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My boy bunny keeps biting his girlfriend

W

wizzer

New Kit
Hi everyone.

I am a bit confused as my boy and girl bunny seem to have a very strange relationship and I'm not sure what to do to make it better. :(

I have had my little girl bun for two years and got her a boyfriend a few months ago. They seemed to have bonded fine apart from the boy (Tommy) nipping the girl (Scratchy) quite a lot. It didn't seem to be hard just little nips at the fur. We thought this would get better over time but they seem to be getting more frequent and harder and causing her pain. It happens most feeding times and possibly happens more when we don't see them (they are outdoor). He only seems to do it when he is hungry though. Apart from this they seem to love each other and groom each other a lot. :love:

Is this something to worry about? as she is obviously in pain when he does it. Is there anything we can do to prevent it, or should we think about separating them and getting Scratchy another friend. :cry: (really is a last resort though)
 
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wizzer said:
Hi everyone.

I am a bit confused as my boy and girl bunny seem to have a very strange relationship and I'm not sure what to do to make it better. :(

I have had my little girl bun for two years and got her a boyfriend a few months ago. They seemed to have bonded fine apart from the boy (Tommy) nipping the girl (Scratchy) quite a lot. It didn't seem to be hard just little nips at the fur. We thought this would get better over time but they seem to be getting more frequent and harder and causing her pain. It happens most feeding times and possibly happens more when we don't see them (they are outdoor). He only seems to do it when he is hungry though. Apart from this they seem to love each other and groom each other a lot. :love:

Is this something to worry about? as she is obviously in pain when he does it. Is there anything we can do to prevent it, or should we think about separating them and getting Scratchy another friend. :cry:
Click to expand...

Are they both neutered? Do they have seperate food bowls? How big is their accomodation?
 
nursecroft said:
Are they both neutered? Do they have seperate food bowls? How big is their accomodation?
Click to expand...

Hi, They are both neutered and share the same food bowl. Their accommodation is 6ft (small bunnies - netherland dwarfs) . Would you recommend seperate food bowls? IHe also nips her just before we feed them, like if it is raining and they are up at the bars
 
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wizzer said:
Hi, They are both neutered and share the same food bowl. Their accommodation is 6ft (small bunnies - netherland dwarfs) . Would you recommend seperate food bowls?
Click to expand...

Going on the food-related aggression you describe - yes. How much time a day do they get out of their hutch? Do they have access to unlimited amounts of hay? if he's eating constantly hay throughout the day then he shouldn't be too hungry....although buns can get quite aggressive where treats are involved....I mean pellets here....as to buns they are treats and a source of food worth protecting. I would as suggested above try separate food bowls at opposite ends of the hutch and see how this helps?
I think you are right though....if the aggression continues to a point where your female bun becomes injured then you may need to consider separation and rebonding for both as a last resort....but try not to worry about that right now.
 
prettylupin said:
Going on the food-related aggression you describe - yes. How much time a day do they get out of their hutch? Do they have access to unlimited amounts of hay? if he's eating constantly hay throughout the day then he shouldn't be too hungry....although buns can get quite aggressive where treats are involved....I mean pellets here....as to buns they are treats and a source of food worth protecting. I would as suggested above try separate food bowls at opposite ends of the hutch and see how this helps?
I think you are right though....if the aggression continues to a point where your female bun becomes injured then you may need to consider separation and rebonding for both as a last resort....but try not to worry about that right now.
Click to expand...

Hi, They get about 4 hours for 4 days and the other 3 days about 10-12 depending on the weather. They have unlimited amounts of hay constantly. I wouldn't say she is being injured badly but when he bites me he causes a bruise so this must be really painful for a little bunny:(. I will try the seperate food bowl. Thanks for your advice :)
 
wizzer said:
He also nips her just before we feed them, like if it is raining and they are up at the bars
Click to expand...

Yes ok he is clearly dominating and protecting the food source. I would use a distraction method here too actually. Is there another door on the hutch that they are not up against? I would open this first and put something tasty in here....like some fresh basil leaves for example that smell strongly. Then back away. Wait for them to sniff them out and then open the other door and fill the food bowls at either end. If they wait for you after a few days behind the other door then I would open the alternative one and change the location of the food bowls. Varying where you put the food will prevent him predicting where the pelleted food is coming....it's just an idea to try out! It may not work, you may need to try different things out to see if you can distract him from his protective behaviour. At the end of the day...this would be normal behaviour in the heirarchy of a warren or bonded pair in the wild...nipping is a common form of communication to 'know your place' so unless injury occurs you might need to allow it to happen...tricky one I know.
 
If it puts your mind at rest...my pair give each other the occasional nip...very rarely...but it does happen if one puts a paw out of place in their established hierarchy....it's what rabbits do...I expect that they are less likely to get a good grip on each other as they can on us....more fur in the way!
Our girl is very protective over her 'stroking time' at bedtime....and will 'pretend' charge and grunt at her bonded partner if he hops over in the hutch to say hello as well...he has learnt his place and stays munching in the tray now! :D
 
prettylupin said:
Yes ok he is clearly dominating and protecting the food source. I would use a distraction method here too actually. Is there another door on the hutch that they are not up against? I would open this first and put something tasty in here....like some fresh basil leaves for example that smell strongly. Then back away. Wait for them to sniff them out and then open the other door and fill the food bowls at either end. If they wait for you after a few days behind the other door then I would open the alternative one and change the location of the food bowls. Varying where you put the food will prevent him predicting where the pelleted food is coming....it's just an idea to try out! It may not work, you may need to try different things out to see if you can distract him from his protective behaviour. At the end of the day...this would be normal behaviour in the heirarchy of a warren or bonded pair in the wild...nipping is a common form of communication to 'know your place' so unless injury occurs you might need to allow it to happen...tricky one I know.
Click to expand...

Thanks it's good to know that it's preventable (hopefully) I will cerainly try this out later. I'll let you know how I get on. It is certainly food related as they are best friends the rest of the time, and she doesnt seem to harbour any bad feeling about being nipped.
 
prettylupin said:
If it puts your mind at rest...my pair give each other the occasional nip...very rarely...but it does happen if one puts a paw out of place in their established hierarchy....it's what rabbits do...I expect that they are less likely to get a good grip on each other as they can on us....more fur in the way!
Our girl is very protective over her 'stroking time' at bedtime....and will 'pretend' charge and grunt at her bonded partner if he hops over in the hutch to say hello as well...he has learnt his place and stays munching in the tray now! :D
Click to expand...

oh great so there's hope yet! :) I suppose he is still relatively new so they are still learning each other's place. He is not so bothered about attention just greedy. She is so docile and loving towards him though which makes us feel sorry for her as she doesn't deserve it. But I suppose she has accepted that she is lower in the hierarchy. We will get there, thanks for the advice :D
 
Yep definetely seperate food bowl, im sure they will sort themselves out, sounds like you are doing everything right.
 
(sorry a bit long)

Also maybe it could help - I give them each a bit of fruit/veg in the morning to be getting on with and usually they take it and run away from each other - then I will put a little pile of food near to each of them and scatter a few pellets round each of them so this way they have their own little food area.
In the evening it is a general scatter of a few pellets and they get about equal.
They have hay in various spots in the run and hutch.

They have never been aggressive near food but when we had bowls they would naturally go to see if the other one had something more interesting. This meant 2 bunny faces and 2 sets of teeth in close proximity so I just wanted to avoid an accidental nip and possible retaliation!

They are happy to share the water bowl and hay piles.

:)
 
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