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Should i seperate them?

R

Radish

Mama Doe
My two sweet spayed rex sisters have had a couple of scuffles over the last two weeks.

At three this morning i was woken by thudding and a scream....they'd had a fight...Blackberry has four bald patches, within two of these there is a cut.

moo has one wound to her shoulder where a circle of skin has been bitten out.At the time both were panting really heavily.

they seemed to be ok when checked midday....no fur around etc BUT a short while ago i went to check and there were a couple of tufts of fur in the pen and they were both panting.

i can hear stamping going on upstairs at the moment and am ready to run up there if i hear anything.

i'm just so uncertain as to whether to seperate them.

please help.

edited to add...their pen is seven foot by four and there are things they can hide in and climb on so as not to be bored and so they can get apart a bit if they need space.
 
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Hi,

I dont have much experience when it comes to rabbits being bonded, its something i have to tackle myself at some point!

Although from what you have said i would probably separate them for some time, maybe just tonight, put them so they could see each other if possible. Maybe try let things cool down between them whatever is going on lol

xx
 
thanks i just don't know what to do for the best, they've never been apart all their lives and seemed very happy.

part of me keeps hoping it will blow over and they won't have to be seperated.
 
It could just be the Spring Season.Could you not seperate tonight but let them still see each other?
My boys often have a chase of each other and fall out but they have never broken skin.
If one of the bunnies screamed she must have been scared.:cry:
Is one more of a bully than the other?
 
Becca said:
It could just be the Spring Season.Could you not seperate tonight but let them still see each other?
My boys often have a chase of each other and fall out but they have never broken skin.
If one of the bunnies screamed she must have been scared.:cry:
Is one more of a bully than the other?
Click to expand...

hi... yeah moo is the bully but i think she screamed as she has the bite wound.

to be perfectly honest if they are seperated now i cannot see the point in putting them back together ...they have lived together all their lives ( six months)and if they can't get on now, how will seperating them for tonight help??...sorry probably a dumb question but i just feel if they are parted i can't put them back together as the only neutral place is the bathroom and they both have mildly sore hocks and they can't have their lovely p[added floor in the bathroom.
 
Do you have any other Rabbits?


If not then their fighting cannot be attributed to referred aggression and I would seperate the Does. A screaming Rabbit is a Rabbit in severe pain/fear :cry:

If you do have other Rabbits moving the Does away from sight/smell of the others may help calm things down.

Do check the Does over again tomorrow as sometimes small puncture bite wounds can be missed when 'fresh'. They are easier to detect when they start to scab over. Small puncture wounds are hot spots for the formation of an abscess

Janex
 
hi

my only other two rabbits are outside in the garden and never go near my rex's who are upstairs in the spare room and i always cvhange my shirt so no bunny smell.s are brought in.

when i checked at three thirty this morning i couldn't find wounds, i only found them tonight as they had started to scab.

any idea why this happens after so long living happily?
 
Radish said:
hi

my only other two rabbits are outside in the garden and never go near my rex's who are upstairs in the spare room and i always cvhange my shirt so no bunny smell.s are brought in.

when i checked at three thirty this morning i couldn't find wounds, i only found them tonight as they had started to scab.

any idea why this happens after so long living happily?
Click to expand...

How long since their spay?

Janex
 
hi

they were spayed four weeks ago....the first real scrap occurred when Blackberry managed to jam her leg inside her buster collar(they had to have them as i work full time and they wouldn't leave their stitches alone)....i removed the collars later that day and everything has been fine until last night.

they were nineteen weeks old when spayed.( just looked it up)
 
Radish said:
hi

they were spayed four weeks ago....the first real scrap occurred when Blackberry managed to jam her leg inside her buster collar(they had to have them as i work full time and they wouldn't leave their stitches alone)....i removed the collars later that day and everything has been fine until last night.
Click to expand...

They may well still be a bit hormonal, especially with spring in the air.
I think it might be a good idea to get them both Vet checked as sudden unexplained aggression can sometimes be due to a physical problem

You say they have had sore hocks, either Bun's hocks looking particularly sore at the moment?

Is there any neutral territory you could move them to tonight. If you want to try to keep them together then I think neutral territory is the safest option.
Also, one or both Buns may have some pain from their wounds. So they will be on the defensive.

Janex
 
thanks...i don't really have anywhere neutral.....Blackberry's hocks are quite red hence the flamazine which i'm picking up tomorrow.

am going off line now and will check them a couple more times before bed...most likely going to seperate them before i turn in.

thanks again xx
 
Both my girls Cranberry and Tilly started behaving the same 2 weeks after their spaying. They are sisters and have not been separated since birth, and they looked after each other after their ops. After 2 weeks it seemed as though a switch was flicked and Tilly started bullying and attacking Cranberry, fur pulling, fighting and after Cran ended up with a cut above her eye we had to separate them for a week. Tilly didn't seem to care but got very territorial with lots of foot thumping when we were cleaning her hutch out, but poor old Cran seemed really sad and depressed and didn't seem herself anymore.

We then bonded them the following week with our two boys in a neutral place, and they are now the best of friends again. All four sleep together in the same dog basket, and the girls clean each other as well as the boys, and are playing together like they used to instead of fighting.

I put it down to a last surge of hormones, and introducing Tilly to a bunny a lot bigger then her to take her down a peg or two and calm her down!
 
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I would separate them immediately but gives them some transaparent gate (plexi glass) or whatever to separate the 2 and yet ea. bun can see the other.

That way, say in a no. of days, if you see 1 of them licking the plexi glass while the other is next to it, it means they want to get back together
 
I think as a rule if they draw blood, you should split them up at least for a few months before trying cautiously again on neutral territory for several days - my 4 girls scuffle and nip but not maliciously - it's more a jostling for food thing rather than trying to attack each other.
 
hi thanks for all the replies.

the girlies are still together at the moment because last night when i went to visit them before bed they were chasing and running about playfully and when Moo stopped to eat something, Blackberry started grooming moo's head and ears.

they have been fine so far all day and i shall sit and watch them for an hour or so later anfd see how they interact.

if there is the slightest hint of another scrap they will be seperated but i have to just give them a chance just incase this was a random act as i'd hate to make the wrong call and seperate two buns that still love each other.

i don't want to split them and get each a partner as i already have two other single buns(who will remain so) and i don't want to bring two more buns into my family, this is also influencing my decision as to splitting because i want to be 100% certain they need splitting before i make them single buns.
 
So glad all seems to be going well with them:D
It would be so upsetting having to split them up:cry:
 
thanks Becca.

last night they were laying next to each other with Blackberry resting her head on Moo...so far so good, i really hope that was just a one off fight.
 
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