Fur pulling other bunny and making bald patches!

[RowlyAndRalphie]

Hello,

I’ve been bonding Rolly and Ralphie for about a week now and have kept a good log of it in another forum post 🙂

They’re doing incredibly well and are both grooming one another but whenever Rolly grooms Ralphie he pulls at his fur! Ralphie seems to just lie there and let him do it even though from my point of view it looks like he is being really rough!

Initially I sprayed him with some water when he did it, but that stopped bothering him and he would carry on doing what he was doing… so then I started rattling things which worked for about a day but again, he stopped caring and now carries on pulling at Ralphies fur!

This also happened before the boys were neutered and over one night Rolly made Ralphies head completely bald so i had to separate them until neutering was done.

Has anyone else ever heard of rabbits doing this? I can’t seem to find anyone else who has experienced this problem. Does anyone have any advice??

Kate x

[Lotsoflions]

That would be him showing his sign of dominance, he doesn’t like his scent or him being in his space. I’ve heard of so many rabbits hurt or killed from trying to “bond” I strongly disagree with it. I would get a seperate cage and just let them play when supervised

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Lotsoflions on 4/28/2017 6:48 AM

That would be him showing his sign of dominance, he doesn’t like his scent or him being in his space. I’ve heard of so many rabbits hurt or killed from trying to “bond” I strongly disagree with it. I would get a seperate cage and just let them play when supervised

Un bonded rabbits can not have play dates.  They’re either together or not. I don’t understand why you disagree with bonding 

[Mikey]

As Sarah said, unbonded rabbits cannot play together. Only bonded rabbits can. Unbonded rabbits being placed together is when you hear about blood baths and death…

@ RowlyAndRalphie
It sounds like a case of over grooming. Im not too sure how to help out (linking to a rabbit.org page for over grooming), but it might help put things in perspective given that neither are aggressive with one another outside of this situation. http://rabbit.org/overgrooming/

[vanessa]

I agree 100 percent with sarah and mikey.

[RowlyAndRalphie]

Hi all thanks for the comments.

Yes I’m all for bonding – unfortunately Rolly was ill this week so the vet said I had to keep them separate for one night to observe how much or little poo he was producing. Even just that one night I noticed a huge set back with the bonding so there’s no way I could keep them separate constantly and let them have supervised dates.

The fur pulling is still a problem. It’s a real shame because Ralphie really does seem to want to be friends. I think it is a dominance issue – Rolly wants to be boss but I don’t think Ralphie is quite ready to fully submiss even though they have made big progress.

Do you think I can resolve this issue with further bonding? Perhaps spray Rolly when he does it? Poor Ralphies cheek is missing a lot of fur at the moment 🙁

[RowlyAndRalphie]

Hi all thanks for the comments.

Yes I’m all for bonding – unfortunately Rolly was ill this week so the vet said I had to keep them separate for one night to observe how much or little poo he was producing. Even just that one night I noticed a huge set back with the bonding so there’s no way I could keep them separate constantly and let them have supervised dates.

The fur pulling is still a problem. It’s a real shame because Ralphie really does seem to want to be friends. I think it is a dominance issue – Rolly wants to be boss but I don’t think Ralphie is quite ready to fully submiss even though they have made big progress.

Do you think I can resolve this issue with further bonding? Perhaps spray Rolly when he does it? Poor Ralphies cheek is missing a lot of fur at the moment 🙁

[Mikey]

Consider stress bonding. Freak them both out enough that they need to cuddle. Theyll see eachother as protection rather than threats to pluck from. Stress bonding can be done in a bath tub (no water), in a box that you shake a little bit, in a small carrier on a car ride, ect

Keep the bald patch treated with plain neosporin and/or a bit of vaseline. If the bald patch gets too big, youll need to separate them until his fur grows back

[BanditCamp]

Sounds like you need to be a bit more proactive with your bonding. If I was in your position this is what I would do.

1. Give a cool off period allow for healing and give the bunnies some space. Bring them out individually for play time and try not to allow them to mark territory ad best as possible to keep the space neutral. This could be at least a week or two.

2. Prepare yourself for bonding. There are many ways to bond rabbits. But one thing that is ever present is that the space has to be 100% neutral like a bathtub or on top of your washer/table somewhere were both bunnies do not go. Prepare a large dustpan or a thin piece of plywood to separate them completely. water will not work for your bunnies so you will have to use physical barriers. Gloves are a good idea in case your bunny bites you, get some heavy leather or snow gloves.

3. Prep two seperate cages like nic grids that are focused on letting your bunnies meet eachother. I would do the box cube method as this allows them to be focused and can see eachother and smell eachother without touching eachother. Make sure these cages are 3 inches apart so they cannot bite eachother but can get close to some degree.

4. After a few first meet and greets I would do a cage swap, make each bun occupy the others space and let this happen for a day. This allows them to realize that another bunny has been in their house and it’s ok. Keep dpi g the social dates with the cubes.

5. After a few swaps and treats and their flopping or grooming year eachother a meet is now in order. Get your gloves and ply wood and take your buns to the neutral space. If your putting both buns in a box or crate use a dust pan, and at the first sign of agressive behavior like lunges or sudden turns towards the butt or face put the barrier firmly in between to reset the mood. Do this for about 30 minutes and offer pets and good vocal encouragement. If any injuries happen that draw blood. Stop immidately as that session will be all defensive and not helpful.

Optional: some owners do not like this but you can stress bond your bunnies when you hit the meetup stage, placing them together on a washer with a towel under their crate or driv8ng around with an extra pair of hands around the block will bond them under stressful circumstances.

6. Repeat steps 4-5 until you see positive behavior such as grooming or flooring next to eachother these are good signs your bunnies know that they are friends.

I would suggest watching videos from 101rabbits or stormyrabbits on bonding, stormy rabbits had to do an agressive bond so lookup her vlog video to see what she did bit always do what’s best for you and your bunnies.

Good luck

[Printme]

Mine were terrible together — spayed female attacking younger neutered male — until one day I had to transport them both in the same carrier. Put them in the back seat and hoped for the best. They were COMPLETELY freaked out by the car ride, and were besties for the rest of their lives.

[DanaNM]

Hi Printme, welcome to BB! Unlike other forums, we ask members not to reply to old threads, as it can be confusing and you are unlikely to get a response from the OP. This thread is several years old now so I’m going to close it.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

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