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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.
My bunnies are about 3 and half month now, they were very friendly with each others until last week (the right photo is what was before I go to shower, and on the left is what was after), they started such behaviors like thumbing, chewing (more intensive, even walls), digging. Last night, while I was in shower, I heard loud noises, I thought they were doing “bunky” jumps like usual, but when I went out, I saw them laying and breath very intensive, what scares me even more is there were a lot of fur on the floor. I thought they just shedding, but then in about an hour, they start smell each other, then suddenly one of them jumped in another direction, the other start running after him, then they just run around each other like crazy. So I’ve separated them for a night, and this morning made another cage so they can see each other. When the one that was in bathroom came out they started sniffing each other again, and one of them turn back and made a loud thumb. But later he licked the other through the cage (they usually groom each other). Not sure what was it. They will get neutered in a week. I thought about it from the beginning but because of overcrowding, I had to wait 1 month. Any thoughts on it?
Because they are not neutered yet this could be hormonal and territorial fighting. From their behavior it seems like they are struggling to figure out the pecking order while going through bunny puberty. I think you are right to separate them until they are neutered. It will take a few months for their hormones to settle down and you can try to rebond them again at that point. If they are kept together, the fighting can get worse and one of them could be seriously hurt. Good luck.
Baby bunnies cant bond. They can like one another, but its not a bond. Only adult rabbits can bond. Youll need to keep them separated for a month or two as rabbits will often fight to the death when hormonal. You dont want that. So, keep them separated the way you have them until atleast a month after they are both neutered/spayed and then start the bonding process
Thanks a lot for advices! I’m really upset to hear that So now when I will open the cage so they can exercise, should I let both go out or separately?
Separately
I agree, keep them separate for housing and play time until a month after you have them both neutered and can start re-introductions.
All those poops on the mats are territorial poops there fighting for space. You need to separate and bond them properly, check the house rabbit society or the bunk bunny rabbit info page.
UPDATES:
Yesterday another member wrote me, he said that they were figuring out their hierarchy to know who is the boss rabbit. So I let them out again, the smaller rabbit started running away from the bigger, they do like this in about half hour, then the smaller just lay down in position like “okay, im yours”. Than the bigger one licked the smaller one’s head and nothing special. No fightings at all. After that they jumped to litter box and eat hay together…I didn’t see such behavior anymore. They are now grooming each other again. So I stopped separating them. But still watching closely on them. They are going to be neutered in a week.
Today’s photo:
Youre risking a blood bath keeping them together before and through their surgeries.You already know they are acting hormonally and will fight, but are choosing to keep them together because its whats you want, even though its not what they need. After being neutered, many rabbits also go through a hormonal craze where their hormonal actions are worse for a week or two. If theyre just pulling fur and chasing now, imagine how that hormonal craze is going to go
But its your choice over all. I dont see why you cant wait a month to ensure their safety, though
I Agree whole heartedly with mikey, that other advice u got was dangerous.
When I put them separately, they tried to jump to other side and I have seen them trying crawling through the cage and fall down, I think they need each other and want to be cuddled by each other. I afraid if they will be separated for too long, they will forget each other. Can it be?
Yes. They will probably forget parts of what they know of eachother. I had a young rabbit with an older. They got along great but i did what i was supposed to do. I separated them but kept them where they could still c eachother. He was 3 months old. Neutered at 6 months. I started bonding them at 7 months, after he had time to heal and his hormones had died down. Today they are snuggly as ever. I did the right thing. You need to do the right thing and separate them till they are both fixed and have had a month to heal. Otherwise you risk deadly fights. And if they get their feelings hurt over a fight, they will hold a grudge and you wont be able to bond them. U need to do whats best for them.
Well then. I will separate them again. Hope they will be fine and dont get so lonely…thanks guys
I know it is tough but it will be better for their future. Lonely for a shirt time, but safe, not able to fight, and u will b able to bond them later – is much better then keeping them together where they can fight, get hurt, start to hate eachother, and then u might not b able to bond them later.
I give my bunnies stuffed animals so they dont get lonely. They love their stuffies, and u can still bond them and let them keep their stuffies.
Everyone is giving you correct advice on here. My two male rabbits had a serious fight about 2 weeks after neuter because I was unaware I had to separate them and they never had a serious fight before then. I separated them after this and was recommended to wait a few more weeks for hormones to die down. I thought I was seeing correct behaviour because they appeared to love each other so much. A few more weeks after this, when I thought the bond was finally achieved they had two more fights whilst I was away and my mother was looking after them for the week. It’s at the point now where they have been permanently separated and even letting them out separately has been an issue as they each go for the other ones living area with their back ends raised. I know you feel like you don’t want them to forget each other and lose the love they have for each other you also run the risk of them getting past the point of loving each other. As is they fight again they may hold a grudge and be very threatened and fearful of each other. I am currently waiting until I see more positive interactions through the bars of their pen before I even consider any type of bonding right now. It’s not nice seeing them fight and I don’t want to put them at that risk
Posted By kissa1001 on 4/22/2017 5:36 PM
When I put them separately, they tried to jump to other side and I have seen them trying crawling through the cage and fall down, I think they need each other and want to be cuddled by each other. I afraid if they will be separated for too long, they will forget each other. Can it be?
