Fighting Bunnies :(

[tamra]

Our new bunnies have been living in the same cage for almost 3 weeks.They havebeen gettingalong great (cuddling,cleaning each other, etc) UNTIL last night!

I had them both out, and I heard this awful noise... They werecompletely enatangled, rolling around, screeching, and beatin' the crudout of each other! It was hard to tear them apart, lol!

We don't know what sex either of them are. They're both babies, though. (aound 10-15 weeks) Neither of them are 'fixed'.

I did end up putting them back in their cage. They seemed to do justfine (ignored each other the rest of the night). This morning, they aregoing in circles around each other, sniffing the other's bottom andgetting excited, hopping aound their cage sort of wildly.



Ahhh, what do I do?



~Tamra

 

[jordiwes]

Definitely separate them and check them for injuries. An infected injury can become fatal.

Bunnies can reproduce as early as 3 months old.

I would definitely keep them seperate until a few weeksafterthey are spayed/neutered and start the bonding processagain, slowly.

 

[mynameisjeff]

This happened with our bunnies 4 months after weadopted them (both boys). They currently haveseparate cages, as we've not yet found the patience to re-bondthem. They seem very happy apart tho! Thefights were awful. Word to the wise - don't try to pull apartfighting rabbits with your hands. Use a broom or atowel. I got bit pretty badly!

Jeff

 

[tamra]

Do I go to my regular vet? I'llcall and make an appt for them... then I'll know for sure what sex theyare and hopefully we'll be able to get them back in the same cage...

Hubby was saying how funny it is that they are such cutelittle things, but boy don't get in their way if they're fighting! Alittle ironic, eh!? That made me think of the movie "Monty Python's,The Holy Grail" where they show the cute little bunny then it attacks,lmao!

Anyway... thanks for the input.. I've been reading up onRabbits all day I'll have to take some pics and get a siggie going

 

[Pipp]

mynameisjeff wrote:

This happened with our bunnies 4 months after we adoptedthem (both boys). They currently have separatecages, as we've not yet found the patience to re-bond them.They seem very happy apart tho! The fights wereawful. Word to the wise - don't try to pull apart fightingrabbits with your hands. Use a broom or a towel. Igot bit pretty badly!

Jeff

Yeah, they canpull a lot of skin off each other, too, ifthey'reattached when you pull them apart. Maybe awater pistol?

And as noted, check them over VERY carefully, those injuries can be fatal.

sas

 

[Just Jack]

tamra wrote:

Do I go to my regular vet? I'll call andmake an appt for them... then I'll know for sure what sex they are andhopefully we'll be able to get them back in the same cage...

Hubby was saying how funny it is that they are suchcute little things, but boy don't get in their way if they're fighting!A little ironic, eh!? That made me think of the movie "Monty Python's,The Holy Grail" where they show the cute little bunny then it attacks,lmao!

Anyway... thanks for the input.. I've been reading upon Rabbits all day I'll have to take some pics and get a siggiegoing

Hey there!

I'm a new bunny slave as well and have recently gone through some similar issues.

As far as getting the sexed you can do it yourself even withinstructions found on thiswebsite.At first I had thought that I had all does until they started acting abit strange with snifing each other's rears and one start mounting theother. I was able to determine that two were definitivelygirls and the other two I was unsure of using thoseinstructions. For the two that I was unsure of (in retrospectI think it was just denial) I called Petsmart and they had people therewho were able to correctly identify them as males.

The two females that I have are somewhat finghting whenever the boysare out and come close to the cage. It hasn't been anythingas brutal as what you describe as one of them really dominates over theother and she just backs off. We hope to get the girls fixedsoon and you should talk to your vet about it too. Mostpeople say that you can start getting them fixed as early as 12 weeks(or 4 months) of age. Consult with your vet to get theiropinion.

 

[Maureen Las]

The 3 male 10 wk. old siblings that we had atthe Petco store had to be returned to the shelter as they werefighting. We replaced them with the girls, Ebony and Bailey, who so farget along very well together ..sure hope that continues. I don't thinkthat any unneutered young male rabbit can get along with another maleun-neutered bunny.

 

[Just Jack]

I can't say for sure but so far our two bucks(about 12-13 weeks old) haven't had any problems even though both haveshown that they have hit puberty. They already seem bondedactually as they tend to cuddle together and groom each other a lotmore than the girls do.

 

[Maureen Las]

Thats great Jack, but keep watching them,...withour shelter bunnies the girls are grooming each other and seem finetogether but the boys are "bad" although it may be one of themprovoking it all.

 

[Greta]

Sounds like they've "come of age" and decidedthat the other one is a threat. It's happened with my bucks a couple oftimes. They're fine together until they come of age, then they suddenlyhate each other... *sigh*

 

[naturestee]

Tamra, you can go to your regular vet as long ashe treats rabbits fairly often. Many vets do not, and rabbitsneed different care than cats or dogs. If you need, we cantry to help you find a vet. There are several lists ofrabbit-savvy vets and they may have one near you.