Two “brothers” that started fighting

[MC Hief]

Hi !

I bought two rabbits from the same rabbitery when they were 8 and 6 weeks old. They’ve always been together and started fighting about after a month of living together. I’ve separeted them, they cannot see each other and I give them time outside their “respective areas” one at a time. When they are out, they can see each other. Ive tried to pit them in neutral zone (bath with myself mitigating) and my older one (stronger) bit the smallest.

Here are a list of the events that I have seen happening (& relevant info) :

– Bought them together, they have been living together since day one (along other rabbits)
– they were bonding really well sleeping next to each other for the first month
– they are both litter trained (although the smallest one took longer to achieve)
– they started fighting so i separeted them
– they jumped the fence to join each other multiples times, always finding fight mark (loose chunks of hair) but when i arrived on the “crime scene” they were always peacefully sharing the space.
– i have neutered the oldest&strongest one (i thought it was a female)
– his behaviour is more nice towards me (he bonds with me really well)
– the smallest is more nervous towards me and in general (hes also very quick)
– once the smallest
– i have noticed the smallest spraying urine on the oldest as he was hanging out outside his area (only wire mesh between them – they can see each other-)
– they always go see each other when i let them out (once at a time)
– ive tried to bond them in neutral area (bath) but the oldest bit the smallest. The smallest comes out very nervous and oldest looks pissed.
– ive noticed this; both were really peaceful.

[DanaNM]

Unfortunately baby rabbits cannot bond (but they will get along for a while), and once they hit puberty, they are likely to fight, as yours have.

You will need to neuter/spay both of them before you attempt to re-bond. You did the right thing by separating them!

For now, keep them separated, and get the other one neutered. Males need about 6 weeks for their hormones to settle. Females need longer… I can’t remember the exact amount, but I believe it’s 2-3 months.

How bad was the fight? Was either bun injured at all? If so, you’ll want to take a break from having them see each other at all, to let their hurt feelings and grudges heal.

If they fight wasn’t too bad (you stopped it before anyone was hurt), then you can start “pre-bonding”, which means swapping their cages so they lose track of territories and get used to the other bun’s scent being in their area.

After 1 month of pre-bonding, you can start sessions in neutral space again. Some people find small spaces work well, others like large spaces. I think with scared nervous bunnies large spaces are better, as they can get away from the other bunny if they want to, rather than feel like they have to fight to defend themselves.

During all of this time, make sure they can’t access each other through cage bars or fencing. Sight and smell is good, but no physical contact until you do supervised bonding sessions. This is very important! Every time they “jump the fence” and fight, you take several steps backward to them being bonded and risk someone being seriously injured. So please modify your set up so this isn’t possible.

. . . 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.  

[sarahthegemini]

You can’t bond until BOTH are neutered, hormones have disipated and you’ve done plenty of pre bonding.

If they keep ‘jumping the fence’, you need to secure the areas properly. They are obviously fighting at every opportunity. This makes the chance of them bonding slim. Not to mention, if they escape and get to one another again, you could find dead rabbits.

[Deleted User]

Along with everything else that has been said, your “shy” bun is more than likely nervous because he’s getting bullied. You said the smaller one had been hurt, so you need to keep them in completely separate areas. Like not to be seen or smelled or heard by each other. This will also probably help the timid bun come out of his shell a lot more too.

I’m confused as to why you were even planning on keeping them together if you were unsure if one of them was a female, as they can mate easily, and males can still produce sperm for up to a month after they have been neutered.

[MC Hief]

To answer your question, i was told they were both female by my vet. Thats why i wanted to have them together, I separated them once i knew that the older one was a male regardless of the fighting.

I guess i’ll have to neuter the other one if I want them to bond one day.

[MC Hief]

UPDATE :

Through their fence thay laydown next to each other peacefully.
I have also found the smaller one licking the other bunny’s nose through a hole of the fence.
They have been seperated for over 6 months now and it’s been 4 months that my older bun is neutered.

Any hopes that I could get away without neutering the small one (because it’s really expensive and I don’t really have the money to do that right now) ?

[tobyluv]

You really do have to get the other rabbit neutered. The moments of laying down peacefully next to each other through the fence or licking through the fence are nice, but that can all change in an instant, and surely would if they were actually together without a fence between them. Even with the fence, noses and lips can be severely bitten. Besides the fact that you don’t want either rabbit to be injured and in pain, you also wouldn’t want the vet bills that resulted in bites. It would be best if they didn’t even have access to one another through the fence, until the second neuter has been completed and you are ready to begin bonding.

Have you spoken with your vet about payment plans or checked to see if there are qualified rabbit vets that charge less, or if there are lower cost clinics that include rabbits? There is also something called Care Credit that some vets accept, where you pay with a credit card and pay a minimum each month without interest.

Even if you had gotten two females, they could not have stayed together once they reached puberty. They would have had to be spayed, and that’s more expensive than neutering. Then you would have had to go through proper bonding procedures.

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