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My femal rabbit is attacking my male rabbit

princess1983

Young Bun
Hello everyone! I need some advice and tips. I had two rabbits, a male and female. Sadly my male rabbit Lucky had to be put to sleep. Misty (my female) seemed to be sad so I decided to get her a companion. I have got a male 3 year old called Thumper from a rescue centre. Misty will not accept him at all. I have got a hutch with two stories and I have been having to block them off at night for fear of them killing each other cus she is that bad!!! any thoughts? is this because its her territory and he has invaded it? i know that when you breed you always take the doe to the buck but by bringing him into her home I am defying nature but I know loads of ppl who have had a female first and then a male. Anyway I am rambling on a bit!! So if any of you have any advice I would be very greatful! :wave: x
 
Hi...your female will be defending territory....you need to introduce (bond) them on neutral territory ,ie somewhere neither of them have been before. and in a small space so that they can get used to each other.

If you do a search on here for 'bonding' you should find lots of helpful info.
 
Thanks for your reply. I will try them somewhere else and see how they get on! I am getting real stressed about it, just want them to be friends!
 
I presume both are neutered?.....they will chase and hump each other to sort out who is the dominant one and fur will fly!

Do read some of the other bonding threads on here and they will help you ,bonding does need to be quite controlled to be sucessful usually.

Theres plebty of people on here who are more practiced in bonding than me ( although Ive done a few!) and I'm sure they will offer advice too.
 
yep they are both neutered. when i first introduced them I put them in pet carriers next to each other and tried to get them to know each other but when i did actually loose them out the first thing he did was hump her and thats when she really went for him! I have spoke to someone else and she suggested putting them in the bath (with no water) because its unfamilair and they will turn to each other for comfort and then bond.
 
yep they are both neutered. when i first introduced them I put them in pet carriers next to each other and tried to get them to know each other but when i did actually loose them out the first thing he did was hump her and thats when she really went for him! I have spoke to someone else and she suggested putting them in the bath (with no water) because its unfamilair and they will turn to each other for comfort and then bond.

yes I know some people recommend the bath...I usually use a 3ft dog crate so its limited space and obviously neutral territory....they usually have a couple of day in there and if all is going well I gradually allow them more room by using a puppy pen to increase space.
 
If they bond, then keep them in a fairly small space for about a week. And while they are indoors, clean out the hutch really well and try to get rid of the female's smell with vinegar. The hutch needs to be neutral by the time they go back into it.

Some rescues bond rabbits at their place, did you ask the one where you got the female from about this? They might be able to help.

Good luck!
 
Hello again. Last night when i got home from work they had another big scrap because Thumper (male) had gone in the hutch and Misty (female) went to go in so she lunged at him for being in 'her' hutch. So I took her out of the hutch and I have put her in my house in a large indoor cage. I then scrubbed the hutch to get rid of her scent and put new bedding in and he spent last night in there. Misty will spend today in the indoor cage. Tonight they are both going to the vets for their VHD jabs so do you think i should try and take them together in one pet carrier (its a large one) if I put him in the carrier first and then take her to him or do you think it will end in tears? help! thanks
 
hiya....as said yesterday you need to do a proper bonding in neutral territory!!

It will take you several days on neutral territory to bond them properly...if you're not careful you could end up with a seriously injured bunny as a result of them fighting.
 
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I agree with Biscuitblossom on this one. You need to set time aside and do it properly - him getting into her hutch is going to result in injuries - she is not abnormal, females nest and defend territory so their kits survive - it's natural instinct so it's not surprising she feels threatened and attacks if a stranger gets in.

If you have the time to put aside for them and you're planning on putting them on neutral territory and doing it properly then yes, take them to the vets together in the carrier - I'd suggest taking someone with you just incase they do scrap as driving and dealing with bunnies is not ideal. There's no point in putting them together and then splitting them cos you have other commitments tho - rabbits are not really "dating and getting to know you creatures" they need to hump, nip, chase and establish their relationship and then stay together - if you keep splitting them up they will hump, nip, chase and establish their relationship every time you re-introduce.

As was suggested earlier - use the search engine for "bonding" and you'll get some good tips.
 
Thanks Chloaster. I wont separate them if they bond, they will be together always but i had no choice but to separate them last night. when i take them to the vets my friend will be driving me and i will be in the back with the buns so i can oversee whats going on between them. I will try my best and fingers crossed they will eventually be friends :)
 
Just remember what has been said though.

1)you need to have them together in a NEUTRAL space such as a bathroom/kitchen/dog crate/downstairs toilet/rescue bonding service pen for a few days until you're sure they're bonded. You can start by putting them in different pens (NOT the original hutch) next to eachother so they can see and smell eachother.

2)In the meantime you need to have the hutch they will be living in future properly scrubbed with vinegar or something like biological washing powder to get rid of the smell of the original rabbit.

I have read that by putting togther rabbits and then separating several times will actually reduce the chance of them ever being successfully bonded in the future as they will remember the bad experiences.

I would suggest that your easiest option is to go back to the rescue and ask if they do a bondiong service as that will be properly neutral. If not then you must bond them properly in a NEUTRAL space. Don't put either of them in the hutch that you already have UNTIL they are bonded as it will undo all the hard work.
 
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