HELP!! sudden attacking in bonded pair!!

[Deleted User]

Hi, 

I could really use some advice as everywhere ive searched doesn’t completely relate to my situation. I am new to having rabbits and ever since i got my two i am absolutely in love and i have become obsessed. Ive been getting such enjoyment out of them and think they are lovely pets. I feel i have dedicated a lot of time and effort in to doing whats best for my two bunnies and i have been none stop researching everything that i can do for them and i am keen to learn as much as i can about them. 

well anyway, I got two male rabbits on the 18th Jan and i believe they are about 5 months old, according to the age the pet store gave me. I had them both neutered on the 17th Feb and everything went perfectly and they healed really fast. I have had no worries about anything to do with the rabbits and they seem to  be settling into life with me very well and i have come to learn they both have unique personalities. They are in a spacious pen with plenty of stimulation and have regular time outside of this too, with the run of two bunny proofed rooms. I also stick to a routine with the times they are let out and fed etc, so they are used to the day to day happenings. 

All has been well between the two rabbits who happily play together, sleep side by side and groom each other. Up until yesterday morning when i have come to feed them. Rick and Daryl were sitting side by side in the litter box but i noticed Rick looked as though something had spooked him. Upon closer inspection i can see lumps of his fur all over the pen and he has a piece of his ear missing (about 2cm in size). This has absolutely devastated me and i am really upset that i havent heard the commotion in the night to possibly intervene. Rick has allowed me to clean his ear and this doesnt seem like it is affecting him. 

I  rearranged their pen so that i could give them both a space but ensure they can not get at each other. Rick spent about an hour or so being a little bit jumpy when Daryl approached him but there were no signs of aggression from Daryl. I spent most of the day just observing them yesterday and it didnt take long before they were seeming like everything was back to normal. I reintroduced them after a couple of hours under supervision only and their behaviour seemed fine. They were separated last night because i am too nervous to leave them alone together as i dont want this to happen again. 

Today has been pretty much of the same. no unusual behaviour. Although this afternoon i have noticed daryl trying to hump rick again and this only happened before they were neutered. Rick has also started putting his chin on the floor when daryl is sitting above him. I thought everything must be fine and i thought i could turn my back and go to the kitchen and as soon as stopped supervising them Daryl has gone for rick again, luckily there is no serious injury, just fur all over from rick. 

Its quite sad because it seems as though rick isnt quite sure why this is happening and there has been no sign of retaliation, he seems to just accept it. Daryl is also all of a sudden getting this angry look in his eye after they have been separated.

I really am so unsure as to what to do as i dont want to do anything that might have really serious effects on them and i am trying to minimise the situation as much as i know how. Is there any way past this? Its really upsetting as my partner is saying there must be something wrong with Daryl and I should get rid of him. To me this is not an option as i have committed to both of these rabbits equally and care about them regardless of their traits.

Also i dont know if this helps but Rick is very outgoing, will always pop up to say hi and then pop off to explore and play. Whereas Daryl has always appeared rather timid, taken longer to explore areas and has only ever tried new food if he has seen rick do this first and if hes sharing the same piece, he also tends to do the odd thump when he comes out of his pen and it almost seems like its a reassurance for him and he does this regardless of the situation he is in because when he comes out to play he always seems very happy running around and doing binkies. 

I know this is a long post but i am grateful for any advice anyone can offer.

thank you

[Lilo]

Oh no! That’s horrible! I’m completely in the dark by this. They’re neutered, bonded and sound well kept. Maybe try bonding them again?

[tobyluv]

Hello and welcome to Binky Bunny. It’s usually recommended that you wait 1 month after neuter surgery before attempting bonding. After surgery, some rabbits can have worse behavior than they did prior to surgery. They go into a post neuter craze, due to the fluctuating hormone levels. It takes a month or even a little longer for the hormones to settle down.

It would probably be best to keep Rick and Daryl apart for a couple of more weeks, then start the bonding process again. You don’t want any more injuries, and rabbits can hold a grudge, so any further fighting or aggression could make bonding very difficult if not impossible. Keep them near each other, but don’t let them have access to each other physically. Noses and ears can be nipped through cage bars, so make sure that doesn’t happen.

All of my bonding attempts have been male/female pairs, and they were all easy, although that certainly isn’t always the case.  I have found a good method is to put the bunnies in an x-pen, and get in there with them.  My husband and I both get in.  That’s to prevent any fighting (some scuffling is normal) or stop any excessive humping, or to just be there if a bunny seems intimidated.

