Having a nightmare...help

Hi all,

Not sure where to post this as I've never posted before - also in bonding section.

This is probably be a bit of a long one but feeling very down at the moment and I'm hoping someone can offer some advice.

My boyfriend brought me 2 rabbits as a surprise about 3/4 weeks ago. I always had rabbits when I was younger so I was so pleased about them. They are 2 female about 18 weeks old now that he got from a well known pets store. One is a lop cross and one a Himalayan cross. We brought them a lovely large 2 story hutch and they have a run in the garden to run around in and they come into the house most nights to run around the living room. They have lots of toys to keep them busy and we try and keep them exercised and occupied.

This has all been going very well. They went into the vets last weekend to have their vaccinations, be weighed and had a health check which was all really good. This weekend we had them in the house as normally and the one female rabbit (D) started sniffing the other rabbits (B) back end. She then started to attack her. We split them up and thought they'd just had a bit of a argument but as soon as we put D back down on the floor she ran straight over to B sniffing her again and started attacking her. This time B retaliated and they were both fighting. It was horrible. We split them up for the night (one in the top story of the hutch and then one in the bottom) and then I phoned the vets on Sunday and they recommended getting them spayed as soon as possible. I have been swapping them over in the hutch to make sure they still smell each other and have been putting them in runs next to each other on the grass so they can still be next to each other through the wire but not fight. B has seemed normal since the incident but B has been quite and jumpy.

I booked them in for today and took them in first thing this morning to them be told by the vet that D was too small to be done today. I'm not very pleased with the vets as I was under the impression they were booked in to be spayed today and they had all there weights etc on the system from last weekend, but that's another story. Whilst I was there I was also informed that its not very likely the girls will be able to go back together after they have been spayed as they will remember the fight and its not a very good idea to have 2 female rabbits together as they don't often get on. I'm absolutely devastated that they might end up being split up. I am very cross with the pet store who sold us these rabbits as at no point did they advise it would be better to have a male and a female and now I'm faced with having to split them up forever.(I will be phoning the pet shop) The reason we brought 2 rabbits was so they could live together as they aren't supposed to be on their own. The vets have now kept B in to spay her and we are to take D back when B has her check up in 10 days to reassess her. They have also told me they need to be separate for 4 weeks to let their hormones settle down before reintroducing.

Can anyone give me some success stories where they have successfully rebonded 2 rabbits after spaying they have previously had a fight?

Sorry for the lengthy post I'm just so upset

It's perfectly possible to get two girls back together after fighting (once spayed). I'd keep them completely separate from now until at least 6 weeks post spay. Then you need to reintroduce them somewhere TOTALLY neutral where neither bunny has been before ie your bathroom or a bedroom. I always bond in a very small space initially ie a cage or bonding space not much bigger than a carry crate - so they have room to stand, stretch out in all directions but not much more. It's usually one bunny running that causes the other to chase, then nip then a fight breaks out. Have a look in the bonding section for advice.

If you feel unsure about doing the bonding, you can always send them away to be bonded. I don't know where you are in the country but an example of a bonding service is Tracy in Rugby. She used to run RNGP Welfare as a rescue organisation but now just does boarding and bonding. There are other places that will bond for you too.

Don't lose heart. I've had two un-related AND unspayed females living together harmoniously in the past.

Mackers said:

It's perfectly possible to get two girls back together after fighting (once spayed). I'd keep them completely separate from now until at least 6 weeks post spay. Then you need to reintroduce them somewhere TOTALLY neutral where neither bunny has been before ie your bathroom or a bedroom. I always bond in a very small space initially ie a cage or bonding space not much bigger than a carry crate - so they have room to stand, stretch out in all directions but not much more. It's usually one bunny running that causes the other to chase, then nip then a fight breaks out. Have a look in the bonding section for advice.

If you feel unsure about doing the bonding, you can always send them away to be bonded. I don't know where you are in the country but an example of a bonding service is Tracy in Rugby. She used to run RNGP Welfare as a rescue organisation but now just does boarding and bonding. There are other places that will bond for you too.

Don't lose heart. I've had two un-related AND unspayed females living together harmoniously in the past.

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thank you so much for your reply. its given me some hope

Glad you feel a bit better . Two girls usually are the most difficult bond and it may not be easy to get them back together BUT is is possible and it has been done many times so don't give up hope just yet.

2 unrelated does is difficult sometimes - but can be done.


I actually have 3 unrelated, spayed, does together(!), admittedly with a buck, and the bonds went surprisingly quickly and smoothly.

Maybe once they've healed from their spays, and hormones have calmed down, they might surprise you.