Sisters not getting along

[miverson]

Hello everyone, this is my first post.
The background info, me and my girlfriend bought two mini Rex bunnies from a local breeder. Both females, and from the same litter. We have had them for about a month and they have been sharing a cage no problem.

The issue
Recently a frie d came over with her bunny thinking it would be a good time. They got in a single tussle but everything was fine. They have left but the issue is our two buns won't stop fighting. We had to put a barrier in their cage because Luna would nip aria in the butt steady and we would hear aria "squeaking"

I don't know to fix this situation. Neither of them have been spay because our vet said to wait till 6 months as they are still small(currently 4 months old)


Any input or stories would be greatly appreciated. We really want to get them back to being best pals again.

Matt

 

[Imbrium]

at four months, their hormones should be starting to kick in. it may be necessary to house them separately until after their spays, as every fight they have now makes it harder to get them fully bonded as adults. I'm possibly about to have to do the same thing myself - I have two girls, ages 17 and 16 weeks, and am watching for their first fight because they're smaller breeds and my vet doesn't want to spay until 5 months.

btw, if you need another cage to house them separately, you should check out the stickies on NIC cages... currently, the best deal anyone has found on cubes for the cages is at sears (online price, but you can do site-to-store to avoid shipping charges)

 

[agnesthelion]

:yeahthat:

It most surely is hormones. The visit from the other bun may have jumpstarted the grumpiness in some way. There is probably not a successful way to rebond them until after the spays. I agree to house them separately until then.

Good luck!

 

[LakeCondo]

Yes, hormones.

And welcome to the forum.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Hormonal bunnies are so much fun, NOT! You will have to keep them separate unless you like enormous vet bills, till they are neutered and then slowly re-introduce them again. Good Luck.

 

[ldoerr]

Like everybody else has said, hormones. Keep them apart untill about a month after their spays. This will allow time for the hormones to leave. Good luck with them and please post pictures.

 

[miverson]

OK so new question. Not sure if I needed to post a new thread. if so sorry.

So Luna, my broken one is now mountain(not humping) Aria(my black one) and pulling out hair. Aria is not running away while she does htis. I don't know if its normal or a dominance thing. I just don't know. I did remove luna a couple times but she just goes back to aria right after.

Any advice on this? Is this ok or bad?

 

[agnesthelion]

Like everyone said, you should separate them until a few weeks after their spay and then rebond. So in my opinion it is bad because they shouldn't be together. The chance of a successful bond between two unspayed females is very low, so having them together will most likely only result in negative interaction.

Rabbits have a good memory when it comes to fighting and bonding. If a fight should break out, you are lessening the chance they will bond after the spay. I would keep them seperate so that doesn't happen. Then after the spays start a fresh bonding attempt.

 

[ldoerr]

Agreed with Lisa. You NEED to SEPORATE them NOW.

 

[SOOOSKA]

My question is are you sure both are female? You said one is pulling out hair, hopefully she isn't pregnant

I had a Vet tell me my Buttercup (RIP) was a girl Nope all boy, so maybe you have one of each.

And like everyone else suggested they really do need to be separated, they could really hurt one another if they get into a fight. Again that happened to me at onetime, Buttercup had to be rushed for emergencey surgery, on his face. I call it his "Hairlip"

Susan

 

[miverson]

Hey people. Just thought I would give everyone an update.

I have separated them and they have 0 interaction except seeing each other through the cage. What is funny is the have both calmed down a down. Before they wouldn't stop and now they sleep when you would think they should sleep and are way more laid back. Maybe they are happier or maybe they are depressed but either way I will be keeping them separated until they are spay'd

@Soooska, well 1 bun would pull out the other buns hair. She wasn't pulling out her own hair. The breeder said they are both female and they both have a very prominent pouch growing sense we got them under their chin.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We've had a couple of males with dewlaps, so it's not an all-encompassing determiner.

 

[ldoerr]

If I were you I would check the sex of the bunnies yourself. Breeders can and do make mistakes, especially with young rabbits. I am glad that you finally took our advice and seporated them.

 

[Pipp]

It may not be hormones. Bunnies have this misplaced aggression thing pretty often, and sisters do have a tendency to get in scraps.

