spayed female HATES new baby female rabbit

[jazluvs02]

hiii, i’m new here. i decided to create an account because i’m having issues with my bunnies. First off, i have two bunnies (Maybelle, female, spayed about 2 months ago and Cosmo, male, yet to be neutered). I originally had Maybelle first, then decided to adopt Cosmo to keep her some company. They bonded almost immediately, and have been very happy together. Yesterday, I purchased a new bun, Juniper. She’s around 9 weeks old, very small and very cute. Of course, I know bonding is always tricky, but Maybelle keeps trying to attack her through the baby gate i’ve set up. She runs and grunts and tries to bite/nip at Juniper when she comes up to the gate.  Cosmo has always been the most passive little guy, and he has no problem with the new baby, but Maybelle chases him away from the baby gate if he gets too close while she’s trying to investigate, and she just seems to be very upset. I’m afraid I won’t be able to bond them ): Please help.

[Hazel]

You won’t be able to do any successful bonding until everyone is fixed. That goes for the male too. Make sure to keep them seperate with double barriers so they can’t bite each other through the bars and so your male doesn’t impregnate the baby. They can get pregnant as early as 12 weeks of age.

[DanaNM]

Yes I agree with Hazel. It seems like you got pretty lucky with your first pair in that your male is mellow enough to be unneutered and still get along with your female. But the presence of the new un-altered bun is likely to continue to create some problems. Until she is spayed (and your boy is neutered) you should move her so she’s not right next to them. It makes perfect sense that your boy is not bothered by the new bun, as he likely will try to mate with her. So definitely keep good separation!

All of that said, trios can be tough. It’s possible it won’t work, and your current pair may even split in the process. Getting everyone castrated will help the odds of success, but it’s not guaranteed, so you should be prepared for the full range of outcomes.

. . . 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.  

[LopsAreGreat]

im so sorry that you are dealing with this, I know the stress, because unfortunately I’m dealing with it right now. I actually had this happen between my neutered buck and not spayed female, and eventually they were able to get along. Something that really helped to move it along was setting them side by side and petting them for ten minutes, two sessions a day, and maybe a little interaction if you feel comfortable with it. And now my two sister buns are bonded to my neutered buck!! But the only problem is, is that my sister bunnies have now started fighting with each other, so I’m trying to figure that out. 😔

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