Bonded bunnies not getting on, help!

[Lindsey reid]

We have 3 bunnies, one female and male who had babies and we kept one of the babies, a male. All are house rabbits and roam free majority of the time apart from at night.

Both mum and dad have been neutered and baby was neutered last week. Dad and Baby have always got on very well and shared a cage majority of the time. However since baby has been neutered Dad is not happy. He keeps charging at baby and headbutting him, and then occasionally grooming him? Baby is acting submissive placing is head on the floor whenever Dad approaches. Does anyone know why this is happening after neutering? I'm so worried that they won't ever get on again!

Any advice would be really appreciated.

 

[LynayaChristine]

Hi there! When you separated them to get neutered, they may have broken their bond. Rabbit bonds break easily whether they are separated for days or even hours. They could be family, best friends or bonded for years and still break a bond if separated for any point of time.

My advice would be to take things slowly for now and supervise them. Discourage bad behavior with water in a spray bottle. If you have a spare cage, have them temporarily sleep side by side in separate cages to avoid issues overnight.

 

[Kinley]

You may want to try a rebonding process. They may just be acting different because they know something happened to them, and they want to reestablish dominance. The head butting should not be a concern. After my male was neutered, he did the exact thing with me. He would charge and then demand a head rub. This is nothing unusual, for males tend to be much sweeter and submissive after being neutered. I hope I helped!

 

[Lindsey reid]

Thank you both so much for your advice.

I think we had a little bit of progress last night as seen in the pic, so I will keep trying to rebond them as you suggested and hopefully things will be ok!

 

[JBun]

There could be a few things going on here. Once a rabbit is spayed/neutered their smell and personality can change. Dad likely senses something is different about the baby and it may be confusing him into thinking the baby isn't the same rabbit.

It could also be a space issue. Are all three rabbits kept together in the cage at night and does the cage have plenty of space for them to run about and get away from each other if needed? If it is happening primarily in the cage and the cage lacks sufficient space for the rabbits to move about and get away from each other, this can sometimes cause an escalation of tension. Or if it's happening primarily when they are out free roaming but not when locked up for the night, it can sometimes be an issue of too much space. Basically they can get too far apart from each other for too long of a period and this can sometimes cause them to 'forget' each other, especially with the baby being newly neutered and likely smelling different.

If it's primarily in the cage it's happening, I would consider expanding their cage space. If it's primarily happening free roaming, I would consider restricting their free roaming space to a smaller area so they can maintain proximity and contact, until they seem truly bonded again and then only gradually reexpand their space. If it's both situations, it may be needed to rebond them going through the actual bonding process(slow or fast method). Either now if the bonding seems to go well, or if there still seem to be problems then separating the baby and dad for several weeks for the babies hormones to die down first, then trying rebonding then.

One thing you should be aware of and cautious of is the head butting is essentially the dad trying to run the baby off. This is an aggressive move(even if it may be because the dad is mistakenly thinking the baby is an intruder) and could potentially escalate into an attack that causes serious injury. So I would be very cautious of monitoring interactions and/or rebonding very carefully. The dad may never do more than the head butting until you resolve the bonding issue with them, but it's important to be aware that it is aggression and there is the potential for it to escalate.

These links have info on bonding. You may also be able to find a local rabbit rescue that is experienced with rabbit bonding that you could consult with.
https://www.cottontails-rescue.org.uk/information/bonding-bunnies/
http://www.saveabunny.org/rabbitcare/bonding-guide

 

[Rita Iacarella]

I am having the same trouble with my Netherland dwarf rabbits. My male and female are both neutered and were great friends for six month. One evening two weeks ago the female (Boo) charged the male (Poe) and since then she nips and charges him whenever they are out of their cages together. The only change I noticed in their environment before this behavior was that Boo decided she wanted my attention. Prior to that night she was not interested in me and never let me pet her but Poe always has been very social with me. I think she decided she wants me for herself and Poe is now a threat . It is the only explanation I can think of. We now cannot have them out at the same time unless we are in the room. I have tried the vanilla on the nose and peanut butter on the head but that has done nothing so far. I will continue to do this for awhile to see if there is any change in the behavior. It is so sad but I am hoping they will re-bond over time. I think I will try the water bottle to discourage her bullying him. Will let you know if it works.

 

[Lindsey reid]

There could be a few things going on here. Once a rabbit is spayed/neutered their smell and personality can change. Dad likely senses something is different about the baby and it may be confusing him into thinking the baby isn't the same rabbit.

It could also be a space issue. Are all three rabbits kept together in the cage at night and does the cage have plenty of space for them to run about and get away from each other if needed? If it is happening primarily in the cage and the cage lacks sufficient space for the rabbits to move about and get away from each other, this can sometimes cause an escalation of tension. Or if it's happening primarily when they are out free roaming but not when locked up for the night, it can sometimes be an issue of too much space. Basically they can get too far apart from each other for too long of a period and this can sometimes cause them to 'forget' each other, especially with the baby being newly neutered and likely smelling different.

If it's primarily in the cage it's happening, I would consider expanding their cage space. If it's primarily happening free roaming, I would consider restricting their free roaming space to a smaller area so they can maintain proximity and contact, until they seem truly bonded again and then only gradually reexpand their space. If it's both situations, it may be needed to rebond them going through the actual bonding process(slow or fast method). Either now if the bonding seems to go well, or if there still seem to be problems then separating the baby and dad for several weeks for the babies hormones to die down first, then trying rebonding then.

One thing you should be aware of and cautious of is the head butting is essentially the dad trying to run the baby off. This is an aggressive move(even if it may be because the dad is mistakenly thinking the baby is an intruder) and could potentially escalate into an attack that causes serious injury. So I would be very cautious of monitoring interactions and/or rebonding very carefully. The dad may never do more than the head butting until you resolve the bonding issue with them, but it's important to be aware that it is aggression and there is the potential for it to escalate.

These links have info on bonding. You may also be able to find a local rabbit rescue that is experienced with rabbit bonding that you could consult with.
https://www.cottontails-rescue.org.uk/information/bonding-bunnies/
http://www.saveabunny.org/rabbitcare/bonding-guide

Thank you so much for all this information. It happens when they are outside the cage so will try restricting their space. Things have got slightly better there's no headbutting anymore. Dad is grooming baby a lot now but other times when he approaches baby baby can't run away fast enough! They are also sitting near-ish to each other and just ignoring the other so I'm hoping things are starting to improve a little bit