Rabbit harassment

[Kenzie122_]

I have a male and female rabbit who are kept separate due to neither being neutered. They are free roam in separate rooms however there is only one door separating them which family members continue to leave open even after being told not too. My male rabbit when he gets out of his room will harass my female, chase her, corner her and when he catches her pull her fur out. she has to hide from him. (I dont condone this behaviour and immediately separate them when i notice he’s missing) Why does he do this even after shes shown she is not interested.

 

[Catlyn]

Simply because he is an unneutered buck, he will have pretty strong hormonal urges. Does tend to be sexually mature a few months later, so she might soon start to fight back, depending on her personality as well. It might settle down a bit when he turns into an adult (a year and older than that) but if you do not want your girl to be harassed and risking any more injury, or even becoming pregnant(if she perhaps hasn't already from the buck annoying her) it is best for you to find a way to keep those two apart for good.

I have no good ideas on how to make sure that the doors wouldn't be left open by your family constantly, as my own bucks had a whole other room in between them (basically a double set of doors)
Also, one of the boys had a cross-section with another door of a room, and since we needed the airflow, we took coated rodent mesh and stuck it on instead of a door(which we could then leave open), BUT it wouldn't really work in an area that is under constant traffic.

Another thing that helps greatly in terms of the agressor bunny boy is spaying the doe and neutering the buck, then keeping them totally apart for two months(hastening that period has led to no good, i can tell you first-hand experience with how my boys failed bonding because we were rushed) and after that attempting to bond. There is a lot of information avaliable on rabbit bonding already, and the plentiful benefits of desexing rabbits.

With all that being said, i am sorry to say that i won't be able to help you with the door problem. It is impossible to chase after family and close the door every single time they decided to leave it open. Have they not seen how the rabbits fight when the doors left open? Or do they just deem it normal?

 

[JBun]

He's a hormonal male buck. It's in his nature to be driven to reproduce, whether she's interested or not. if you don't want to end up with a boatload of baby bunnies or him injured because she gets ticked off, I would strongly suggest ensuring there is absolutely no way for them to accidentally interact. Or get him neutered.

 

[zuppa]

Hi, what age are they, how long they are with you?
When he is out does he try humping her?
Are you sure about their genders?

I second that you should not let them any contacts or the girl can get pregnant really quickly, just a few seconds needed for that.

 

[Catlyn]

I have seen on various online stores, pretty cheap door gates meant for dogs. If you can get the higher one with not too big gaps, that could act as an alternative, if your family deems it too bothersome to close a single door.
Have you asked them WHY they don't bother closing the door? Is it maybe because of air flow or vision that an open door gives, or is it just family's laziness?

 

[Kenzie122_]

My boy is almost 3 years old, my doe is around 5 which is why it is stressing me so much(recently rehomed to me). Im so so worried she is going to get hurt because my buck is a large english spot and my doe is a small lionhead. Ive looked into getting them desexed but im only 15 and dont have any source of income and in my country students can’t work. My family know how important it is for them to close the door, they just don’t care.

 

[Kenzie122_]

Hi, what age are they, how long they are with you?
When he is out does he try humping her?
Are you sure about their genders?

I second that you should not let them any contacts or the girl can get pregnant really quickly, just a few seconds needed for that.

My buck is 3, my doe around 5. Ive had my buck the entire 3 years but my doe was recently rehomed to me at the beginning of april. I don’t let them interact and there is a door and an entire room between them however my family do not care enough to close the door.

 

[Kenzie122_]

I have seen on various online stores, pretty cheap door gates meant for dogs. If you can get the higher one with not too big gaps, that could act as an alternative, if your family deems it too bothersome to close a single door.
Have you asked them WHY they don't bother closing the door? Is it maybe because of air flow or vision that an open door gives, or is it just family's laziness?

They simply do not care. Ive tried my very hardest to tell them how important it is for both my rabbits safety and they just do not care! My buck lives next to the door for my yard and they’ll even leave that open so he has access to the yard which is dangerous for him. They deem my rabbits unworthy of protection

 

[Kenzie122_]

Simply because he is an unneutered buck, he will have pretty strong hormonal urges. Does tend to be sexually mature a few months later, so she might soon start to fight back, depending on her personality as well. It might settle down a bit when he turns into an adult (a year and older than that) but if you do not want your girl to be harassed and risking any more injury, or even becoming pregnant(if she perhaps hasn't already from the buck annoying her) it is best for you to find a way to keep those two apart for good.

I have no good ideas on how to make sure that the doors wouldn't be left open by your family constantly, as my own bucks had a whole other room in between them (basically a double set of doors)
Also, one of the boys had a cross-section with another door of a room, and since we needed the airflow, we took coated rodent mesh and stuck it on instead of a door(which we could then leave open), BUT it wouldn't really work in an area that is under constant traffic.

Another thing that helps greatly in terms of the agressor bunny boy is spaying the doe and neutering the buck, then keeping them totally apart for two months(hastening that period has led to no good, i can tell you first-hand experience with how my boys failed bonding because we were rushed) and after that attempting to bond. There is a lot of information avaliable on rabbit bonding already, and the plentiful benefits of desexing rabbits.

