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Buns suddenly fighting *update*

luvabun

Warren Veteran
:shock: Spike and Kiki's was the easiest bond ever.. they just hit it off straightaway (after Spike stopped being a Mummys boy).

Prior to getting Kiki, Spike enjoyed a month or so free range in the house and today he jumped over the barrier to get back in the house :roll: So I removed the barrier and let him and Kiki hop in and out as they please. That is the only thing that's different today, they rotate the garden with Totti and Brody so have smelt them before.

They have just been doing that jumping/ circling/ nipping fighting thing :shock: . Thankfully none of them have teeth but even so there's a bit of fur pulled out :shock: :shock: :shock:

Why would this suddenly happen now :? I've put them back in their hutch and given them some food to distract them
 
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As Spike had free range in the house for a month, his smell is proberbly still about, that could of sparked things off, I hope it settles down for you:)
A territorial thing!!!
 
i have to rotate my 2 groups in the garden and when Billy smells the scent of any of the other group of 3 he gets fiesty. He has even been known to start fighting with Blue who he lives with.:roll:

Once they are away from the scent (back in their shed) he calms down and him and blue are the best of buddies again.

Hope things sort themselves for you

x
 
Well they calmed down in the hutch so let them out in the garden again and it started straightaway :shock: :cry: Spike is definitely the aggressor. I'll try them in the run and don't know what to do if it happens there :cry:
I certainly daren't let them loose in the garden again :cry: :cry: :cry:
 
:shock: just heard a noise and it was them scrapping in the hutch now :shock: phoned a friend in a panic ... looked at them again and now they're laying together in the litter tray
 
They scrapped in the run yesterday so I sat in the run with them and intervened (I admit I'm a real wuss at bonding). I noticed that Spike hogged the food bowl and saw Kiki off when she went for food.
Overnight they've been fine but I was woken up just before 7 by the sound of scrapping in the hutch :cry: I've fed them and agan Spike is hogging the pellet bowl and Kikis eating the greens.

They both have no front teeth and when Spike was alone, his lower front teeth grew back and had to be removed again plus he lost weight. As a result he was on unlimited pellets. When I got Kiki, she also needed more weight on her so again unlimited SS. However she was a good hay eater and we hoped she would encourage Spike to do the same as his back teeth aren't great.
I have reduced the pellets in the hope of this happening. Could they be fighting over pellets :? If so, will I have to go back to giving them more pellets, putting their back teeth at risk :?
Why won't they understand I'm trying to do the best for them :cry:
 
Can you give them seperate bowls at opposite ends of the hutch to stop them scrapping over food? That way if its not the real problem hopefully removing it as an option will help you find out what is.
 
I always tip my group of girls pellets onto the floor in a little line of pellets, so they don't argue over them :)
 
It may be the quantitiy of pellets that sparked this off. They were fine until I reduced them, thinking that was in their best interests :cry: now i'm not so sure
 
Hi Jill, this reminds me of max and Bootz, they still scrap and have been together nearly two years.
I would give a few more pellets and in two seperate bowls, i do this with all of mine, they all have a bowl each. the odd scrap is nothing to worry about Jill unless there really harming each other. They will come round eventually xx
 
Awwwww hun try not to worry and if neither hae any teeth well I would let them have their scuffles unless obviously it gets too much. As I said yesterday I am sure they will snap out of it usually mine have their funny fits for 2 weeks or so then things are all forgotten :roll:
 
It may be the quantitiy of pellets that sparked this off. They were fine until I reduced them, thinking that was in their best interests :cry: now i'm not so sure

It is in their best interests so keep at it, so long as you are SURE they are eating hay? Sometimes they need hay chopping up, or changing to a different hay - Maa refused to eat the meadow hay and starved half to death before I realised why she was so desperate for her pellets :(

However they do love pellets and will eat as many as you give them - My group of 4 get 2 lots of pellets morning and evening - about a small handful each (3tsp? They are average size bunnies) - they never fight over them because they are spread out on the floor - when they finish they tend to go sniffing around for any stray pellets they missed, and that stops them fighting, whereas if it was a dish I can imagine Petunia guarding it quite fiercely :?
 
My two neutered bucks are the same. For a couple of weeks twice a year they have a paddy with each other :shock: Im sure your buns will settle down soon. Thinking of you.
 
It is in their best interests so keep at it, so long as you are SURE they are eating hay? Sometimes they need hay chopping up, or changing to a different hay - Maa refused to eat the meadow hay and starved half to death before I realised why she was so desperate for her pellets :(

However they do love pellets and will eat as many as you give them - My group of 4 get 2 lots of pellets morning and evening - about a small handful each (3tsp? They are average size bunnies) - they never fight over them because they are spread out on the floor - when they finish they tend to go sniffing around for any stray pellets they missed, and that stops them fighting, whereas if it was a dish I can imagine Petunia guarding it quite fiercely :?
I'm not sure they are eating hay at all :cry: I spend hours chopping up the various hays I've got into small pieces and it's always left all over the hutch :cry: I'll try scattering the pellets
 
I'm not sure they are eating hay at all :cry: I spend hours chopping up the various hays I've got into small pieces and it's always left all over the hutch :cry: I'll try scattering the pellets

Hi Jill,

To get my lot eating more hay I stopped giving the hay at the same time as their veg/pellets. So now they have their pellets and veg on a morning and their hay on a teat time. This way they are so hungry again by tea time they dive into their hay - I dont know if this is something you could try? Also try putting it in something so you can monitor how much is being eaten (ie a basket or something maybe?)
 
with Maa, when I realised she was a bag of bones it was almost too late - she started doing jelly poos and diarrhea just from being empty - she's one stubborn bunny and I just kept cutting her pellets :(

Once I realised she wasn't eating hay, I increased her pellets slowly (I use SS) over about a week, till she was basically living on 2 really big handfuls of pellets (morning and evening) and veg - her stomach got better and she put on weight again - and although she loves her pellets she's not got that desperation she had back then, and I switched to the old brand of expensive timmy hay again and she eats lots now, so I've cut her pellets back again - I feel so awful to think she was starving for weeks :cry:

What hays have you tried? Do they like veg?
 
Is there any other alternative to the fibre that could replace, if they really wont eat hay, just windering?


Jill Have you tried mashing it with a banana at all?
 
bunny basics t pellets are pretty high in fibre. have you also tried some of the dired grasses?
 
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