Bunnies Fighting! Help please

[NewbieOwner10217]

Hello I'm a new owner and I don't know how to bond bunnies. We have had Buttons for 2 weeks and then got Dots, but Buttons reacted poorly to Dots and I believe that they're trying to dominate one another. However when Dots turns her back Buttons goes for her butt! Buttons chased Dots all around the cage and she kept trying to get away from her. They circle each other and bit each other hard enough the make them scream a little. Our solution was to stick Dots in the cage and let Buttons circle and smell her and get used to her.

Help please! I'm open to any suggestions! Dots is 6 weeks and Buttons is around the same age. They're both female, but we aren't too sure on Button's gender.

 

[Kymmy]

Hi, it's tricky bonding bunnies, I suggest separating them for a couple of days so they can be less threatened by each other. Buttons' cage is her safe place & she will need to be comfortable with Dot before you can stick them together. Could you give them time together (with you too) out of the confined cage, like in your loungeroom? After 15mins or so, put food out for them to eat together. It's ok if they have little 'arguments' & domination bahaviour but if one or both screams then separate them again, & try again later.

 

[Blue eyes]

They are too young to bond!!

Are you sure about their age? Typically rabbits stay with momma until 8 weeks of age even if weaned earlier. (Some states don't even allow the sale of rabbits under 8 weeks of age.)

Normally rabbits that young get along just fine -- even though it is only temporary.

Once they approach hormones (usually no earlier than around 10 weeks of age) they can stop getting along.

With young rabbits, it is best to keep them separate completely until they are old enough to be spayed. Once they are spayed, (and healed) then the bonding process can begin. It really does no good to try to bond baby rabbits because it doesn't help them bond later on but it does risk the chance of a serious fight which could actually prevent them from bonding later on.

I'm afraid there is the chance that these two rabbits won't get along even when older. The ideal way to find a bondmate for an existing rabbit is to first wait until that rabbit is fixed. Once fixed, she should meet (bunnydate) some other fixed rabbits to pre-screen for potential compatibility. Then the bonding process can finally begin.

So you can decide whether you want to return the 2nd rabbit and wait until your first one is spayed and then look for a compatible mate. OR you can keep both rabbits, separate them until spayed (usually done at around 4-6 months of age), wait for them to heal, and then try to bond them. They may bond, they may not. If not, they'll need to remain separate (or find other bondmates for each.)

The advantage of waiting and then working with a rabbit rescue is that they work with you. If one rabbit won't bond with yours, then they allow an exchange to help ensure you wind up with an actual bond.

 

[NewbieOwner10217]

Yes they're very young, we hadn't realized it was bad to get them young till it was too late and had grown attached to them. Buttons' owner is probably long gone and Dots' owner won't like refunds most likely.

Dots is still young as is Buttons, they're under 10weeks, but both eat timothy hay and pellets quite a bit.

They're okay now they actually sleep together most of the time, except Buttons makes sure that Dots knows who's boss. They're like friends now and if Dots sees Buttons around me while I'm in the floor then she will shyly smell me

 

[NewbieOwner10217]

We definitely plan on getting them fixed at 4 months, because we were told that 4 months was the safest time to be fixed, but we definitely have plans for them to be fixed

 

[Blue eyes]

We definitely plan on getting them fixed at 4 months, because we were told that 4 months was the safest time to be fixed, but we definitely have plans for them to be fixed

Good to have plans to have them fixed, but be very careful! They may seem to become closer and closer, cuddling, snuggling and grooming each other, but once hormones kick in , they can suddenly turn on each other and could even fight quite viciously. Just hope you are there to stop them if that occurs. That is why it isn't advised to have them together yet. Things could suddenly go horribly wrong. We've heard that happen many times on RO.

