Fighting over food?

[JBunny18]

So I adopted max and lulu back on Thanksgiving of last year. Max had just been neutered so I didn’t start the bonding process until a month later when his hormones calmed down. Lulu had been spayed many months before I adopted her and just fell head over heels for Max when she saw him. My house rabbit society had had Lulu for awhile and said she had been having a hard time finding a mate because she was “kind of a diva”. But, it was love at first site with Max. She instantly submitted to him through the pen bars for grooming on one of their side by side play dates. Max, however showed a lot of aggressive dominance behavior, excessive mounting, nipping, the normal non tornado chasing of “I am a big strong man bun and I will be the boss of this home” manners. But, in like 3 weeks he still mounted her from time to time but they were snuggling and grooming each other. So after a week of dating and condo living closer and closer I moved them in together. Harmony ensued….or so I thought. One Morning I woke up to find Lulu had a bite on her cheek. It wasn’t deep and the vet and my HRS volunteer contacts said to just separate them and go back to dating until the tiff is over. I did just that, and of course they were miserable and always hopping into each other’s pens and trying to stay together. So after another week or so of good dates I moved them back in. The bite healed. Now it’s been 2 months later and two more bites have shown up on Lulu’s face. Again they aren’t deep, and Max isn’t acting aggressive towards his bunwife. The only possible thing I see is that they tend to “nose lance” over food. I tried giving them separate bowls but they always eat side by side out of the same bowl even after luring one away from the other to let them know they each get food. I also notice that at good night treat time lulu takes her treats and runs off into a corner to eat it. She and Max also have stolen things out of each other’s mouths and run off with it to chew it. Like Lulu is chewing on a toilet paper roll and Max shuvs his nose under her chin and grabs it away from her and hops away. She does the same thing to him!! Now when I see this, because there are plenty of bun toys to go around and scattered throughout the bun room, I always try and hand the victim of thievery another toy, treat, or chew-able. Or take the thing away and give it back to the other and give the thief a toy. I am not sure. Any advice on what to do? I really feel Like Max isn’t intentionally hurting his lady, but rather accidentally biting her when he is trying to eat. Maybe I should get a large plate or a bigger bowl to serve their veggies on so it’s not just a small dish they fight over? They don’t have this problem with Hay, only veggies and pellets. I feed them 1/4 a cup of pellets and a cup of veggies twice a day to split between them. Hay is unlimited of course, lots of things to chew on and burrow/dig into to keep those bunny skills sharp and their teeth filed. They live in a C&C cage I built from storage grids that’s 4 grids long, 2 grids wide, and 8 grids high, with two levels and a little platform between with a ramp up and down. Then When I get home from work, they get free range of the house. 

[sarahthegemini]

Competing over food is quite common. It’s one of the reasons many chose to scatter feed. I scatter feed the monsters their breakfast pellets and serve their veggies on a standard (human size) dinner plate. Definitely try altering the way you serve them their food. I must say tho, I find it hard to believe that your guy would ‘accidently’ bite your girl’s cheek THREE times? My two sometimes pull bits of food out of each other’s mouths (mainly things that are handfed) but they’ve never even nipped one another. 

[JBunny18]

Thank you. I am trying the scatter method and it seems to be working, but time will tell.

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