Bonded Female Pair Fighting

[Yakichou]

I created this account specifically because of the current situation.

I have two UNSPAYED Female rabbits. I know that I need to get them spayed and soon, but currently I do not have the money to do this. One is a white haired rabbit with red eyes name Shigure, while the other is a gray white rabbit named Misaki. The pair were raised together since they were tiny babies. My mother had brought them with her when she sas a man selling them at a flea market. Worst place to get a rabbit, I know.

Recently the two have been fighting with a bit if hair plucking when not watched and chasing that sometimes leaves my white one scared out of her wits. The current dominant one had been the white one for a while, but now recently the gray one has been leaving “happy” presents around. I fear that the gray one has been getting territorial and now the two are in a territorial dispute. It has barely been a year since I’ve had them. The two have been together since young and I cannot find a reason as to why they are fighting now. Could it be the change of the seasons?

I’ve looked at similar cases but most involved are male and female pair. I was hoping with this situation of two UNSPAYED females there could be a solution to getting them to stop fighting or should I leave them be?

[Sleepy]

Chances are they’re starting to fight because their hormones are starting to kick in.

It’d be best to separate them (you can still keep a gate between them or leave their pens/cages beside each other) until you can get them spayed. Then after the spay and a few weeks for hormones to die down, you can rebond them.

[Mikey]

Youll have to separate them like Sleepy says. The longer you keep them together, and the longer you allow them to fight, the more likely they will not tolerate one another in the future which means they will not bond

[Yakichou]

Thank you very much for the advice. I have been seperating them by putting both in seperate cages and rotating who stays in what cage so they don’t forget they share a cage in the future. So far the fighting has died down with them being seperated but the gray one continues to leave little presents and I’ve noticed her marking the towels with pee. The white one seems to be quite passive and keeps her distance from the gray one and does not try mounting the gray one unless provoked.

[Author]

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