Bunny Got A Part of Her Ear Taken Off

[LopsAreGreat]

So, we have a trio, a neutered buck, and two not spayed does. The two does are almost 11 weeks, and they are sisters, and one of them, Aurora, bit off a chunk of Ruby’s ear. I was reading that, even though there may have been bonds that they have had, it can be ruined once they reach sexual maturity but Aurora is hardly at sexual maturity, so do you think this is hormones, and her reaching sexual maturity? And do you think this also happened a bit earlier because she senses that our other bunny, Oscar, is a buck? And maybe that boosted her hormones? Aurora is separated from from them both. Should we got to the vet to get it sewn back on?? Or will they try to offer anesthesia, cause in that case it’s a no, Ruby is way too young. When can they be put back together? Please help!!

 

[Preitler]

I keep my doelings together for up to 5 months, never seen anything like that. That's a huge chunk missing. Are you sure this wasn't an accident, or that you do not have rats?
No way to sew it back on, you've got an unique bunny there now.

I haven't ever seen any hormonal tensions at 11 weeks. I don't seperate doelings since things like that just don't happen (boys are a different matter), and seperating messes with their existent social hierachies.

Were there any signs of trouble before, like humping, chasing, tufts of fur flying?
If not I would chalk it off as freak accident, desinfect the wound and keep them together. In my opinion they'll need quite some space and hiding options though.

 

[JBun]

That can't be fixed. The most that might need to be done for the ear at this point is make sure the bleeding is stopped and keep an eye out for inflammation and infection. Also make sure she continues to eat normally. If it is hurting her then she may stop eating. If it gets infected and/or she stops eating, she'll need to be seen be an experienced rabbit vet for an appropriate rabbit safe antibiotic, pain meds, gut meds, fluids, and/or syringe feeding mix(and instructions on how to).

https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/
They will need to be kept separate now if something else didn't cause the torn ear. It can be hormones, a dominance issue, or both. But I agree with Preitler, that it would be unusual at such a young age for does. If you want to try and rebond them later, they will both need to be spayed, wait several weeks for hormones to fade, then go through the bonding process. But there's no guarantee that they will bond with each other. Some rabbits just don't get along.

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/bonding-bunnies.html
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Bonding_rabbits_together

 

[LopsAreGreat]

I keep my doelings together for up to 5 months, never seen anything like that. That's a huge chunk missing. Are you sure this wasn't an accident, or that you do not have rats?
No way to sew it back on, you've got an unique bunny there now.

I haven't ever seen any hormonal tensions at 11 weeks. I don't seperate doelings since things like that just don't happen (boys are a different matter), and seperating messes with their existent social hierachies.

Were there any signs of trouble before, like humping, chasing, tufts of fur flying?
If not I would chalk it off as freak accident, desinfect the wound and keep them together. In my opinion they'll need quite some space and hiding options though.

No we don’t have rats. And I know, this is so odd that this has happened, although I have had a rabbit that has had a chunk bitten off, never this huge though. Once we started to bond them with Oscar, Ruby seemed to really get attached to him and ignore Aurora. But also, Ruby and Aurora did get in a bit of a fight when we were bonding them to Oscar, so I’m not totally sure if that struck it with them.

 

[LopsAreGreat]

That can't be fixed. The most that might need to be done for the ear at this point is make sure the bleeding is stopped and keep an eye out for inflammation and infection. Also make sure she continues to eat normally. If it is hurting her then she may stop eating. If it gets infected and/or she stops eating, she'll need to be seen be an experienced rabbit vet for an appropriate rabbit safe antibiotic, pain meds, gut meds, fluids, and/or syringe feeding mix(and instructions on how to).

https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/
They will need to be kept separate now if something else didn't cause the torn ear. It can be hormones, a dominance issue, or both. But I agree with Preitler, that it would be unusual at such a young age for does. If you want to try and rebond them later, they will both need to be spayed, wait several weeks for hormones to fade, then go through the bonding process. But there's no guarantee that they will bond with each other. Some rabbits just don't get along.

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/bonding-bunnies.html
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Bonding_rabbits_together

Ok, I will do that. And I agree, it is quite odd to have this happen so young but it could be something with them bonding with Oscar, I know Aurora would nip at Oscar a bit and then after we got Oscar out of the way, Aurora circled Ruby and bit her, and then about two weeks later, this happens.

