Rabbit whimpering when other rabbits come near?

[aee3]

I have three bonded rabbits (2 girls, 1 boy, only the boy has been fixed). I have just come back from holiday, so there were at somebody else's house for about 10 days. They didn't seem to be in any distress when I dropped them off or picked them up (they were in the same enclosure).

This particular rabbit has always been on the more shy and timid side, however has been bonded with her sister for her whole life, and with my other boy rabbit for about 3 years without any problems. The only problem I had while bonding was with the other girl, she would whimper whenever the boy came near, but when I picked her up and gave her cuddles, she would stop whimpering and calm down. However, there are no issues anymore and they are all bonded and have been living together well.

Although the boy has been fixed, he will often try to hump the other girls. The girls usually don't have a problem with this or will just move away from him.

However, since bringing them home, as it is extremely hot here in Australia at the moment, I have decided to bring them inside in a different cage (it is smaller) while it is hot so they don't overheat. They were fine yesterday, but this morning the girl has been whimpering when any of the other rabbits come near her (even her sister). She is still eating and drinking but will keep whimpering. The boy was humping her, so I picked him up and moved him away, but when I tried to pat her in an attempt to comfort her, she attempted to bite me (she has done this before when moving them all to an enclosure on the grass, but not for about 2 years - they always don't want to leave their enclosure but have the time of their life in the grass run, surely by now they would know that's where they are going lol?).

So I am unsure what to do, should I remove the other two rabbits? Because I can't remove her from the cage, as she doesn't want to be touched. If I remove the other two, when do I put them back as they will just be free roaming in my bedroom, I can't leave them there for a long time because I am going out today as well.

Should I get her fixed? I have heard that fixing them can also calm them down? But I need a short term solution as well.

Thanks.

 

[aee3]

Update: they have all been sleeping next to each other most of the day, but just now the boy was chasing both the girls around trying to hump them and the girl was getting very distressed, whimpering and growling very loudly so I removed him and she seemed to calm down. she’s still whimpering a little at the other girl.

 

[JBun]

You may need to keep her separated from the other rabbits for a while. It sounds like the situation is stressing her. It may help to get her spayed so hormones won't be contributing to the problem, but there's no way to know for sure if it will help until it's actually done. Also have to consider if she might be having any health issues causing any changes of behavior. A rabbit experiencing pain can cause them to behave differently.

 

[nicolekline97]

Your rabbit may have not liked being in a different environment. It is good that you have the male fixed. Your girls might do best being spayed in the long run. It might be nice if each bunny could have time away from others, especially if fussy or stressed.