Rehoming bonded bunnies

[Adia]

Hi,
I am in desperate need of some help. I have two rabbits that I’m trying to re-home and it breaks my heart to see them go. I’ve had them for 3 years but recently the younger of the two has become extremely destructive and difficult. She bites me when she wants attention. She bites me even when I’m giving her attention. She eats my carpet, my walls, all of my rabbit proofing materials and she has toys that she doesn’t use. I thought maybe this behavior was coming up because we recently moved 3 months ago but she was acting like this before we left too. I want to re-home her and keep the other but I don’t know how that will affect them. Any insight is greatly appreciated!

 

[SimbaAndFlora]

You should not separate them. Rabbits bond for life and separating them would cause great distress to both of them. I think you are jumping to rehousing far too quickly. Rabbit body language is very telling and it seems like your bunny is in distress and they’re letting you know. I would take them to a vet to see if there’s a physical problem but if there isn’t then you need to work on bonding with your bunny and listening to their needs. Every rabbit goes through a difficult patch but you just need to stick through it and then you and your bunny will be closer than ever

 

[Adia]

I thought that it might be something physical as well but when I took them to the vet they said everything was fine. And the two of them get along just fine it’s just the younger one who's destructive. I don’t know what it could be and anytime I try things it doesn’t seem to help

 

[Adia]

You should not separate them. Rabbits bond for life and separating them would cause great distress to both of them. I think you are jumping to rehousing far too quickly. Rabbit body language is very telling and it seems like your bunny is in distress and they’re letting you know. I would take them to a vet to see if there’s a physical problem but if there isn’t then you need to work on bonding with your bunny and listening to their needs. Every rabbit goes through a difficult patch but you just need to stick through it and then you and your bunny will be closer than ever

I thought that it might be something physical as well but when I took them to the vet they said everything was fine. And the two of them get along just fine it’s just the younger one who's destructive. I don’t know what it could be and anytime I try things it doesn’t seem to help

 

[Lifewitharabbit]

I rescued my bun who had been recently seperated from her bonded pair. She was so depressed and scared and aggressive. She does love her new partner but the scars still remain. It took time but the aggression has now gone and she is a sweet girl. I would say dont seperate them. If you must rehome them send them together.
Since you have had them vet checked it must be a behavioural thing. A board bunny is a distructive bunny. Try changing up the toys and space.
Aggression is a learned behaviour it sounds like she may be a dominant bun. It is probably time for you to show them who is boss. With love and patience you can train the aggression out and have an amazing relationship with both of your buns.

 

[Augustus&HazelGrace]

Is she spayed?

 

[Adia]

Is she spayed?

Yes she is but she’s also young. I’ve decided that I’m going to try and keep them but i really need help on training her and I don’t know where to go to find help. I’ve asked people about it but I never get responses or nothing works. Do you have any recommendations?

 

[Augustus&HazelGrace]

Have you tried switching up the toys? You could put a cardboard box with doors cut into it. You could also make a dig box. I typically use toilet paper rolls for toys. You can cut them up into different types of toys. I also used wooden shims. My rabbits love to play with these. Just make sure the wood is not cedar or pine. And is she actually biting you or nipping you? When she bites or nips you make a high pitched squeal and pull your hand away. This teaches her that she is hurting you.

 

[MeganH]

We had a problem with aggression in one of our bonded rabbits for a while. She'd bite us and try to dig the bed when she was 2-3 yrs old. A lot of our bedding still has holes in it, ha! We did get her to stop biting us by squealing and then turning our backs on her, and stomping, then leaving the room and ignoring her a bit. She stopped biting us after 1-2 months, so I think she understood that message pretty well. In terms of her being destructive, giving digging boxes and cardboard tubes helped, but it never totally went away until we moved to a new apartment. Now her "condo" is in the living room instead of right next to our bed, and she has no obsession with destroying our bed anymore.

I'm not sure if that experience is helpful, but maybe if you can move her territory to a new location with a few new perks, that will help?

 

[Binky4eva]

Try to keep them together. Bonded buns are beautiful once they do bond. They can really suffer when separated. It sounds like u are trying to work thru the other issues which are great. Keep us posted.