Bonded rabbits

[Louise Davis]

I have two neutered mini lop rabbits a male and female. They have been getting on fine. Mum noticed them circling and boxing each other in there old run she just clapped and they stopped, then a few days after they started to circle them leap over eachother again I stopped them. I built them a new run at the weekend and the following day they had a big fight with Bertie ending up on antibiotics. I split them for 2 nights then put them back together. They are ok with this but I have noticed a lot of nudging and sniffing and scuffling the hair around there bum and Lower back? I’m not sure what this means. They did circle once yesterday morning but then just stopped. There has also been a few occasions where I have looking like they might start fighting again. I have tried to slowly introduce them into the run each evening. But they still circle eachother. Does anyone have any advice. Do I need to split them up?(this is what the vet said). There behaviour changes around food Bertie will bite me or Betsie for food.
Thank you.

 

[Blue eyes]

There are a number of things that can cause a disruption of a bond. Changing habitats or runs or locations is one of those. Another possibility is if one of them is beginning to feel unwell. They hide sickness so well, but if they are feeling unwell it can make them grumpy and more prone to being irritable.

When Bertie needed antibiotics, did you take both rabbits to the vet or just Bertie? It is advised to always keep a bonded pair together - especially for trips to the vet. Otherwise, one will return smelling unfamiliar.

You'll need to keep a close eye on them to prevent any serious fighting. You may also need to feed them separately to keep Bertie from being too aggressive. At this point it seems close monitoring might be best. See if they improve. If not, then separating may be your only option.

 

[Louise Davis]

There are a number of things that can cause a disruption of a bond. Changing habitats or runs or locations is one of those. Another possibility is if one of them is beginning to feel unwell. They hide sickness so well, but if they are feeling unwell it can make them grumpy and more prone to being irritable.

When Bertie needed antibiotics, did you take both rabbits to the vet or just Bertie? It is advised to always keep a bonded pair together - especially for trips to the vet. Otherwise, one will return smelling unfamiliar.

You'll need to keep a close eye on them to prevent any serious fighting. You may also need to feed them separately to keep Bertie from being too aggressive. At this point it seems close monitoring might be best. See if they improve. If not, then separating may be your only option.

I have taken it slowly and they seem to be ok now, I let them in their new fun for 10 mins at a time. They still nudge each others bum. But other wise they seem to be happy they binky around the garden together and are starting to snooze together more.

No I took bertie by himself but i will make sure I don’t separate them if it’s happens again.

Thank you for your advise