Help please! Foes forever?

[harrishares]

Hello I recently adopted two bunnies around the same time. One is full grown and 2 years old, at the animal shelter she was housed with another rabbit and as far as I know had no issues with aggression (they usually will tell you) anyhow I just recently introduced the two and the larger older female chases and bites the baby. I was really upset and put one of them up on craiglist because I had read online bunnies are picky and if they dont like one another they never will.. Anyhow I got an email from a lady who said to try this website out and also get the rabbits spayed (which Im doing next week)... Im having a hard time navigating this site and would like any immediate information or advice on how to introduce bunnies.. Also has anyone ever had two bunnies that didnt get along but grew to be friends? Or had an aggressive Bunnie who calmed down after being spayed? I really hope someone can help thanks so much! I also hope getting them fixed will help.

 

[pumpkinhead]

Two unspayed females will more often than not fight like cats in a sack. Females are very territorial of the 'nest'/home - so the hutch! Spaying will probably help but may not eliminate the problem entirely, but I would definitely not introduce two females who hadn't both been spayed - that's asking for trouble. And you definitely *can* have two spayed females bonded and living happily enough together. But even if they were babies together and raised together, some girls will still turn all aggro on one another come adolescence.

Bunnies also need to be introduced a step at a time - side-by-side cages, then maybe swapping them into one anothers cages, then some 20 minute 'dates' in a neutral area with supervision; when you do finally think they're comfortable enough with one another to live together, you'll want the scrub down the soon-to-be joint residence with apple vinegar to make the smell neutral, and you still want to watch them very closely once they're moved in. Bunnies are territorial creatures and introductions are a sensitive area, even for two spayed buns.

 

[elrohwen]

Two unspayed females are more or less impossible to bond. Spay them and reintroduce after 4-6 weeks and I think you'll have much better results.

Remember that bonding should be done in short controlled steps. Once their hormones have died down, introduce them in the bathtub or another small neutral area for 5-10 minutes at a time. Stressing also helps - take them for a car ride in a laundry basket together or put them in a box on top of the washing machine.

Also, know that humping, chasing, and nipping is totally normal in the early stages of bonding and is not the same as fighting. It's tricky to let them do what they need to do to work out their bond, but also be ready to step in if a real fight does break out. But from what you described, they're not going at each other trying to draw blood, so I think they have a very good chance of bonding after their spays.

 

[harrishares]

Ok thanks. I already have the apt set up for getting them fixed... So I will do that in 4-6 weeks!