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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Brother Rabbits Aggressively Fighting

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    • DanielleYF
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        I have 2 netherland dwarf rabbits named Hoops and Yoyo. They are now about 4 and a half months old. In the beggining (for the first 2 months) they were so perfect together, cuddling, sleeping next to each other, grooming each other, not leaving each others side. When the hit about 3 and a half months old they started having huge fights which involved them literally bouncing off the walls of the cage. It was quite scary. The solution to this was to buy another cage and separate them. The reason for these actions occurring was obviously because of puberty, so about two weeks ago I had them both neutered, and they’re pretty much all healed from surgery. Hoops has been doing great, but Yoyo, even before the surgery was just buck wild and taking lunges at every one and biting every one (breaking the skin). These actions are still occurring. Will this ever stop? And I am so scared that Hoops and Yoyo will never be able to stay in the same cage again and have the brother bond that they once had. I know it takes 2 weeks to 2 months for the effect of the neutering to take place (calming the bunny down etc) but I am just really scared that they won’t ever be able to stay together again any thoughts?


      • tanlover14
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          It takes around a month for their hormones to completely subside so give him time to heal and get better. In the mean time, try giving him lots of extra love and attention. Don’t spend your time making him feel different. I know it’s a different situation, but my bun was neutered 2 months ago and he is STILL not doing litter training and has gotten really aggressive about it. We even took him to the vet to make sure their was no physical issues with him so it’s all just behavioral. We were attempting to push the litter training skills on him to the point where he wouldn’t even want to be near us — so I would suggest giving him some time with just you, one on one playing time until his hormones have time to subside. We did this with our bun and managed to not lose a bond with him despite his aggressive behavior. Bunnies have very different personalities but he HAS to be allowed time for his hormones to wear off. In the meantime, NEVER let them end any bonding time on a bad note. Even if it means just giving them treats close to each other at the end of the session but they will need to be rebonded. When they’re babies it’s much easier for them to bond together so getting that bond back shouldn’t be too difficult. But give him time and then try it once he starts to calm down again.

          If you continue to have a problem with his behavior — try calling your local House Rabbit Society chapter and asking them for advice! Our vet is currently doing that for us to help with our little guys behavior issues! I am confident that your buns will be able to get back to normal after some hormones have time to go down. I worried myself crazy with my baby buns after their neuters/spays (1 female and 2 males) but it worked itself out in the end. Being so young helps immensely so don’t let it worry you like crazy!


        • Binx86
          Participant
          144 posts Send Private Message

            I really hope things turn around for you with Yoyo’s behavior. I agree with Tanlover though, they are young enough where rebonding shouldn’t be an issue at all. We have 2 netherlands dwarf brothers too that are bonded and we had to rebond them after a major fight that happened before getting them fixed, it didn’t take us more than a couple weeks after the hormones settled down and they did part of the work themselves. It’s was kind of like the mean one admitting he was a jerk and apologizing! They’re now 2 and a half years old and the only issues we have is random humping and that’s few and far between.

            And you can’t let it worry you either like Tanlover says, just be patient and lovey, he’ll come around.


          • DanielleYF
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              thank you guys I guess only time will tell!


            • HopsNBarley
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                I am new to the forum and to bunny motherhood. I took my two bunnies, Barley and Hops, because they were brothers and I didn’t want them separated. They started fighting a few weeks before I had them neutered, however, post surgery it is much worse. Their attacks seem to be immediate whereas before it would build up, the would scuffle and separate but now there has even been blood and it is hard for us to get them apart! It is awful and it is breaking my heart. Barley is charging poor Hops the second he seems him..even if Hops huddles in the corner and “submits”. Hops is so scared and I don’t want to get rid of Barley..we are on week 4 and they are 6 months old…

                HAs it gotten better for you or does anyone else have advice to get them bonded again?


              • Mikey
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                  Youve trained them to fight one another by never separating them when this first started. They have now escalated and one has become terrified. They will need to be completely apart (different rooms) for atleast six months before you can even try to start prebonding again


                • HopsNBarley
                  Participant
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                    Oh my..that is not good news. As new bunny parents we didn’t know the fur in the cage was the reason until we saw them fighting. We woke up to it one morning and we have kept them separated ever since unless supervised. I have tried putting them in the yard in an enclosed area and they did well at first but then I went up to get a water bowl and some treats and they were fighting when I got back.

                    They live in a two floor hutch and we keep rotating who has which floor for the night/day and trying to introduce them again slowly but I guess separation is the only answer for right now…


                  • jerseygirl
                    Moderator
                    22338 posts Send Private Message

                      Hi HopsNBarley, welcome to Binky Bunny!

                      I’ve put a link below that should take you to a page where you can start your own thread in the Bonding subforum for this.

                      This thread is from 2012 and we ask that members do not reply to old threads. It brings them up in the list of current topics and causes some confusion.  

                      Just CLICK HERE to begin your own thread. PM me if you have any troubles with it!

                      Just a quick bit of advice regarding your rabbits, I would definitely post-pone any bonding work with them for now. It’s too soon post neuter and hormones would still be affecting behaviour. 

                      I will lock this thread now so no more replies can be added. 

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                  Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Brother Rabbits Aggressively Fighting