 

[NewbieOwner10217]

I'll make sure to definitely be around them once the time comes, thank you so so much, all of this is a large help. I'll separate them if I see any signs of aggression, because I'm the one with them most of the time

 

[NewbieOwner10217]

Thank you kymmy too this was a large help! I appreciate it

 

[Kymmy]

Great! I'm so glad to hear that they are getting along.. makes life much better!
Thanks for updating your Dots & Buttons relationship, I was wondering how you went.
I hope that they're both female, because hormonal boy bunnies bring all sorts of issues lol! All the best!

 

[Sophia]

It shouldn't be the age the sooner they are together the better and how much do they weigh I might be able to get an age from that and breeds. Because one was put in to the others territory the other doesn't want them there so I would put them somewhere else where there isn't a scent of either of the bunnies.

 

[Sophia]

They are too young to bond!!

Are you sure about their age? Typically rabbits stay with momma until 8 weeks of age even if weaned earlier. (Some states don't even allow the sale of rabbits under 8 weeks of age.)

Normally rabbits that young get along just fine -- even though it is only temporary.

Once they approach hormones (usually no earlier than around 10 weeks of age) they can stop getting along.

With young rabbits, it is best to keep them separate completely until they are old enough to be spayed. Once they are spayed, (and healed) then the bonding process can begin. It really does no good to try to bond baby rabbits because it doesn't help them bond later on but it does risk the chance of a serious fight which could actually prevent them from bonding later on.

I'm afraid there is the chance that these two rabbits won't get along even when older. The ideal way to find a bondmate for an existing rabbit is to first wait until that rabbit is fixed. Once fixed, she should meet (bunnydate) some other fixed rabbits to pre-screen for potential compatibility. Then the bonding process can finally begin.

So you can decide whether you want to return the 2nd rabbit and wait until your first one is spayed and then look for a compatible mate. OR you can keep both rabbits, separate them until spayed (usually done at around 4-6 months of age), wait for them to heal, and then try to bond them. They may bond, they may not. If not, they'll need to remain separate (or find other bondmates for each.)

The advantage of waiting and then working with a rabbit rescue is that they work with you. If one rabbit won't bond with yours, then they allow an exchange to help ensure you wind up with an actual bond.

The sooner you bond bunnies the better.

 

[Blue eyes]

The sooner you bond bunnies the better.

Not when they are babies. Hormones can cause them to begin fighting - regardless of gender or pairing. It's best to wait until after they are both fixed before attempting a bond. Baby bonds don't count as true bonds because they can break suddenly (and sometimes viciously) with the onset of hormones.

 

[Sophia]

Not when they are babies. Hormones can cause them to begin fighting - regardless of gender or pairing. It's best to wait until after they are both fixed before attempting a bond. Baby bonds don't count as true bonds because they can break suddenly (and sometimes viciously) with the onset of hormones.

Ours bonded when they were babies because they got put in the same cage after weaning and they wouldn't go more then 2 day without each other even after the got fixed. They are both boys and not once tried to fight. My dads wife breeds and shows rabbits and so do I and I have never had two rabbits fight when they got put together and none of them were fixed and they were all little.

 

[Sophia]

Ours bonded when they were babies because they got put in the same cage after weaning and they wouldn't go more then 2 day without each other even after the got fixed. They are both boys and not once tried to fight. My dads wife breeds and shows rabbits and so do I and I have never had two rabbits fight when they got put together and none of them were fixed and they were all little.

When we tried to separate them they stayed in one corner staring at each other and would start cuddling after we put them back together

 

[Blue eyes]

Ours bonded when they were babies because they got put in the same cage after weaning and they wouldn't go more then 2 day without each other even after the got fixed. They are both boys and not once tried to fight. My dads wife breeds and shows rabbits and so do I and I have never had two rabbits fight when they got put together and none of them were fixed and they were all little.

Then perhaps you've been lucky with your stock or haven't had enough experience with various rabbits. It is not the norm for intact babies to always remain bonded past hormones. On this forum alone (and on numerous other forums and answer sites) we have seen the quite common, "Help! My two baby rabbits were "bonded" and now they are fighting. What happened?"
Read any sites on bonding rabbits and they will confirm this.

 

[Sophia]

Well I know that it won't go perfectly every time