Urgent Help Needed. Fighting Bunnies.

[Maria]

Hey guys. I have 2 bunnies that I have spoken about before on here, Mizu and Umi are both Mini Lops that are 13 weeks old. I woke up this morning to find Mizu’s fur all over the house (they are allowed free reign of the house) I kept an eye of Mizu all day and this evening saw both rabbits start fighting with Umi pulling out Mizus hair and them rolling all over the place. It really scared me as they are normally so placid.

I broke it up and put Umi in her cage, as she seemed to be the instigator, for some time out. and when I let her out them both seemed fine together.

Before this they seemed quite happy and bonded. Mizu started out as the dominant rabbit but when she got GI statis Umi took over and since Mizu’s recovery there hasn’t really seemed to be a dominant one.

Now I am planning to spay them both when they were old enough and the signs are there that they are almost ready. Spraying, grumpiness, chewing everything in sight and now the fighting but I researched spaying and it said 6months would be the earliest. Now I have found myself a rabbit savvy vet for the op.

My question is, shall I get them fixed post-haste? what shall I do in the meantime? They both have the run of the house when I am in as they have been pretty trustworthy so far. They have a cage but I never wanted them in it permantly, it was only ever meant to be there base. Should I separate them? Or just leave them to sort it out themselves, I know it’s probably a dominance thing they need to sort out but I don’t want them to get hurt.

Sorry for rambling it’s just i’ve had quite a shock tonight!  Thanks for any speedy replies you can give me as I need to know what to do before I head to bed for the evening.

[Sarita]

I would separate them for now. I think they are still a little young for spaying.

Leaving them to sort it out for themselves may result in injury.

[Maria]

I kept them separate last night and as soon as they got near each other they went at it, mauling up my hand in the process. I just don’t have the facilities or the room to house them separately. Last night I managed by have them in different rooms.
I am seriously considering getting rid of one of them, which I don’t want to do but I don’t see many options available. Any help or advice would be appreciated.

[PEPPA GEORGIE]

Oh dear, you poor thing, i would think spaying them would sort them out, also the trip to the vet might re-bond them as they would be scared together.
The vet would be able to tell you if they are ready i would have thought, mine were 5 months old. Do you know their definate age?
Is Mizu totally better now, could her illness have anything to do with it? Personally i would try a trip in the car with them both and then some neutral territory to see if they could re-bond, maybe ask a vet about the spaying xx Good luck

[Maria]

I have a vet appointment for tomorrow. I’m in the car with them now. They are laying down next to each other and panting heavily. Mizu has been better for quite a while now but it is her that keeps shoving her head under umis chin. I’m going home now as I have to go out and I will put them in separate rooms. My question is what is the next step? Thanks for all the help so far.

[RabbitPam]

Sounds like you’re taking the next step. The car ride will help. The vet can usually determine by examining them whether each is old enough to be spayed. I think it’s a question of their size and the vet’s skills. My bet wanted Sammy to be grown big enough to make the surgery less risky. Hopefully one or both of them is old enough to be done right away. If Umi is being that aggressive, she might be old enough judging from her hormonal behavior.

The do need to be separated still. Did you say you have a cage for each of them? Being in separate rooms will insure their safety. You can even use your bathroom if it’s for a very short time. Check out the bonding section here for good advice on coping with bonding aggressive bunnies. I’d say keep a pair of gloves and a squirt spray bottle handy while keeping them supervised when they’re together. You can catch a fight as it’s about to happen or break it up quickly. Try putting them to either side of you and giving them pets, one with each hand. BinkyBunny has some videos of her bonding with Jack and Vivian that are good to watch.
With the illness, plus the separation of spaying, it sounds like you will be trying to bond them over again, but it may work out well in the long run.
Let us know what the vet says, which will help determine your time frame for coping with the setback.

[jerseygirl]

Were they litter mates? Are Umi and Mizu both female? I’m wondering if you can borrow or hire a 2nd cage then stack one on top of the other. You will need to have separate space for them during recovery time plus during re-bonnding them.

[Beka27]

They will need to remain separate until after the surgeries and healing time. I would not leave them together unsupervised, even if they do begin to get along in your presence b/c at a moment’s notice they can begin to fight again.

[kralspace]

sounds like Mizu is ready to regain her title of Top Queen and Umi not willing to give it up yet. I wonder, like the others, if the stress of car rides, vet trips, spaying, etc. will help them sort it out and rebond, probably with Mizu back in control?

They can be funny. When I adopted my older girl Hershey, I was told she was the passive partner in her lifelong relationship, but after coming home to a totally bachelor husbun, she assumed the Top Bun title with relish. Sometimes I think she’s a bit hard on poor Simba but once he figured out how to wait on her hand and foot he seems to like being her slave.

Good luck with it all

[Maria]

I was thinking about making them a NIC cube home, separated at the moment and then I still have a nice home for when they are bonded but I don’t think they sell them widely in the UK. Does anyone know where I could get them?
They are from the same litter and got on so well up till now. I phoned up a UK rabbit helpline and she said it sounds hormonal rather than behavioural so fingers crossed.
I will be taking them on a ride to the vet tomorrow so hopefully more bonding time! I found some wounds on both rabbits from where their fur was pulled out but there aren’t weeping.
I will let you know what the vet says tomorrow. Thanks for all the help.

[PEPPA GEORGIE]

Hi i got mine off ebay if you type in cubes and go to storage loads come up, as office shelving etc, they were £15 for a four cube pack i think and i got 3 boxes, i will try find the name of the ebay shop as it was buy it now xx That was enough to make a two by three high for my two but had enough left to then make a two by two for my guinea pigs too so you could make one large one and split down middle which i have had to do for guineas as they are fighting. x

[Maria]

Hey guys. Vet said he will spay them in a months time as they aren’t big enough yet and the surgery would be too difficult. So I have a month to kill before they can be together again. They get along well in the back of my car and they ignore each other in my bathroom. At the vets they were grooming each other and they also do that in the back of my car. Mizu is on antibiotics for a cut she got when fighting. I have bought some nic cubes for their new home so that they will still be able to see each other in the next month.

[PEPPA GEORGIE]

Arr bless, hopefully it will go quicker than you think and the car journeys and vets visits will have helped too. Good luck hope it settles down,i am sure it will xx

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