STILL FIGHTING

[SOOOSKA]

Hi it's me agin. The two little rascalsare reall y going at it. We will probably have to put them intheir original cages. Should we take them out of the big cageand put them each in the smaller seperate cages/

HELP



HOPE TO HAVE REPLIES SOON.



SOOSKA

 

[Fergi]

If your rabbits are fighting you need toimmediatly seperate them. Two rabbits fighting can inflict seriousdamage to one another. Better to be safe than sorry and put them intosmaller seperate cages. You could work on re-bonding but if they arefighting now the chances of them getting along are slim to non. Arethey both males, females, or one of each sex?

Good luck!

Fergi's mom

 

[Stephanie]

It takes a lot of work and patience to get some rabbits to get along.

First a couple of questions. Are they spayed/neutured? If not, thenit's going to be near impossible to get them bonded, as their hormoneswill get in they way. Also, I assume you don't want any baby bunnies,therefore adding to an already overpopulated rabbit population.

I would put them in their original cages for now. Don't let them out at the same time for play either.

To bond them, here is what you need to do. Bring both of the rabbitsinto neutral territory, such as the bathroom or kitchen, basically aroom in the house where neither of the rabbits are usually. It's handyto have a water bottle on hand too (the kind used to misting plants).Sit on the floor and let them do their own thing. If they ignore eachother, perfect, that is what you want at first. If they fight (and theywill at first), say a loud NO! and spray the offender.

I would usually put out some hay and water for them to have somethingto nibble on, although that's not needed persay. Expect fur to fly atfirst as they establish who is the dominant rabbit. It took me two fullweeks, doing this two or three times a day for about 20-30 mintues at atime. Eventually, Abby (my doe) accepted Valuran (buck) into the herd.I also have a third rabbit (Chompers, buck) and all three of them arevery bonded, happily living in one cage, so it can be done.Idon't suggest putting them together in the same cage just yet. Once yousee grooming, it's pretty much a done deal.

This takes a lot of time and effort, but don't give up. If I can do it, anyone can. If you have any questions, PM me.

 

[SOOOSKA]

Hi Fergi's mom & Stepanie, they are boy& girl, both have been fixed. They have been togetherfor over a year in the same cage. We had to seperate thembecause Wilbur wasn't feeling good and we had to make sure he went tothe bathroom. Jackie remained in the cage and Wilbur was outin the room. They normally have the condo (cage) door openand can roam freely in their bedroom.



Do you think we can put them in seperate cages (thecagesare pretty big) in the same room beside one another?



Thanks for you advice.

Soooska

 

[Fergi]

Yes, you can put their cages side by side andthat may help with the re-bonding process should you choose to re-bondthem. It is not totally unusual for rabbits to fight if they have beenseperated for a period of time but since they got on so well before Iwould attempt to re-bond them, you should be successful if you followStephanie's tips.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Fergi's mom

 

[Stephanie]

I had similar issues when we had to seperateValuran from the group too, it only took a few days to get Abby okagain. She's the diva bunny, obviously.

 

[edwinf8936]

Check them for wounds, they can get abscesses from them.

ed

 

[bunnihon]

It took several months for my two to get to likeeach other. I had to keep them totally separate (but in runs that werenext to each other so that they could see and sniff each other).

Ithink it was about Aall about establishing dominance, as thefemale seemed to want to be top rabbit but my male was not having that.Severeal scuffles later,and after well supervised 'meetings'between the pair of them and they suddenely clicked and were blissfullyin love! Theynow snuggle together and seem to be very happy.

They are both spayed/neutered, but I have noticed that the female stillseems to have cycles of what I call her 'hormonal' behaviour where sheharasses the male and trys to mount him etc. He isn't interested andgets cross with her. It is at these times that I keep a close eye onthem, as potential injuries could occur. The females' 'hormonal' cyclesseem to be every 5 to 6 weeks. Has anybody else noticed this with theirspayed rabbits?

 

[black_jack]

we just got a female rabbit for our male rabbit.we put her indoor cage in his big pen and he sat outside it sniffingand really wanted to get in so we let him. He mounted her acouple of times and there was alot of chasing but they got on well andhe didnt want to leave her. However when I tried to get theminto his hutch as it is easier to get them out of for excercise hestarted scratching at her back and I had to pull him off he is now alotmore boisterous with her but no injuries so have left them to it.

Only problem i have is that I forgot how hard it was potty training rabbits :0(

 

[lovrabs]

Hey, I'm new at thissite. But I have had my rabs a long time. You mightwant to try putting your rabbits into the bathtub or some other neutralterritory where you can watch them. My bunnies were gettingaggressive, so I put them in for about 10 minutes. They aretoo preoccupied with trying to escape so they work togetherto get out. When they realize that they can't get out andthey are in an unclaimed area,they willbe nice toeach other and start grooming each other. After you thinkthey have had enough time inthe bathtub with one another,take it slow and let them in the house or fenced area. Again,you need to be able to watch them closely in case they begin tofight. If they do not fight, you can put them back in the bigcage together and take notice on how they react. If all goeswell, problem solved! But, if the fighting happens, take themback to the bathtub and repeat the process. Good luck!