I made an account because I have become absolutely desperate for help regarding my two does. Absolutely any advice would be greatly appreciated at this point...
I got them spayed about a year ago now (they are sisters from the same litter), and upon recovering from the surgery, their behaviour drastically changed. Before spaying, there was an established dominance between the pair, and they lived together in close proximity with absolutely no issues for approximately two years. They are outdoor rabbits, and they lived very happy lives beforehand, since they had a huge garden to utilise during the days and shared a hutch and run when unsupervised.
Back to the issue... Since getting them spayed, they will attack each other at any given opportunity. One of them even sliced her sister's eyelid open, resulting in emergency surgery and a hefty vet bill! Since that incident, I have kept them apart, which is actually extremely difficult. It's expensive to invest in a fair living space for both rabbits whilst keeping them separated, and I believe that it's only fair to provide them with a companion. I also cannot let them both run freely around the garden any more. They are currently in two fenced off areas in my garden, but this set-up is just not sustainable.
I've been keeping them separated, but in close proximity for about a year now. I've tried going through the bonding process, but I'm completely lost, since one moment they are grooming each other and the next they are fighting quite viciously. I recently invested in a very expensive outdoor hutch in the hopes that bonding them would be successful...
I suppose my question is... How do I know the bonding process has been achieved? How long does this usually take to see a vast improvement? I attempted it for a few hours a day for over a week, and I aim to try more once I finish my university exams in the next few days. I just get extremely nervous about them hurting each other and I did not see a vast improvement... I have asked for advice from the vet several times, but they can't help.
If you have absolutely ANY tips, even in regards to making living conditions more favourable whilst keeping them separated, I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank you in advance,
Sophie
I got them spayed about a year ago now (they are sisters from the same litter), and upon recovering from the surgery, their behaviour drastically changed. Before spaying, there was an established dominance between the pair, and they lived together in close proximity with absolutely no issues for approximately two years. They are outdoor rabbits, and they lived very happy lives beforehand, since they had a huge garden to utilise during the days and shared a hutch and run when unsupervised.
Back to the issue... Since getting them spayed, they will attack each other at any given opportunity. One of them even sliced her sister's eyelid open, resulting in emergency surgery and a hefty vet bill! Since that incident, I have kept them apart, which is actually extremely difficult. It's expensive to invest in a fair living space for both rabbits whilst keeping them separated, and I believe that it's only fair to provide them with a companion. I also cannot let them both run freely around the garden any more. They are currently in two fenced off areas in my garden, but this set-up is just not sustainable.
I've been keeping them separated, but in close proximity for about a year now. I've tried going through the bonding process, but I'm completely lost, since one moment they are grooming each other and the next they are fighting quite viciously. I recently invested in a very expensive outdoor hutch in the hopes that bonding them would be successful...
I suppose my question is... How do I know the bonding process has been achieved? How long does this usually take to see a vast improvement? I attempted it for a few hours a day for over a week, and I aim to try more once I finish my university exams in the next few days. I just get extremely nervous about them hurting each other and I did not see a vast improvement... I have asked for advice from the vet several times, but they can't help.
If you have absolutely ANY tips, even in regards to making living conditions more favourable whilst keeping them separated, I would greatly appreciate it.
Thank you in advance,
Sophie
