We just brought two male bunnies home. They've been living in an outdoor hutch together since they were babies, so we thought they were bonded. The dominant bunny, described by the owners as "aggressive," has not settled down for the past two hours. He is mounting the other rabbit, thumping and acting very agitated. The other rabbit, Jay, is chattering his teeth and making other quiet sounds that make me think he's distressed. Do we separate them?
Aggressive bunny help
- Thread starter Merlin
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Are they neutered? How old are they?
Sounds like they need to be seperated.
Sounds like they need to be seperated.
Are they both neutered and for how long? If they aren't neutered, then yes separate until neutered. Then 4-8 weeks post neuter you will need to go through the bonding process.
If they are neutered, you could try distracting the behavior with feeding time, or pushing him off after a few seconds. If he doesn't take the hint, then I would probably separate to give the other bunny a break. Then when both have settled down, attempt to put them back together. There will probably be a little mounting once back together, but if it continues for more than a few minutes, you may need to consider separating for longer(hours to days) until they've had a chance to adjust to their new home, then try putting them back together. The risk with this though, is that separating can sometimes risk affecting the bond, and rebonding may then become necessary.
It isn't uncommon for changes and new territory to spark this sort of dominance behavior in spayed/neutered rabbit groups, but usually it settles down fairly quickly. It's when it doesn't that temporary separation sometimes is needed, because continued humping can sometimes cause the other rabbit to become agitated if it goes on for too long.
If they are neutered, you could try distracting the behavior with feeding time, or pushing him off after a few seconds. If he doesn't take the hint, then I would probably separate to give the other bunny a break. Then when both have settled down, attempt to put them back together. There will probably be a little mounting once back together, but if it continues for more than a few minutes, you may need to consider separating for longer(hours to days) until they've had a chance to adjust to their new home, then try putting them back together. The risk with this though, is that separating can sometimes risk affecting the bond, and rebonding may then become necessary.
It isn't uncommon for changes and new territory to spark this sort of dominance behavior in spayed/neutered rabbit groups, but usually it settles down fairly quickly. It's when it doesn't that temporary separation sometimes is needed, because continued humping can sometimes cause the other rabbit to become agitated if it goes on for too long.
They are not neutered. We separated them and the dominant rabbit became very agitated. We left them in separate cages, but close together so that they could see each other. Now we are seeing that the smaller rabbit, Jay, is also mounting the other one (Jack) so they are both doing it. And it is Jack that was making the small kind of chirping noise. I think it is connected to the mounting.
Sorry, another urgent question. They have not had any water since I brought them home. I have a water bowl, but they had a bottle in their hutch. We're worried that they might not know how to drink out of a bowl. Does that make any sense? Or are they just too stressed to drink yet?
It's possible. I had a baby rabbit that didn't know how to drink out of a bowl, but she also didn't know how to drink from a bottle either. I'm not quite sure how you would teach them if they don't figure it out themselves. Do they eat any veggies? They may drink now that you've separated them and they have a chance to calm down.
It was probably buzzing or honking that you heard. It's a common sound rabbits make when excited or wanting to mate, especially unneutered males.
So you will need to keep them separated until you are able to get them neutered, or you risk fighting and serious injury. Then wait 4-8 weeks til the hormones die down before attempting to rebond them. You may want to check both of them to make sure you actually have two males, and if they are young check to see if their testicles have descended(usually around 3-4 months old). Once the testicles have descended, they can be neutered. You'll want to find a knowledgeable rabbit vet for this.
http://www.cottontails-rescue.org.uk/information/bonding-bunnies/
http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/educat...rabbit-care-articles/how-to-sex-your-rabbits/
http://rabbit.org/vet-listings/
It was probably buzzing or honking that you heard. It's a common sound rabbits make when excited or wanting to mate, especially unneutered males.
So you will need to keep them separated until you are able to get them neutered, or you risk fighting and serious injury. Then wait 4-8 weeks til the hormones die down before attempting to rebond them. You may want to check both of them to make sure you actually have two males, and if they are young check to see if their testicles have descended(usually around 3-4 months old). Once the testicles have descended, they can be neutered. You'll want to find a knowledgeable rabbit vet for this.
http://www.cottontails-rescue.org.uk/information/bonding-bunnies/
http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/educat...rabbit-care-articles/how-to-sex-your-rabbits/
http://rabbit.org/vet-listings/
Separate them. It's never a good idea to put intact rabbits together. But you have to know that there is a chance they will never get along - same sex pairings are really tricky and most of male / male attempts don't work out. Don't try to force it and be very careful if you try to bond them again (at least 6 weeks after neutering) as rabbits can seriously injure each other and are quick to bite and scratch - most non-rabbit people scoff at you when you say it but two rabbits fighting can be pretty scary and potentially deadly.
Carolann Elliott
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I once saw wild rabbits, cottontails, fighting. One of the scariest things ever. And they screamed. Sounded like a child screaming.
