Rabbits fighting

[relic_yuy]

I adopted a pair of bonded males the other day. They are now 3 months old and have been inseparable since born. I know that moving is a very stressful thing for a rabbit but last night they had a fight.

It started when we let them out of their cage to run around for awhile. They did so without incident for 15 minutes then, as Sirius was sprinting across the room, he accidentally collided with Remus who got super defensive and the fur started to fly. We broke up the fight as quickly as we could and separated them. When they seemed to calm down I opened the cage again and they went at it again in the cage. We split them up for the night but at some point Sirius leapt out of his cage into Remus'. They didn't fight this time but they chased each other around for a minute until I came and separated them again. I put the top of the cage on this time.

Anyhow, today I let them out again, one at a time and they were fine. The free one sniffed the one in the cage and there was no agressive behaviour until Remus looked for awhile like he was fighting to get out.

I dont know what to do. How long do I have to keep them split up? A few things I've noticed: yesterday, bum smelling seemed to tick them off, Remus seems to be the angry while Sirius is pretty indifferent and they only seem to get worked up when they are out of the cage for long periods of time. Should I cut down on their free range time? Separate them for longer before reintroducing them again? Try again ASAP? Help! I feel so helpless.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Are they neutered? If not, they need to be kept separate. All rabbits need their out time, but it may have to be singular. We had to neutered females together for over five years. One day they started fighting for real, so we had to separate them and could not get them together again. Just depends.

 

[funnybunnymummy]

Sounds like hormones to me. Once they hit puberty,siblings oftenwillstart fighting. Even if you get them neutered, theymay never bond again. I'm sorry, but you're probably going to have to keep them separate from now on.

Hope that helps!

Rue

 

[relic_yuy]

They are neutered. And basically all I've done is put a barrier up the middle of their cage.

So you think it's over-excitement thats causing them to fight? And how long until I should try again?

 

[lagomorph]

I think you saw exactly what started the fighting. One accidentally collided with the other, and the latter bun did not realize it was an accident. Remus apparently took it as an act of aggression.

I don't have tons of experience with aggressive rabbits (just one pair that I successfully integrated), but with animals in general (I do have tons of experience with aggressive cats), I find it is better to take things very slowly and gradually. Give Remus time to calm down. You might want to give them a few days of no time together. Then, let them have only a bit of time together -- literally just a few minutes -- per day, and separate them immediately if you notice any aggression. But try not to let it get even that far. It's better to separate them after only 5 minutes, even if there has been no aggression, than to wait until they fight at the 10 minute mark. Then gradually give them more and more time each day. Your goal is to let them spend increasingly more time together, with NO aggression, until they seem totally comfortable at all times together, with no signs of aggression. I would let the re-integration process drag out for weeks or even months. No need to rush.

This probably sounds terribly tedious, but at least with cats, slow and gradual is my rule of thumb. It usually works, but is not fool proof. Because your rabbits are young and neutered, and previously had a good relationship, I think chances are decent that you will be able to re-integrate them.

 

[plasticbunny]

How long have they been neutered for?

 

[relic_yuy]

Thanks! I'll definitely try that. I was just worried because I dont want them to forget that they love one another by keeping them apart too long but I'm in no rush. I can do tedious.

 

[relic_yuy]

They were neutered on June 16th 2011.

 

[plasticbunny]

I'm a little confused, you said they're 3 months old? So they were 1 month old when they were neutered? :biggrin2:

 

[relic_yuy]

No, my bad. July 17th.

 

[relic_yuy]

So the first attempt to reunite them was unsuccessful. They ignored each other for about 15 seconds, then sniffed, started circling then started to tense up. We split them up before they could fight. My poor babies.

 

[lagomorph]

Good job in splitting them up before they could fight. I might give them a few days or even a week with no together time. Then start with just 5-10 seconds a day, literally, for a week. I routinely start this slowly when I try to integrate a new cat with my old cats. Just a quick sniff and then separate. Like I said, I don't have a lot of experience with rabbits, so I have no idea if it will work, but it seems worth a try.