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what would you do.. need advice..

emileemason

Warren Scout
okay so i have 6 rabbits, but this only concerns 4 of them, them being

oscar, f
bella, f
mojo, m
nora, f

i originally had oscar and bella together as a couple and mojo and nora as a seperate couple, and then i bonded all of them together as a quad
(i tried to bond all 6 but the others were obviously not going to get along)

the reason i did this was so they could have more room but also because oscar is a fiesty little girl.. while with bella whenever i would come downstairs to see them oscar would chase bella and hump and bite, after a while or after giving her food she'd settle down but i hated that bella was picked on so i wanted to try and bond the four so that bella would get the love she wanted off one of the others, (i dont think oscar is mean all the time, just when i come and see them - and she has been seen to groom bella and lay next to her)

ideally id just like for oscar to be nice to her bunny friends all the time, but i dont see that happening, she was okay for a while after being bonded in the quad, but now she is at it again.. she bites bella or nora, never mojo (not sure why).

so today oscar was a bit more aggresive than usual and tore nora's eyelid :( so nora is currently at the vets awaiting surgery tomorrow :(
mojo went with nora because they are still very much best friends from when they were a couple.

i dont know whether to try rebond all four again when the other two get home and risk this happening again... (im also a uni student and i just spend all my savings for this surgery so i cant afford for it to happen again, of course i have enough money for their care and id always pay for any care they needed, but its hard on a students income..)

i dont want bella to just have oscar because i dont think its fair on bella if shes picked on all the time..
i could pit mojo and oscar together and then have bella and nora together but then id have to split mojo and nora and i think that would be cruel because they love each other..
i could have a trio and oscar on her own seeing as though she injures everyone, but i find that equally as cruel as i think bunnies should have company of their own kind, especially seeing as though i am usually out... and i know oscar loves the others but she is just aggressive at times..

i dont know why oscar gets so aggressive, it makes things hard because i dont know what the best thing to do is :(

anyone got any advice??
and not advice like my mums where giving her away is even suggested because although she can be a pain i love her to bits :)
sorry for the long post...
 
I'm assuming they're all neutered and Oscar has had a vet check just to make sure she is just grumpy and not in any pain from anything?

It's a tough one. Personally I would be inclined to have a trio and Oscar as a single bun as I would not want to risk serious injuries. Is it possible to have her as a house bun so she'll get more human interaction.

However I'm sure someone with more group dynamic experience will be along soon.
 
yes they are all neutered and have been for a while now, and i havent taken her in for a health check recently but this is normal behaviour for her, not anything out of the ordinary, she has always lashed out towards someone when i come to feed them or whatnot, and bella never ever attacks back, but nora will so thats why things escalate with those two and so i think thats why nora got injured. they just didnt stop.

i think i have decided to keep them all in couples, as you said it is a serious risk to the other buns, and im not saying she couldnt injure bella, but she has never lashed out like that at bella, as bella is so submissive and in her whole live has never scratched, bitten, humped or chased another one of the rabbits, not even through bonding. ill have to keep a close eye on them for the next while of course but so far they have been okay, oscar gives bella the usual nip when i come down to see them, but nowhere near as bad as how it was with nora.

i still live at home and mum wouldnt allow me to have a house bunny, they are inside at the moment waiting on their new accommodation but after that mum wants them all out, i think shes sick of the hay and stray poops that somehow get everywhere :) and so i dont want her alone outside, especially seeing as though im just not home enough to give her the attention she would need as a single bun, i guess ill see how it goes and make adjustments as needed :)

thanks for your reply :)
 
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