Can bullying cause stasis?

Hi Folks...

I have an issue that seems to be getting worse and have tired quietly to sort it out Then little or to be hinest, no success...

Each morning i go out to see the bunnies for their brekkie. Smudge sits in the exterior run and Willow on the run adjoining the shed.

When Smudge tries to enter the shed, Willow goes literally ballistic, thumping and chasing Smudge away. If he dares enter the shed, she will chase and chase and chase till smudge runs and sits away at the furthest run.

i have tried cleaning the shed, locking them both in the shed to decrease space, have increased space, done everything I can to try to stop her behaving like this.

Smudge has had numerous episodes of gut slowdown and has been at vets many times. i feed them both the same food, deal with them the same but i cant get Willow to stop being nasty to Smudge, He really seems depressed and sits himself now 80% of the time.

Can this constant bullying be causing Smudges ill health? He has no issues with teeth as vets have been checking him regularly....

Help folks... I am at my wits end.... i cant separate them as my space is limited..

My gut feeling would be that yes it can. Bullying can cause stress and stress can cause stasis.

Is Willow neutered and have you had her checked out to see if there's any illness or underlying cause for her eahaviour?

Hi, Thanks for answering,

Yes, Willow is neutered and she has been checked, theres nothing obvious to the vet.
She has always been a feisty girly with a strong personality, Their bond has always been pretty fragile and i have been puzzled by her behaviour.

She grooms Smudge, he doesnt groom her. I always understood the groomed bunny being the more dominant but this doesnt pan out with these 2. Smudge seems terrified of her at times. I feel for him as he's deaf and needs Willow to be his ears..

What can I do. Smudges health recently has gine downhill and again i've had him at vet, uneaten caecals, slowdown again and more emeprid, loxicom and fibreplex.. Its a cycle i want to break but dont know what to do for the best.

Sorry, I have no idea how you tackle this but I would also assume the bun that gets groomed is the dominant bun.

Can't offer any advice, I'm afraid - I had this with a trio (2M, 1F, all neutered) - my bullied boy didn't go into stasis but was clearly on edge all the time as he never knew whether he was going to be chased or groomed. It made me so miserable and worried.

Thats exactly how Smudge is... on edge... constantly... i feel for him, wee pet...

If they were indoors I would suggest perhaps trying to 're-bond', but wonder whether it might be worth giving the shed and contents a good clean with white vinegar to try and neutralise it - just a thought.

I've done that Babsie.. including all their tunnels etc..

Autumn got stasis the first year she was bonded with casper because of the stress from his spring fever, he was harrassing her a fair bit, so I would say bullying could definately attribute to it.

To be honest I would of tried all the things you already have and probably would now be thinking about seperating them if it is effecting his health badly. The only thing I can suggest is possibly trying a small neutral territory.

hiya.

i have tried having them in a small space in my dining room (heating off) they seemed content enough but Smudge still edgy. As soon as they were back in the shed only with no run access, it was chase chase chase with Smudge now got huge tufts of fur on his behind where she has tried to grab him...
More uneaten caecals today too...

I dont have enough space to keep them seperately..

what else can I do folks?... Smudge just sits and watches her,,,,,

Can you give them constant access to their run, so they have more space and can each have a bit of 'me' time?

Hi, i would definitely have to seperate them if he is becoming ill and being injured by her, it sounds like they are not bonded and unhappy with each other, can you bring him indoors with a base where he feels safe, have you a spare room?

Babsie said:

Can you give them constant access to their run, so they have more space and can each have a bit of 'me' time?

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I tried to have them in the smaller space of the shed to attempt to get rid of Willows territorial attitude. They usually have the 2 attached runs which are accessed 24/7

benjiboom said:

Hi, i would definitely have to seperate them if he is becoming ill and being injured by her, it sounds like they are not bonded and unhappy with each other, can you bring him indoors with a base where he feels safe, have you a spare room?

Click to expand...

No. my husband wont allow bunnies to come in .. It was always agreed that to have the bunnies they had to be outdoors.

Bizarrely today I have come back home and Willow and Smudge are sitting on top of the old cardboard box in the run. Smudge is sleeping and Willow is sitting on top of him..

is this good??

Fee said:

Hi, Thanks for answering,

Yes, Willow is neutered and she has been checked, theres nothing obvious to the vet.
She has always been a feisty girly with a strong personality, Their bond has always been pretty fragile and i have been puzzled by her behaviour.

She grooms Smudge, he doesnt groom her. I always understood the groomed bunny being the more dominant but this doesnt pan out with these 2. Smudge seems terrified of her at times. I feel for him as he's deaf and needs Willow to be his ears..

What can I do. Smudges health recently has gine downhill and again i've had him at vet, uneaten caecals, slowdown again and more emeprid, loxicom and fibreplex.. Its a cycle i want to break but dont know what to do for the best.

Click to expand...

In my quad, Frosty in DEFINATELY the dominant rabbit. He does the grooming. Snowflake (his brother who he used to bully) gets groomed. Now that the two girls are with them F and S get on fine. Could you try adding in another rabbit (from a rescue) who could poss go back if things didnt work out?

Does your set up have enough space for you to put a hutch so that they both have a decent sheltered area?

Is it just at feed times that she chases him out of the shed? Do you scatter feed? I found that Mottle would chase Peaches round and round at food time until I established a particular spot for the food to go that Mottle would then head for. I could then feed Peaches in her spot once he was busy eating. I scatter feed the rest of the food and hide bits (for entertainment as much as anything).

Hope you find a solution. Its awful when they are unhappy.