I know it’s upsetting but it’s for the best. I separated mine at puberty age even tho neither showed aggression (I’ve a male and female so had to also prevent pregnancy) and it did break my heart as they were snuggly up til seperation. In fact neither bun ever showed hormonal behaviour. But they had to be split to prevent the things discussed here. The result? A very easy bond
Kissa I’m going through the same thing right now. I have two little boys bunnies both are 9 weeks old. They’re from the same litter and have been just wonderful together so far. They really seem to like each other so I’ve been letting them live in the living room with me because I wanted them to bond with me and get to know each other. But based on what I’ve been reading on this forum, I decided that I’d better separate them until they’re neutered so I’ve been preparing and bunnyproofing the spare bedroom.
And not a moment too soon! This afternoon I heard a commotion from the living room and I came in to see a bunch of hair tufts all over the floor. Each one of them had the other’s fur in their mouths! It was clear they’d been biting each other. Thank goodness I’d just gotten the spare bedroom ready.
So now they’re living apart. I feel bad for the one living in the spare bedroom all alone so I’ve been sitting with him and petting him often. I think I’ll switch them each day so that one doesn’t have to live in solitary like that.
I shudder to think what would have happened if I hadn’t been there to break them up.
Also said what I said previously based on experience, for what its worth
When my Badger became hormonal, he became hormonal FAST, but it was still unexpected because he was still so young and small. He would try to cause fights whenever he could by trying to hump (but he was too small and couldnt reach the top of the other two). We separated him after his first try at a fight (stopped it within seconds, no one was harmed, just a little spooked because Badger flipped out), and not even a few days later he tried to fight through the bars and ended up with a chunk of skin being pulled from his toes. It was terrifying to see so much blood coming from such a small bun. Of course, my partner and I also felt horrible since we werent watching them close enough (didnt think a fight would happen through the bars). Even after Badger got neutered (other boys already were), he still tried to cause fights through the bars for about two months. That is just what hormonal buns do: they fight
Update: I have separated them already. This breaks my heart, but I hope they will be able to be together soon. Next monday is neutering day. I have prepared Oxbow critical care. Anybody can share how your bunny feel and what was behavior after surgery? Im so nervous about it, thanks
Neuter stories! Thankfully, neutering is pretty easy for buns Just make sure to get blood tests done first to ensure both boys can handle the anesthesia
Blue: He was sluggish for about three days. He slept A LOT the first day. The second we set him into the carrying crate at the vets, he just fell asleep. He slept the whole car ride home and went right to sleep within minutes after being set in his cage. He didnt care much for hay the first day, but ate his pellets and greens in between his naps. The second day and third day he was a little more active, but still spent the majority of the days napping. He HATED his medication, so getting him to take it was a huge hassle. By the fifth day he was completely back to his normal self
Bombur: He had a lot of testicle problems (swelling, pain/tenderness, ect), but had some kidney and liver issues due to diet problems we didnt yet know about so it took a few extra months to get him neutered. Once he was neutered, he was so freaking happy LOL. Like, he is a naturally grumpy bun and the pain he was in made him even more grumpy. So with the pain killers and his pain source (testicles) gone, he was such a happy bun. We put him in the carrying crate to bring him home, and he just ate the entire time on the way home. As soon as we set him in his cage, he just binkied and ate more hay and was bunny 500ing all over the cage. It was hilarious because it was the first time we were able to see him so happy and excited! We had to stop him from jumping and binkying around though, to avoid the glue or skin from tearing. Since then, hes been a much happier but still grumpy bun
Badger: Now, the vets office lied to us about his neuter. They let the worst dog/cat vet neuter him (not our rabbit certified vet who we had seen multiple times beforehand), gave him too much anesthesia (he stayed asleep much longer than he was supposed to), and could not take the pain killers they sent us home with, ectectect. It was a horrible. His sacks were swelling and bright red (which is normal for the first few days), but they would only let us get an early surgery check up if we saw the vet who neutered him, so we optd against it since the trust was already gone. We had to use neosprin on his swollen areas, and he needed to be syringe fed and watered for about a few days. After those few days, he would only eat pellets, greens, and drink from a bottle. He had to be coned for one month because he would try to chew on his sacks when the cone wasnt on him (they refused to give him different pain killers and he could not take the pain killers they sent us home with). It took him about 2 to 4 weeks to start bouncing back. I think it took 2 full months before he fully bounced back to his normal self
I kept my bunnies in a dog crate for the first 2 weeks to make sure they didn’t move around too much. The first few days they felt sore. I was nt given pain meds for them. By day 5 they were feeling much better. After 2 weeks I put them in a 4×4 pen each, for another 2 weeks. After a total of 4 weeks, I gave them back their free roam. The first day they didn’t eat. At that stage, I didn’t know about critical care, but they turned out just fine.
My boy was up and eating 10 minutes after coming round from the anaesthetic He was basically back to normal by the next day tho I kept his space confined for about 5 days I think? And I gave him pain relief for 2 days. He recovered incredibly quickly.
Thanks guys for sharing. I will write another update next Monday after surgery. Hope everything will be fine