Can my rabbits be friends again?

Hello

I'm new to the forum and am seeking some help with my 2 rabbits.

I have a pair of 7 month old does - although not biologically sisters they were born on the same day to a breeder and have been together their whole lives. Anna is a miniature Rex and Elsa is a dwarf lop.

They always got on really well and would constantly be alongside one another - until last week when things have changed between them. Anna is keeping herself hidden away and if elsa comes near to her Anna runs away - there is then usually about 20 seconds of Elsa chasing Anna around before she gives up and resigns herself to sitting away from her.

It's so sad because they both look really unhappy. I'm also concerned that Anna isn't eating as much as she should as she's too wary of being out in the open area near Elsa. I haven't seen them fighting at all and there have been a few occasions where they have been happily eating alongside one another for a minute before Anna runs off.

It's hard to see if Elsa is bullying her or simply trying to get close to say hello and be friends like they were.

I have moved them into the shed for the winter and set up 2 hutches so they have the chance of being seperate - but they have full run of the shed so obviously the communal area is shared. This was after the change in behaviour kicked in, nothing had changed prior to it.

So really I'm after some advice on what I can do to make them friends again. Would spaying them help?- seems unnecessary since neither is really showing any aggression. Shall I put a divide up in the shed? - that would help ensure Anna is eating enough but I would hate to permenantly break their relationship so young. Or will things just go back to how they before in time?

Thanks in advance

I'd definitely recommend spaying - if nothing else it will stop them getting uterine cancer (which is incredibly common in rabbits and has often spread to other areas before you even notice that there's a problem).

Unspayed does are notoriously territorial so I'm not surprised they aren't getting on well right now. Even if they aren't showing overt aggression Anna may be picking up threatening body language from Elsa, and personally I'd be worried that it's only a matter of time before one of them gets annoyed enough to attack the other.

Welcome to RU, by the way. And I love your rabbit's names - I'm an Anna too.

Hi there! Are you sure they are both girls as the way they are behaving sounds more like boy and girl, the one running away being the girl, OR you have 2 boys and thre one running away is the submissive one. If they are boys the dominant one could attack the other one and cause injury but if you have a boy and a girl, well you might be having babies soon.

I would definitely make sure what sex they are! :thumb:

Thanks for the reply

I was erring on the thought that spaying might be the best bet - presumably it can't make their relationship any worse

Do you think this has just happened due to hormones kicking in?

As for the names - don't know if you are aware of Frozen but I have 2 little girls who are big fans of the film so when we got 2 sister rabbits - one white and one ginger there really was no choice in the names!

The breeder said they were girls and the vet didn't disagree when he did their vaccinations

A couple of months ago Anna was pestering Elsa a fair bit in terms of humping but no babies materialised

I've noticed some nipple type things on the sides of Anna - could boys have them?

But who knows!

They do sound like the right age for it to be hormonal.

Might be worth getting them both checked out by a vet as well, because if one rabbit's feeling under the weather that can affect the behaviour of both of them.

Have you noticed any changes in their behaviour towards you?

I haven't seen Frozen but I recognised the names! I was going to ask if perhaps your Anna had asked Elsa to build a snowman a few too many times. :lol:

If it is just hormonal then spaying would possibly help. Do they dig in the garden ?

Yes they do dig - particularly anna

They are both quite wary of being picked up so generally run away from us, but that's not new - but once I have hold of each of them they happily stay in my arms for ages and seem pretty content

Shall we get hold of them both and put them alongside one another on our laps to see how they behave? Or is that asking for trouble. I read something somewhere about putting them in a bath together so they can't escape - is that a good idea?

Honestly, I don't think you'll get anywhere until after they are spayed.

Yes, most certainly your rabbits can be friends again

I had two sisters from birth and one day, inexplicably, they fell out. I cannot remember their age, but it was early on. I was devastated. One rabbit adopted the hutch and the other the run and neither dared stray into each others territory. It was a lovely summer and so we were able to muddle through. I got to the point where I made enquiries about buying another hutch but felt awful because they had been so lovely together and I really did not want them to be on their own. Neither rabbit was spayed.

Eventually, the situation resolved itself. I was naïve in those days ... first rabbits. I now know I could have tried re-bonding, but in any event, it wasn't necessary. But a resolution did not occur overnight!

Incidentally, I never did spay the rabbits (I always would now though). Blossom died of Myxi, around 5-6ish I guess Sophie reached the age of 8 years and looking back and with the knowledge I have now, I think she prob did have uterine cancer. We are talking about 20 odd years ago and I have learnt a lot since then.

If you go the re-bonding route, there are lots of excellent threads on these forums. For me, VERY small, unfamiliar, area. A bath would be good, and even then I would half the area to start with. Put in a litter tray and some water and supervise. (Hopefully, with your two, at this stage, they won't be too feisty but if so, and you have to step in - oven gloves are handy to protect your hands! Bonding can involve a lot of fur flying!). It will work out ... good luck

Thanks so much for your reply - so reassuring to know that the situation can be resolved. As you said, it's so sad to see them living 2 seperate parallel lives and both being so lonely when they were so close

I'll look into the bonding stuff first and see if I can make any progress before I look into getting them spayed - but will probably end up going down that route for their health anyway

Fingers crossed

An update:

I have had them together in a very small pen (around 1 sq m) in the garden for about an hour.

It was far less frantic than I feared - a small amount of fur flying midway but otherwise ok.

But what was immediately obvious is that Elsa is very frisky and constantly trying to hump Anna. Anna didn't like this and would try to get away but in the end generally had to succumb.

Then bizarrely, at one point they swapped over and Anna was on the back of Elsa.

I took Elsa out to check her over and ensure she was indeed a girl and I'm pretty sure that what I saw confirms she is

Between the bouts of friskiness they were pretty happy to be close together and nuzzled up at times

So I'm comforted that they can be together without bloodshed but now that I've put them back in the shed Anna has hidden herself away again so they clearly still aren't right.

Am I right to think that her friskiness with be cyclical and so there should be periods of time when she's not making her advances and they can be close again

Presumably spaying is the only option to permenantly stop her advances

I think Anna is eating more again - so not worried about that so much now, just want them to be happy in each other's company

Thanks again for your advice