 

[LopsAreGreat]

So they are separated. Ruby is with Oscar and Aurora is by herself but still in my room and she can see them. Do you think we will be able to put them back together before they get spayed?? I also heard that the ear can revive a little bit, so do you think any of the ear will grow back? Is there some way we can encourage it, and sort of I guess give the ear rehab?

 

[LopsAreGreat]

Edit: we put them together for a while, and Ruby seemed to bite Aurora a little on the hind end, it looked like a harsh groom, and then about a minute later, Aurora (the one who bit a chunk off of Ruby’s ear), seemed like she wanted to show Ruby who is at the top, and started to bite Ruby’s stomach area, and she ******, so I took Aurora away and put her in a separate area. When will this stop?

 

[JBun]

Please. DO NOT put them back together. You are risking serious injuries occurring. Biting at the stomach is aggressive behavior and could result in your rabbit ripping the other rabbits stomach open.

The behavior now won't stop. It will get worse until one rabbit is seriously injured or dead. Please keep them separate. When they are old enough to get spayed and you want to try and bond them, get them spayed and then bonding can be attempted, doing it properly and carefully. Then you can try and see if they will bond, after waiting several weeks til their hormones die down. Even after spayed they may not get along. So bonding has to be approached with caution. Fixed rabbits can still injure each other during bonding if they don't get along.

 

[LopsAreGreat]

Please. DO NOT put them back together. You are risking serious injuries occurring. Biting at the stomach is aggressive behavior and could result in your rabbit ripping the other rabbits stomach open.

The behavior now won't stop. It will get worse until one rabbit is seriously injured or dead. Please keep them separate. When they are old enough to get spayed and you want to try and bond them, get them spayed and then bonding can be attempted, doing it properly and carefully. Then you can try and see if they will bond, after waiting several weeks til their hormones die down. Even after spayed they may not get along. So bonding has to be approached with caution. Fixed rabbits can still injure each other during bonding if they don't get along.

Yes, I have been monitoring them together. I’m not letting them be together when I’m not watching. The weird thing is, anytime I’ve ever had rabbits, bonding them was always a breeze, but I guess that’s probably because they were all spayed and neutered. I also did read that even though sibling bunnies may have been together since they were born, it doesn’t mean they are bonded, so that’s what I’m thinking is the problem, that they have hit some hormones and dominant behavior, and now it’s really coming through. But Aurora does seem upset that she doesn’t have free roam of my room now, so I’m not totally sure what to do about that? It’s honestly been really depressing lately now that this has all started...

 

[Watermelons]

No regardless of watching them or not, don't put them together!
They need to be kept far enough away from each other that they forget the other one even exists until at least 1-2 months after they have both been fixed if you even want to think about trying bonding again.

 

[JBun]

I didn't say keep them separate except when you are watching. You should not be putting them together at all. They aren't all of the sudden going to start getting along. The aggression will worsen, not get better. An attack can happen in an instant even with you watching, before you have a chance to pull them apart a serious injury can occur. By continuing to try to put them together you are risking any possible chance they can bond in the future. Repeated fights will result in resentment and increased aggression towards the other rabbit, and they can remember these things if it's allowed to keep happening. PLEASE, don't risk their safety. Don't try putting them together any longer.

 

[LopsAreGreat]

Ok. I will try this. This is so sad that this has happened.

 

[JBun]

We are giving you hope. You just need to wait for it until you get them both spayed. You have two rabbits that don't like each other right now, but it doesn't mean that once they are grown and spayed, there isn't a chance. The situation is what it is right now. It's in their best interest to keep them apart.

Pets aren't always going to comply to our wishes, they aren't always going to like each other and we just need to deal with the situation as it is and find the best solution for them. It's not always going to be what we want, but what's important is doing what's in their best interest. And for your rabbits, right now it's in their best interest to keep them apart so they don't hurt each other.

If you're worried about the one rabbit being down from having to be separated, spend more time with her. It can actually make your bond with her better.

 

[LopsAreGreat]

O

We are giving you hope. You just need to wait for it until you get them both spayed. You have two rabbits that don't like each other right now, but it doesn't mean that once they are grown and spayed, there isn't a chance. The situation is what it is right now. It's in their best interest to keep them apart.

Pets aren't always going to comply to our wishes, they aren't always going to like each other and we just need to deal with the situation as it is and find the best solution for them. It's not always going to be what we want, but what's important is doing what's in their best interest. And for your rabbits, right now it's in their best interest to keep them apart so they don't hurt each other.

If you're worried about the one rabbit being down from having to be separated, spend more time with her. It can actually make your bond with her better.

okay, thank you for your help. I really do appreciate it.