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Please help. Proper fighting!

S

sheridan

Warren Scout
Hi guys, I really need some help. I know this is early days but advice is welcomed.
Bit of background.

Ellie is my almost 5 year old rabbit who lost her sister 3 weeks ago.
she was dressed 4 years ago and her and furby got on like a house on fire. they were sisters.

3 days ago, I bought a 8 week old minilop female.
So far I have had them in different hutches, but looking in on them.

Ellie has become very jealous of me touching the new bunny and has even jumped on me for hugs. For 4 years she has not let me touch her and now she wants hugs.

Yesterday I put the 2 bunnies together in the conservatory. Ellie used to go into it 4 years ago but hasnt really been in it at all since.
Ellie tolerated the new bunny but didnt really do anything. I thought she was sniffing the new one but the baby jumps.

Today I put them together again and the baby started humping ellie and annoying her!!! Ellie just moved away. I pulled them apart.

Then suddenly Im not sure who annoyed who but they started fighting!! I had to pull them apart!!

is this a really bad sign? I dont know what i will do if this continues....
 
Is Ellie spayed?

You'd probably be better off waiting until the baby can be spayed aswell to reduce the chance of hormones creating the problem.

Humping is usual in bonding and its normally best to just let them get on with it and only interfere if there is real fighting, locking on etc.

Was any blood drawn during the fight? This could make it awkward to bond if they remember the incident.
 
thanks for the quick reply.

Ellie just didnt seem happy with the humping and tried to run away. It was slightly amusing as the baby actually had to get onto Ellies back to try and hump cos of the size difference.
I looked really hard and couldnt see any blood.

Both were on their sides fighting!
I picked Ellie up immediately and calmed her down. Then hugged the baby.

I wonder if Ellie really doesnt like me touching the baby?
 
Lots of buns run away from the bun trying to hump them. As I said I normally let them get on with it as its an important part of them establishing the hierarchy. As long as the bun being chased doesn't get over stressed or fight back in annoyance I try not to intervene. If the chasing gets out of control I normally try to distract them with some food or something rather than pyhsically touching them.

Females tend to be more territorial than males, and I have had bunnies show jelousy before so I guess that could be a factor too.

I think spaying baby first would be a good idea otherwise you could have to go through this all again in a couple of months if/when they fall out.
 
Thank you so much Amy104.
I wouldnt mind having to bond them again later.
I am out a lot due to work so hate the fact that they are alone so even if they have company for a bit before getting spayed I will be happy.

How long should I put them together for each day? I want to make sure I am doing this right
 
I agree with Amy104. I wouldn't attempt any further bonding until the new bun has been spayed, otherwise you risk any future bonding attemps as they may associate one another with aggression/fighting if it happens again. I certainly wouldn't persist bonding whilst the baby is unspayed as even if you do manage to bond them, once she reaches puberty it is likely to all break down again anyway and you will be back at square one. I would keep them separate until she is old enough to be spayed. This does not mean they can't have exercise areas side by side (with a double fence between them to prevent nipping through the wire) for company in the meantime. :):wave:

When you do come to bond it MUST be neutral territory. This means that NO bun has been in that space before EVER, and if they have then you will need to thoroughly neutralise the space before making any introductions. I would wait atleast 4-6 weeks post-spay minimum before bonding to allow her to recover and to let her hormone levels atleast start to drop off (it actually takes months).
 
I can't advice you on time as I always do a long bond, ie supervise constantly and don't seperate, but the most important thing I guess would be to try and end each session on a good note.

My only concern with re-bonding is if they do happen to fall out and its badly you might never rebond them. You will need to make sure you keep a close eye on them as the baby gets older and make sure she is spayed asap. When this is done it would be a good idea if your vet could keep them both together at the surgery so you wont have to seperate and rebond.
 
That scuppers my plans but I cna see where you both are coming from so will go for that.
What is the earliest age bunnies will be spayed at? all I can remember is 4-6 months but its been ages since I had mine done...
 
sheridan said:
Hi guys, I really need some help. I know this is early days but advice is welcomed.
Bt of background.

Ellie is my almost 5 year old rabbit who lost her sister 3 weeks ago.
she was dressed 4 years ago and her and furby got on like a house on fire. they were sisters.

3 days ago, I bought a 8 week old minilop female.
So far I have had them in different hutches, but looking in on them.

Ellie has become very jealous of me touching the new bunny and has even jumped on me for hugs. For 4 years she has not let me touch her and now she wants hugs.

Yesterday I put the 2 bunnies together in the conservatory. Ellie used to go into it 4 years ago but hasnt really been in it at all since.
Ellie tolerated the new bunny but didnt really do anything. I thought she was sniffing the new one but the baby jumps.

Today I put them together again and the baby started humping ellie and annoying her!!! Ellie just moved away. I pulled them apart.

Then suddenly Im not sure who annoyed who but they started fighting!! I had to pull them apart!!

is this a really bad sign? I dont know what i will do if this continues....
Click to expand...
Its hard to bond bunnies,even little ones ive had a doe for ages but when i tried to introduce her to my new frostie point doe they fought, having said that my frostie doe took to 6 small 4 week old babys when their mum rejected them with no problems, perhaps you should let the older one in with the new one in her cage perhaps she was being teratorial.
 
Amy104 said:
Most vets say 6 but I have had some done earlier if they are a good size/weight.
Click to expand...

Have only one experience of spaying and that is our rescue bun Poppy, she was done by the RSPCA before we got her and she was NO WAY 6 months old when we adopted her. I expect she was spayed at 4 months. It will depend on the vet and bunny's weight and health as Amy says.
 
Thanks loads everyone for your help.
TBH I hoped this would be much easier. Seem to remember it was easier rebonding Ellie and Furby after they were dressed....or maybe not. seem to remember a lot of blood and large vet bills...:?
 
sorry just a couple of final questions.

I dont really want the baby rabbit ruling over Ellie. Is there any way to swap it over?

Also if Ellie is the one who starts the fight by possibly nipping, what are the chances that this will go away once the baby is dressed?:cry:
 
I totally agree with Amy104 of Prettylupin and think their advice is excellent and you should follow that.

Right now you have no idea who will be dominant because hormones are playing a part, but you can't pick and choose who will be dominant. If Ellie is happy being submissive then that's what has to happen.

I would also wonder if the baby girl is in fact a boy.
 
As much as I want to rush it, I accept that you all are a lot more experienced than me.
For the time being, I will continue to keep the hutches next to each other but will hold off trying to bond them.

The pet store seemed really experienced in the bunnies but the thought had crossed my mind. a boy would be better as I can then give him my favourite name...GIZMO!!!
 
In addition to what Sky-O has said, because the conservatory wasn't wholly neutral territory this too may have clouded the issue of dominance. Dominance also changes back and forth from one bun to the other sometimes during bonding, and sometimes afterwards too. My pair are neither dominant nor submissive, in fact they are equally matched but somehow work it out between them, rabbit relationships are VERY complex and once you start proper bonding you pretty much (bar fighting) have to let them work it out for themselves. Neutral territory can change things a great deal to what you might expect initially.
 
Well I tried to check if the baby was a boy or girl n couldn't see a thing cos it is so fluffy.....
I now need to try n find a neutral place that doesn't have carpets nmand that ellie can walk on. She really doesn't like slippery areas
 
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