibi would attempt to dominate her, and he did, by mounting.  She didn’t protest and after he’d done it several times he seemed to be more interested in sniffing her.  This first visit lasted 10-15 minutes after which we put them back in their cages.  This was considered to be a promising interaction.

The next meeting was a week later (today).  We started by placing them both in a small, lined carrier and taking them for a car ride with the understanding that the stressful situation would prompt them to comfort each other.  During the ride they huddled together facing the same way.  Afterwards we opened the carrier in a small room of the house they’ve both been in and sat nearby to watch and intervene if necessary.  This is when we began to get mixed signals from them.  

Chibi again mounted Pixel and she submitted.  They seperated and she moved away.  After a minute of being separate, Chibi began to move towards her, and she to move away.  This was all at a slow pace, and halting, so we didn’t consider it a problem.  She would sometimes simply move away from him, and sometimes face him and submit (head forward and on the ground), and sometimes flop on the ground, but everytime she would get up and move when he drew near.  If he moved away, she would approach him and then move away again when she had his attention.  

Eventually, Chibi seemed to grow discouraged, and he lay down.  She then approached him, sniffed nose to nose with him, and began to groom his head.  We thought this was a good sign.  His eyes were closed and he would occasionally pull his head away, but made no move to get up.  She was growing more vigorous and as I was wondering whether to separate them, she mounted him from the front, and then again from the rear.  We separated them shortly after that, and found that Chibi was missing fur from his head in the area Pixel was grooming him.  That was unexpected.  

That’s where we are now.  We’ve been told that young rabbits bond more easily than adult rabbits, but I’m thinking we might just have to wait until she’s spayed, though that will be a few months off.  Can anyone offer some insight into what’s been happening?  We would really appreciate it, because we want nothing more than to have a happy and healthy pair of bunnies to share our space with!

 

Thanks!

 

Curtis and Jodie

[jerseygirl]

It sounds like she’s now not allowing him to mount as much. When she lowers her head like that she’s actually asking him to groom her. It’s more dominant than submissive.  Mounting is also a dominance move from both bunnies. You are right to intervene when there is head mounting as bunny might receive a nasty bite otherwise. You can allow the correct mounting to go on as long as the other bunny accepts it ok. It helps them establish a heirachy. Grooming also can be a bit rough. I always feel my buck is nibbling at the Doe’s eyes but he’s just grooming. Perhaps get her to concentrate on the ears, neck or shoulder area by putting a little juice or something there to attract her.

Edit to add: Actually, now I’m not sure about allowing the mounting given that Pixel is 10wks old. Can someone else advise?

[Cherry3.142]

Thank you for the reply jerseygirl, it definitely helped us feel more secure about how the rabbits are bonding.

An update and a question if anyone can help! Their brief fight didn’t last long, they are seem to be closer than ever. They now spend most of the day in shared space without incident. Frequently grooming each other and laying next to each other. We’re preparing to put them in the same cage, but wanted to know if there is a good way to test them in a shared cage without causing a fight, or information about what our next steps would be to getting them living within the same caged area.

Jodie, Curtis, Chibi and Pixel <3

[Cherry3.142]

So, we have reached another speed bump!

Chibi and Pixel have been happily for a couple of weeks now living in the same cage. They’ve been running around together, laying together, snuggling and getting along really well. We took Chibi to the emergency vets last week because he was dehydrated, he had treatment and recovered quickly and for a few days afterwards things went back to normal. That was until a day or so ago when we let them out in the morning, Pixel immediately started mounting Chibi, this lead to circling and rough grooming and this has been the cycle since.

We’ve separated them for the time being because Pixel is grooming Chibi’s face constantly and pulling out chunks of hair. We tried the box on top of the washing machine idea to get them to cuddle and we’ve tried letting them both let off steam in separate rooms. Still, every time we get them together since this started the mounting, circling and grunting begins again.

We are at a loss as to what to do, any suggestions? They were getting along so well before this.

Thanks x

[Elrohwen]

Pixel will be going through some very tough hormonal times in the near future (or right now), so I would keep them separted (or only allow supervised playtime) until she is spayed. Unspayed females can turn very territorial and nasty almost without warning. It’s very common for a female to get along fine while she’s young, then dislike her partner as her hormones kick in. If you keep them together, I think there’s a possibility of a big fight.

[Cherry3.142]

Thanks for the advice Elrohwen, we will keep them separated until she has been spayed. We thought it may be hormones but we weren’t sure. As for Chibi, he looks happy not to be having his face chewed off but is missing his mate, he’ll have to wait!

[Elrohwen]

They might enjoy supervised time out together for playing. At least then you would be on hand to break up a fight before it could get bad.

Also, maybe you could put a stuffed animal in with her, to get her scent, then transfer it over to Chibi. Maybe he’ll like having a stuffed friend that smells like his real friend 😉

[Cherry3.142]

Elrohwen, that’s an excellent idea! They spent a few days apart, during which she was confined to a small room and he had the run of our living room. He certainly didn’t seem to miss her too much, though when he would see her in her cage or vice versa they would immediately run to the cage and investigate and try to get in. After a stint where he would lie next to her cage (seemingly to be near her) we let them both out together in a supervised visit that went well. Normal behavior seems to be restored. Unfortunately, that includes her normal face-eating behavior. I am tempted to just keep them apart until she’s been altered and healed. The stuffed animal might be enough to remind him that there’s a lady waiting for him without losing his face in the process!

[Elrohwen]

Separating them might be best. If two rabbits get into a bad fight, it can sometimes make bonding much much harder. They do remember and do hold grudges, so you definitely don’t want them to get to the point where the aggression would ruin any future bond.

[jerseygirl]

You can continue to maintain their budding friendship also, even though they’re separated. Having play dates as Elrohwen said, setting their cages side by side but allowing space between so no biting thru bars occurs. Serving their food so they are near one another in their respective pens. You could even swap them between pens.

During the time out together I’m wondering if you can direct Pixel away from her obsession with his face? Maybe putting something like banana or juice on top of his head or down his back to divert her attention there. I’ve heard of doing something like this using aniseed essence as it’s supposedly irresistable – yet I don’t know…I can’t imagine my 2 liking aniseed.

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