With all that being said, i am sorry to say that i won't be able to help you with the door problem. It is impossible to chase after family and close the door every single time they decided to leave it open. Have they not seen how the rabbits fight when the doors left open? Or do they just deem it normal?

My boy is almost 3 years old, my doe is around 5 which is why it is stressing me so much(recently rehomed to me). Im so so worried she is going to get hurt because my buck is a large english spot and my doe is a small lionhead. Ive looked into getting them desexed but im only 15 and dont have any source of income and in my country students can’t work. My family know how important it is for them to close the door, they just don’t care.

 

[Kenzie122_]

He's a hormonal male buck. It's in his nature to be driven to reproduce, whether she's interested or not. if you don't want to end up with a boatload of baby bunnies or him injured because she gets ticked off, I would strongly suggest ensuring there is absolutely no way for them to accidentally interact. Or get him neutered.

I do make sure they don’t interact, however my family don't share the same care for them. I cannot leave them in there cages as I believe it is cruel to confine them and I can’t get them neutered as it would cost me around 250pounds and i dont have any source of income as i am technically a child

 

[zuppa]

My buck is 3, my doe around 5. Ive had my buck the entire 3 years but my doe was recently rehomed to me at the beginning of april. I don’t let them interact and there is a door and an entire room between them however my family do not care enough to close the door.

Hi, unfortunately we have no power to control or educate your family!

In your situation it is almost inevitable that they will have a contact one day, it literally takes a few seconds for them to mate and I would say 90% or more possibility that she will get pregnant from just one mating. So your options here as I see you either provide 100% they have zero chance to interact (and even see or smell each other, because they will be stressed and stress can lead to health problems so take it seriously). If you can't neuter them (at least male), I would say you should rehome one of them, because in your situation they will live in constant stress and can get sick or pregnant, and they can get pregnant every month because there's literally you can't provide controlled environment unfortunately, I understand that it's not your fault but no matter who's fault you will have to deal with babies or depressions and consequences of them.

If you manage to get him neutered bear in mind that he will still be fertile up to 4 weeks after neutering so you will still have to keep them separately (best for 6-8 weeks after neutering)

 

[Kenzie122_]

Hi, unfortunately we have no power to control or educate your family!

In your situation it is almost inevitable that they will have a contact one day, it literally takes a few seconds for them to mate and I would say 90% or more possibility that she will get pregnant from just one mating. So your options here as I see you either provide 100% they have zero chance to interact (and even see or smell each other, because they will be stressed and stress can lead to health problems so take it seriously). If you can't neuter them (at least male), I would say you should rehome one of them, because in your situation they will live in constant stress and can get sick or pregnant, and they can get pregnant every month because there's literally you can't provide controlled environment unfortunately, I understand that it's not your fault but no matter who's fault you will have to deal with babies or depressions and consequences of them.

If you manage to get him neutered bear in mind that he will still be fertile up to 4 weeks after neutering so you will still have to keep them separately (best for 6-8 weeks after neutering)

Ive decided to buy a net to cover the bottom half of the door to his room so that even if left open he wont be able to get out whilst i attempt to raise the money to neuter him. They have a neutral room between them where neither go(unless escaped) and their rooms get cleaned entirely almost every week. They can’t see or smell each-other so stress isn’t something im worried about as of now

 

[Catlyn]

Have you reached out to some of the local rescues? Some give cheaper spay&neutering options, and in some rare cases, they might even help you get it free. Although i wonder why young people are not allowed to work over yonder, is it even on summer holidays?
If your parents just don't seem to care, and won't get to keep them doors closed, i would suggest you try rehoming one of the rabbits. As mentioned by Zuppa, the way your fellows are, they're just in for a heap of stress, and if you managed to get them fixed, they would remember the stress and still decide to loathe each other.

 

[Preitler]

Ive decided to buy a net to cover the bottom half of the door to his room so that even if left open he wont be able to get out whilst i attempt to raise the money to neuter him.

I tried to use one of those nets that are used to secure stuff on trailers as fence - completly useless, the bit so many holes in it in no time.

 

[Kenzie122_]

I tried to use one of those nets that are used to secure stuff on trailers as fence - completly useless, the bit so many holes in it in no time.

****, theres already a baby gate there but the gaps in the bars are easy for them to slip through so i think if i combined them both it could be okay do you think??

 

[JBun]

If the soft mesh doesn't work(gets chewed through), you may need to use something more sturdy. You can zip tie pieces of cardboard on, though if that gets chewed at then you may need to replace occasionally. Or you can use something more sturdy like metal mesh, wire c&c panels, or even wire baking cooling racks. Just something metal with closer spacing so that they can't chew it or slip through it.

 

[Kenzie122_]

If the soft mesh doesn't work(gets chewed through), you may need to use something more sturdy. You can zip tie pieces of cardboard on, though if that gets chewed at then you may need to replace occasionally. Or you can use something more sturdy like metal mesh, wire c&c panels, or even wire baking cooling racks. Just something metal with closer spacing so that they can't chew it or slip through it.

Good idea! Thank you for your help