very dominant bunny

[Mot]

Hi guys.

About two weeks ago I adopted a female for my single male rabbit. However, she is very dominant.

She often nips him on his back and chases him, sometimes even holding on to his fur while chasing. I don’t see any bite wounds, but it makes him thump a lot and looking a bit stressed. They do eat peacefully together, and he often comes to her on his initiative too. I know bonding can take a lot of time, but I am worried, as the other bondings I have done in the past, were all very easy, with no fighting whatsoever. The shelter where i got her from, has a policy of being able to return her within 3 months and try bonding with another rabbit, if it doesn’t work out. But I really wouldn’t want her to have to go back there again. Also; while he seems stressed, she seems very happy and relaxed in her new home.

Would spaying her be the solution? She is a very playful and energetic bunny, will she come out a completely different rabbit after the surgery? I’ve been thinking of spaying her anyway for the health reason, but I read she needs to stay indoors after the surgery for a while. This is a bit of an issue, as my parents are moving, and the construction work (which will be going on for some months), would probably be stressfull indoors. So it would be quite some time before she could get spayed.

Thanks for reading.

[sarahthegemini]

She needs spaying before she can be bonded.

She also needs to be given time to settle in.

Once she’s settled and spayed and healed, you start pre bonding which should be done for a month.

[Doodler]

Hi there!

Normally the first recommended step in bonding is to have the rabbits altered. I would honestly stop all bonding attempts until this is done. It is possible they may successfully bond but it’s usually much more difficult and not really advisable since it’s so risky. Bonding can be hard enough without hormones being thrown into the mix. Her hormones can make her more territorial and her behavior to be too unpredictable.

As far as her playfulness and energy level, this can honestly change even with age so there’s no telling how she’ll be in the future. My doe didn’t change after being spayed however she also wasn’t hormonal. If the behaviors you are seeing are caused by hormones then conceivably you could see some change but nothing that would ever be a trade off for the benefits of having her spayed. The general consensus I see online is that their personalities in general stay the same. Spaying can actually help with territorial and aggressiveness issues, and it can also help with litter training issues (if any of these issues even apply). In other words any changes in the way they behave tends to be for the better if anything and should never be a reason not to spay.

Good luck with them!!

[Kiki]

Definitely get her fixed. My doe healed really fast, she was ready to be out of her cage in 3 days with supervision and back to raising hell in a week flat. Trust me, getting them spayed makes a world of difference in a hormonal bun, mine is so sweet and no aggressive behaviors at all and it’s only been a little over 2 weeks.

[sarahthegemini]

Oh I forgot to add, my doe never changed a bit after being spayed. Still the same sweet and playful bun with a touch of sass.

[Mot]

Thank you all for your replies!
I will definitely get her spayed as soon as possible then. And good to hear your bunnies all recovered well (:

[Author]

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