What is with the butt biting!!!

[Lucy123]

It's me again with thebonding issues! Iv'e been bonding Trig and Lucy in the kitchen for forever it seems now. I sit in the nuetral area with them all day and just seperate them at night (this is why I have so much time to write in here hehe)

Overall they are calm, they snuggle and groom. Yesterday we got back from the car ride and they were really close and he was grooming her for like 10 minutes, and then all of a sudden he put his head down near her belly and bit her preety good. Today he's attempted to bite her bottom a handfull of times, but then will want to snuggle with her. The bites give me mini heart attacks because I'm not expecting it! Lucy grunted the one time, and I can't tell if I should let it go or intercept. Most say don't intercept, but it doesn't seem like the just "get out of my way little nip or "hey pay attention to me") it's the "everytime you turn around I'm going to bite you".

I'm just confused, I don't understand how a rabbit can go from grooming to biting. How will I know when to put them together? I think I'm more stressed out then Lucy is, and she's the one getting bit :nerves1

 

[Flashy]

It sounds like he is trying to remind her that he is boss and that after he has groomed her she should groom him, or just 'come on, groom me' full stop.

Could you maybe film it and post the footage because to me it sounds part of the process when it comes to some rabbits, but equally, it may be interpretted differently if you actually see it.

Is this your first bonding?

 

[Lucy123]

That is a good idea. I'm going to get the camera out....

 

[Lucy123]

Do I post a video the same way I would post a picture from photobucket?

 

[Lucy123]

This is the short video. After this, he had gone in the litter box, and she was hanging around in that area, then she stuck her head in and he had then gone after her preety quick. I'm not posting that video because I hit the button while I was pushing him away from her so you can't see his reaction....

Lucy is completley bonded to him, I know that. But I get this vibe that he either needs alot more time, or he will always want to bite her in a semi agressive way which I don't know if I can handle looking at. My instincts are not to leave them alone because I feel he will injure her. However he is very sweet when he allows the two of them to just snuggle and groom. I also get the vibe that most times lucy is not as scared of him as I am LOL...but there are times where she does want to get away because he's to agressive.

 

[Lucy123]

Oh I guess the viedo would help .....

 

[Flashy]

What caused the wound on her side?

I think what he is doing is fine. My Roger did that all the time to Summer, and he does it to Tilly now. Your lady girl is not bothered by what he is doing, its more distressing for you because you don't speak their language. To me, that looks fine unless she is getting upset by it.

 

[Lucy123]

Well that's good to know. I will stop intercepting those kind of bites then.

As for the wound, that happened about 2 weeks ago. I was in a pickle, because we had to take in a doberman pinscher temporarily, and I had to stop bonding in the kitchen as he was interfering. He was a very large agile dog, so I contacted the rescue I adopted Trig from, and they told me there was a women who bonds/boards rabbits in her home. So that saved me as I did not want to discontinue bonding it would have been to long of a break. Anyway, I dropped them off, she sent me updates on them to let me know they were fine. When I went to pick them up she said there was a few bite marks from Trig but not to be concerned.

Then, I already had a scheduled appt. at the vet to check her for mites and her weight. Then the vet found this gash in her side, it was scabby at that point, I didn't even know what it was at first because it was quite large. She's looking at me like why does she have these marks. Then it finally clicked, and I told her where they have been, and when that women said bites I didn't know she meant that large. So the doctor prescribed me an antibiotic, and a smoother cream.

I'm assuming it was an accident, however I don't know why it happened. Anyway, that is why I am more nervous around them, because when he does go for her I don't know if it's going to be a regular nip or if he'll hurt her.

 

[Flashy]

Ah, I can now understand why you are warey; I too would be. If it makes you feel any better two and a half weeks ago I finished bonding two of mine, Dusk and Candyfloss. It took me about 2 months and a week or two in they had a fight. I was born from her fear of other rabbits, and his over happiness at being with another rabbit (which is all very sad and ironic). I took the bonding back a step and built their confidence again and I never saw any other signs like that and after two and a half weeks together permanently they are incredibly happy.

These blips do happen in bonding but the bunnies (and their owners) can work through them and the bonds can be happy and successful even after something like this.

I'm sorry someone you trusted your rabbits with let you down so badly. She has a lot to answer for.

But yes, I see that a lot with a particular bun of mine. I have it on video somewhere so I'll see if I can route it out and find it for you at some point (no guarantees, its not labelled as butt biting, so I could be searching and never find it).

 

[Lucy123]

Thanks for that info. How exactly did you take the bonding back a step? Like less time together, etc.

Today we got back from the car ride, they snuggled in their nuetral area, Trig groomed her for a bit, and after abour a half hour he was walking past her and bam his ears went back and he bit her hard on her bottom and a big clump of fur came out, which was after he bit her in the stomach. DID not see that comming. Bonding these two is very discouraging. Is it possible Trig will never settle down with her, and maybe he is not a good match for her?

 

[Flashy]

How did she react when he did that? Was there any skin attached to the fur?

How is his eye sight? That sounds like a strange question but poor eyesight can make bonding troublesome.

If you stopped bonding them what would you do? Keep them both separate?

With mine it was dusk that was a trigger because they get most active then and the bunny Dusk was super happy to be with another bunny but Floss was panicked about his happiness. I stopped bonding them over dusk and just kept it to the middle of the day for about another month and then gradually increased it again at a later date.

 

[Lucy123]

Well I'm not sure if there was skin attached because he ate some of it before I grabbed it all. But I checked her as best I could and didn't see anything, but the vet is better at checking her for wounds. When he bit her on her stomach and bottom she scrambled away really fast, but she did not try to attack him.

I usuallybond them starting in the morning around 10-11 o clock for an hour to a couple hours.I mean when we get back from the car ride they preety much justlay down and lucy usually approaches him and they snuggle face to face. It's when he has calmed down/cooled down, he walks around and if Lucy walks past him he usually immediatley goes to bite her. It's the more aggressive bites I don't like, and there going to reach 5 months now of bonding.

Ireally don't want todiscontinue bonding, only because Lucy is bonded to him she really likes him and that was the whole point of adopting Trig. It's just I don't know if it's fair to keep bonding if he keeps going after her? I mean Lucy continues to go up to him, she keeps comming back for more, but I don't see the point if she can't eat next to him, or go near the litter box because he goes after her in an aggressive way.I mean just because Lucy is bonded to him, doesn't mean their bonded and I should allow him to go after her like that right? I'm not used to aggressive pairs so that is why I'm questions everything!

I'm pretty attached to Trig now, the whole family is so I don't even want to think about bringing him back to the rescue. I just wish there was a way to get him to stop biting. Maybe the car rides should be longer? I could drive to Florida and back or something, 24 hours in the car might cure him LOL!

 

[Flashy]

What happens if ytou extend the time they are togther? A couple of hours together and then separated may not be helping because they might establish a bit of a realtionship and then each time they establish a bit they are separated again and so have to start again.

Maybe try and increase it to longer times, maybe from as early after dawn as possible, to as close to dusk as possible.

If they can't eat together, look for ways to accommodate that, if he is funny with the litter tray take the litter tray out.

He may be picking up on your anxiety, which is another option.

Is there anyone that could help you with the sessions? Having someone there can often help us relax which in turn can make it more successful.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

When we got Tony, Bo and Clover got so upset they went after each other and looked like a running yin-yang... they had each other by the butts..... dominance, bossiness... but it's not a good thing. we pulled them apart before someone got hurt