History: Until last autumn, we had two bunnies, Barry and Mildred (of which Mildred was the dominant one). However, as Barry got seriously ill and the vet recommended separating the two, we got Mildred a new boyfriend Bertie. As we live in a flat, I divided the space (the whole flat) into two sections and kept on switching Barry and the couple as only one room has access to the balcony, and apart from extra droppings in some areas they seemed to be fine with the arrangement. As Barry has now fully recovered and shows interest towards the other two, I decided to get him a new girlfriend. After the first choice was already sick and died shortly after her arrival, we ended up with a 2-3 month old lionhead, Mavis.
Problem: Barry and Mavis seem to get along fine although Mavis is not big on grooming; they eat and sleep together and follow each other around. However, whenever the other couple comes near to the safety gate that divides the flat into two sides, Mavis goes mad and tries to get at them. They'll do the same and if both of them are next to the gate when this happens, Bertie starts chasing Mildred around in a very aggressive manner and fur will fly - at other times, they are inseparable and groom each other constantly.
Question: Is Mavis' behaviour normal for a girl so young? Obviously I have to wait till she is neutered before I can try any bonding, but surely she can't be hormonal yet? As the other two start a fight when having been near to her, should I keep them away from her completely for the time being? In order for all four of them to get used to each other's smells, would it be wise to swap the couples from one area to another every now and then or is it better to keep both couples in the same area at all times? I would love to seem them all get along because they have lots of space and don't even need to be in the same room, but on the other hand I don't want the relationship within each couple to suffer if bonding fails.
Problem: Barry and Mavis seem to get along fine although Mavis is not big on grooming; they eat and sleep together and follow each other around. However, whenever the other couple comes near to the safety gate that divides the flat into two sides, Mavis goes mad and tries to get at them. They'll do the same and if both of them are next to the gate when this happens, Bertie starts chasing Mildred around in a very aggressive manner and fur will fly - at other times, they are inseparable and groom each other constantly.
Question: Is Mavis' behaviour normal for a girl so young? Obviously I have to wait till she is neutered before I can try any bonding, but surely she can't be hormonal yet? As the other two start a fight when having been near to her, should I keep them away from her completely for the time being? In order for all four of them to get used to each other's smells, would it be wise to swap the couples from one area to another every now and then or is it better to keep both couples in the same area at all times? I would love to seem them all get along because they have lots of space and don't even need to be in the same room, but on the other hand I don't want the relationship within each couple to suffer if bonding fails.
