Bunny being bullied - advice please :0(

Hi all, - thought I'd try this thread in behaviour as well as RC

Need some advice re Bo and Barnaby as Bo is really starting to be a little git to Barnaby - it's a bit long winded but here goes - sorry

The new home for the Four Amigos is very nearly ready - just need to section off the 'run' bit into two so they can all have their binkying space (it's a dog kennel so we are splitting it in half top and bottom as they are two bonded pairs not a group of four - they don't all get on)

In the neantime we decided to let Barnaby and Bo have the use of the run bit as they are in the lower part of the double hutch Lee made a while ago and it was easy to make a hole in the side giving access to the run with a ramp.

So, they now have 24/7 access to their run .... they didn;t really explore it for the first couple of days so on Tues morning when I got in from work I took both of them in there and sat with them whilst they explored and figured out the ramp leads back into their hutch - no problems, they figured it out pretty quickly --- this is where the problems have started

Bo has now become really possessive over the hutch bit. She doesn't like coming out of it into the new run (I think the ramp might be a bit slippy for her and we're rectifying that this weekend when Lee can bring his tools home) but Barnaby has been using it no problem - apart from when he wants to come back into the hutch and she chases him straight back out again. She's always been dominant over him - Barnaby is a very timid, gentle rabbit - a little love - but this is going beyond a joke. He's out int he run nearly all the time just sat in a corner looking all woeful.

Their food is given in the hutch but I wasn't sure she was even letting him get that so I've started giving him his food in the run so at least he has some but when I've tried bringing Bo into the run with him she just turns and goes back into the hutch and sits at thedoor of it looking all sulky and bullying him if he goes back in.

Please help, he looks so woeful and hurt .... they're usually very cddly with each other and snuggle up at night but at the moment that isn't happening and I'm at a loss what to do?

Sorry for another epic post

Tammy x

When you say four amigos do you mean four rabbits? Can one pair see and smell the other? I would be hesitant about a run split down the middle if it means the two pairs will be side by side as this *could* cause referred aggression problems between bonded pairs, but not always, you will have to wait and see I suppose on that one.
I was just wondering if Bo and Barnaby's relationship has been tilted a bit by being able to see and smell the other pair? Certainly when we fostered a third bun, even though kept out of sight, it did cause my close pair to become more distant.

In terms of territorial behaviour over the hutch bit this could be a mix of Spring hormones (heightened territorial behaviour), Bo's reluctance to leave the hutch so guarding the place she feels most safe - OR she may be guarding the place food arrives... dominant buns do this!:roll:
I would definitely adapt the ramp so she can use it, provide some shelter for Barnaby in the run itself - a tunnel and a box perhaps or build a weather proof box for the run also if your OH is handy with DIY! I would also try feeding them in both places as you are.... and also try scattering the food too. It may just take Bo time to gain confidence and expand her territory at which point she may not remain so dominant over the hutch. Good luck

Hi Prettylupin,

Thanks for your reply.

She's always been a dominant bun to Barnaby, even before we got the other two. They've lived in the bottom half of the hutch and the other two in the top half since we got them and she never really bothered with them apart from when we tried to bond the four of them which didn't work at all. They've always been able to see / smell each other and the two pairs haven't been aggro towards each other in any way.

With the kennel run - what we're doing is splitting in half as in having one top and one bottom rather than side by side so they won't be in close contact with each other through any grills etc - it was easier to do it in this way as their shared hutch is a double decker and it made it easier to split - plus they get loads more actual floor area to binky in. Lee 's a joiner so very handy with DIY The kennel has a felt roof on it all the way across so he's nice and dry in there and I've put his carry case in and his favourite hay tunnel so he's comfy.
I'll definatley keep an eye on her with the food and keep feeding Barnaby some in the run - she's so lovely with him sometimes and she just gets these horrible moods with him - and he's so soft he just lets her.

Thanks for your reply - def helpful

Tammy x
He made the double decker hutch they live in at th emoment and their old run and he's using this weekend to sort out the new run as well with the new ramp etc, YAY!