[Deleted User]

Thank you for your reply. All seems to be well again at the moment. I increased their pen space but have kept it so they are able to be separated. I allow them time together as long as I can supervise them and their behaviour is back to being the best of friends again, snuggling and grooming. Although I have noticed they are having some time at separate ends of the pen on some occasions. Which I’ve read could be that sometimes they just need some time out? When I go to bed I separate them and they can still see each other through the partition in the middle. Although they do seem very upset by being kept apart. I do want to have them back together at all times at some point but I am just so nervous about it. I’m maybe thinking of continuing to observe them for a while longer as I have been doing and then trying to introduce them back together at night. But setting up camp on my sofa so I am aware of any incidents?

[ReeRee]

I looked for your post after you commented on mine.

Your situation sounded similar to mine although I don’t think you mentioned that yours were fighting before they were neutered?’ Mine were and that’s why we got them done. As someone else has said, their hormones could still be active which could cause them to fight,

I completely understand your situation, first time having rabbits, being completely in love with them and just wanting them back together as they genuinely seemed happier when they were bonded and snuggled up together.

Even what you say about their personalities seem similar. Chicken (rex, slightly smaller) was always the shy one whereas Shamu (french lop) was the one who did everything first and wanted to explore. When their hormones appeared however it was Chicken who seemed to initiate it which surprised us. I think shamu wasn’t hormonal yet at that stage as he didn’t seem to understand what was happening altho he fought back of course. So much fur but luckily no blood or serious injury.

We are keeping them in separate cages but side by side. Your set up sounds good and if I didn’t happen to have a bigh hutch and a smaller inside cage already i might have bought something more convenient to use. I am going to let them out together only under supervisiob until i am sure there is no issue although it is difficult to know how clear that will be!

I hope you get sorted soon. I know how stressful and upsetting it can be – for us as well as the rabbits!

[Deleted User]

There was absolutely no fighting between mine before I got them neutered but I’m wondering if I possibly just got there early enough. I started to get paranoid that they could be wrongly sexed as I was hearing pets at home had a track record of this (but yes they were both males) so this is what made me get them done as quick as I did.there have been no other incidents since, so over a week now. They are only together when I supervise them but it doesn’t quite seem the same as it was before. They spend more time at separate ends of there pen when I have the partition open and when I let them run around they are at other ends of the room. I have noticed rick is becoming more withdrawn. I don’t know if this is due to him disliking the separation at night, if he doesn’t want to be in the same space as Daryl anymore or if they are actually working out the hierarchy now. It’s very difficult understanding what is best. I’m just thankful there is no more fighting

[Vienna Blue in France]

Hi Eddy and welcome.
Tobyluv’s advice is very good and from experience. I don’t really have anything to add.

In summary. You MUST keep the boys apart for another couple of weeks (atleast!) until their hormone levels stop spiking and have evened out (imagine hormonal teenagers!).
Let them be able to see and hear and smell each other, but make sure they cannot get to each other THROUGH the partition bars.
Most times one should make a double level protection barrier to avoid contact / injury.

End of March (at earliest), go through bonding sessions again and ensure that BOTH buns are grooming the other bun before deeming them ‘bonded’.

Rick being ‘withdrawn’ may seem so because he was top-bun and now Daryl is asserting himself. It’s not necessarily being withdrawn as “grudingly accepting” the “Vice top-bun” position. My doe went through this. She reaaaally didn’t want to give in to Henry, but he WAS destined to be top bun.

Keep in touch, they look lovely buns in the pic, and btw, brilliant names !!

[Deleted User]

I’ve had some great advice so I really appreciate that. There’s also been so much valuable information that I’ve from from other posts which is great.

Well today has been such a good day. I’ve pretty much spent the whole day just watching haha. They seem to have some sort of grooming routine going on and have been side by side most of the day, eating from the same hay box and flopping together. So I’m hoping that it’s onwards and upwards from here. Rick must have just been having an off day yesterday because he is back to normal today. when I have let them both out today it looks like they are playing together and they are zooming all over the place. So I hope these are all signs that their hormones are going down and they are on their way to eventually being back together properly again.

[LittlePuffyTail]

((((Fingers crossed things stay nice and smooth))))

[Author]

Messages