Injured bunny?

brynnp78 · Jan 28, 2014

My 10 week old (I think) female, unspayed Californian is named Paprika. Today I noticed that her chest had some pink discoloration. Upon further inspection, it smelled like blood and wouldn't come off with normal unscented baby wipes. She seems to have lost some whiskers. She is in a pen with another unspayed female, but she is larger and they were raised together and have never fought. My avatar is the two of them snuggling.I have four, and they are roomies so I won't get any more from unwanted breeding. Could they be fighting? And how do I remove the blood???

madisonl702 · Jan 28, 2014

Idk, but best of wishes to u and your buns

selbert · Jan 28, 2014

I would think it best to call the vets, just in case it isn't fighting and is something else. Maybe you should separate them for a night and if it gets worse then you know you have a medical issue and not a behavioural. I hope you get to the bottom of this!

:brownbunny

Azerane · Jan 28, 2014

At 10 weeks old, it's possible that hormones are starting to kick in a little bit, so I wouldn't be surprised if they had been fighting. I would definitely be keeping them separated, at least until the wound heals (if it is that, might need a vet check) and then decide how to proceed from there. If you want to keep them together, you may need to get one or both of them de-sexed since they're starting to fight. Some unaltered females can be fine together, but it appears that this may not be the case with yours.

PaGal · Jan 28, 2014

I agree with Azerane. At this age hormones are probably kicking in. Once the hormones kick in all bets are off, buns may live fine together up until the teenage years. Then it's anyone's guess...some buns may get along fine through it while others may start to fight.

It is possible that your bun was injured in some other way but I would be very careful and pay close attention to the two buns since bunny fights can be bad, even leading to death at times. I would start planning now on how to house them separately if you must.

pani · Jan 28, 2014

Is the other unspayed rabbit she's with older? It could be that her hormones are kicking in and she's becoming aggressive.

I'd recommend carefully supervising them when together, and maybe giving them play areas close together so they can still see and communicate with each other, but not together. If the aggressor claws at the other rabbit or the other one seems frightened, perhaps move one away.

Edit: Whoops! Apparently I've had this page loaded for hours and people have already responded saying the same thing. Sorry!

brynnp78 · Jan 28, 2014

Thanks for your advice, guys. I cannot house her with any other bun as four out of the two are male. The other bunny is the same age as Paprika, but smaller. They seem to be friends still, with the other bunny and paprika eating together and cuddling. It's hard for me to watch these bunnies as I am a student and my father is the only one home all day. These bunnies need to be re-homed as well, so I'd like to be able to give someone a pain-free, healthy bunny.