Previously bonded bunnies, sudden bullying

[Carmen]

I have a male and a female bunny. They are both about 1.5 years old and were both fixed early on (my female at 5 months and my male a little later on). They were not bonded until after the male’s hormones calmed down. Now they cuddle, play with each together, and groom each other all the time. My female bunny has occasionally humped my male to show dominance but other than that I have not noticed any problems… Until very recently. She has started pulling his fur out. He runs from her as soon as she starts doing this. He has no bald patches and has been shedding his fur for the longest time now (it’s almost as if he has an unlimited supply of it). Am I going to have to separate them when I am not there to watch them? This has me very worried. I made sure to give my male bunny a lot of love and separate the girl every time this happened. They are cuddling now, so the fighting is over after separating them for a bit. I plan to take them to the vet ASAP. It’s possible I’m worrying too much, which I tend to do a lot with my babies. Any comments would be helpful. Thank you!!

[Sirius&Luna]

Did you bond them yourself? You might need to go back and redo a bit of bonding to solidify their bond I would say. So do some bonding sessions together in a small space, and intervene if negative behaviours occur, or take them for a drive in a small carrier etc.

If she’s bullying him constantly you might need to separate them for a bit.

It’s good that you’re planning a vet visit, as one of the rabbits being ill often affects a bond.

[Mikey]

Is the only aggression between the two fur pulling? Are either of them going through a moult?

[Carmen]

Both bunnies are going through a moult at the moment. The only aggression has been fur pulling. I am going to try rebonding. Thank you guys so much!

[Author]

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