I would give them a lot of space with new structures, etc, but I'd try not to separate them. By separating them, you're letting them establish territory, they may not tolerate 'invasions' down the road.

Mini-rexes in my experience aren't the most bondable bunnies, seeing as they don't seem to realize they're rabbits. They don't have a lot of interest in each other.

Dill (mini-rex) and Sherry (dwarf) were bonded, but she had to pursue him for weeks before the stopped batting her around and let her groom him. (They were bonded quite tightly but he'd still beat her up when another rabbit came around).

My current mini-rex is living with a lop, but they're just roommates, there's still a lot of mounting (especially when the food bowl gets filled) and not a lot of grooming.

And I had a mother/daughter MR pair I was fostering, the daughter had big patches of fur missing. I put an extra shelf in their pen and it made all the difference.

How are you housing them now?


sas :bunnydance:

 

[miverson]

I figure I would update everyone as it has been a few weeks since this whole ordeal.

I actually took it in stages. I immediately separated them. They were divided by the cage but could still be right next to each other. When they left their cage, the open area they were allowed in was also divided by a single barrier so they could still be close. After a week or so I let them be in the same area but for short bursts. They did have some hair pulling and other sister fighting. Soon enough after doing this for a week they were fine. We kept them separate at night just in case but let them share the run area. Now, 3 weeks later, they share everything again. The same sleeping space, the same run.

Just for reference, I have them stored in a large dog crate with enough from them to lay in any direction and stand up and be as tall as possible without touching the top. This is the case when it was divided.
The door out of the cage(we leave open 24/7 now) goes to a animal exercise pen made by WARE that is 56" in diameter. TONS of space for them to run and jump and stretch.

Then every other day we give them run of the apt 1000+ sq feet(plenty for them I am sure haha) for a few hours.


As I type this I look over(their pen is right next to my computer so I can reach down and pet them) they are both laying right next to each other and hardly leave each others sites.

It's funny because Aria will stand up and look at me till I pet her, then go back to her business after. It's great.

I guess I couldn't have asked for a better outcome!!!

Matt

 

[agnesthelion]

Wow! That is so great and I'm happy to hear they are getting along so well.

I'm assuming you didn't end up getting them spayed??

If not, then just keep in mind that since they are only 5 months old it is possible that the full hormonal teenage stage has not yet hit. They could end up fighting again. I'm from the mindset that you cannot consider rabbits officially bonded unless they are altered.

That being said, I'm not saying they can't get along fine and there are stories of unspayed females living happily together, but the chances of a fight breaking out unexpectedly is greater with unaltered buns.

Oh and if your two are spayed then disregard my entire post

Not trying to be negative just sharing my knowledge to help out. I think it is fantastic they are getting along and I hope it continues. I'm currently bonding two buns at the moment as well and I know what a good feeling it is to have them get along

 

[miverson]

They are actually scheduled to get spayed next friday although I don't know their weights so we may get turned down.

 

[agnesthelion]

Agnes, my Lionhead, got spayed at 5 months. She was just over 3 lbs and handled it well.

You might want to pm/search for Imbriums posts. She just got her two girls spayed (Lionhead and holland Lop) and is dealing with keeping them bonded. She might be able to help you with some tips.

I'm rooting for you and your girls! As I said I'm in the middle of bonding so I understand what it means for them to like each other

Unless your girls are underweight or your vet isn't rabbit savvy I don't see a reason why they couldn't be fixed at 5 months.

Let us know! I'll be curious for an update.

 

[Imbrium]

my holland lop and lionhead were both a bit under 3 lbs when I weighed them a few days before their spays... we had to wait until 5 mos 'cause he was worried (at 3 mos) that they wouldn't be big enough by 4 mos. my vet says he doesn't like to spay them when they're like 2 lbs 'cause it's hard to find their tiny little ovaries but just under three is definitely big enough.

they never fought pre-spay, but I'm having to keep them separated for their 10 day recovery period because they've had some minor scuffles and some bunny-500 attempts due to being confined in a 2x3x1 grid NIC cage to stop them from running around and I don't want them roughhousing when they're supposed to be resting up and recovering (plus they kept splashing through the water dish and making a mess).

 

[ldoerr]

I am glad that they are doing good.