Fighting bunnies

Hello, I am new to the site!

I have two rescue bunnies (Bumble and Pebble) who were bonded before we got them but ever since we've had them they keep having fights and chasing eachother. They have a fight and fur goes everywhere, but then five minutes later they're washing eachother!! Does anyone else have this where two bunnies fight but are then friends again? Could it be possible it's some form of playing?? It seems to happen every few weeks so do rabbits get hormonal?
They are both neutered.

Thank you for your help!

How long have you had them?

If they are in new territory they may be trying to re-establish who is the dominant one, so they are mounting and fur-pulling to show who is boss.

Are there any other rabbits or new animal additions to your house lately? When I got Violet she caused Zeus and Athena to go through the dominance mouting etc all over again allthough they were bonded and still continued to snuggle when Violet wasn't around. As soon as they saw/smelt her they started up again.

It usually settles down after a week or so. As long as they aren't causing actual damage and aren't biting at the neck or scratching at the belly it isn't real fighting and you may just have to let them settle it in their own time. If hey are really fighting or you think one is getting very stressed you may need to seperate them with a mesh divider to give a time out.

Caz

Thanks for your reply

I've had the buns for just over two months now. There aren't any other pets in the house. I did have them hopping round the whole house originally but then after their big fights, I've restricted them to their bedroom and one other room upstairs for the time being so they get used to this territory again. I'm scared of letting them out in the whole house again in case new territory means they'll fight over it.

Maybe I'll have to get some kind of mesh so they can cool off from eachother after they have a fight.

They are such silly rabbits as when they're not fighting they really love eachother!!

hi

fighting :roll: territory :roll: dominance :roll:

If only I had known :shock:

I think you're right to restrict their territory as they will want to establish who's boss every time they go somewhere new...

Benny and Pepsi were neutered brothers (Pepsi died a few weeks ago) - they would occasionally have a spat over who knows what - but were very close and chummy the rest of the time so I didn't split them up because of it - it would just be the chunks of fur pulled from the bum type fighting - nothing too serious. Usually when the sun was shining for some reason...As for the 5 girls I've just adopted... :roll:

They certainly do get hormonal if they haven't been neutered. If they haven't you should get it done asap.

If they have been, are they actually hurting eachother? or are they just fur-pulling? That is less serious than an all out fight. One of my pairs spend ages chasing round the pen, but when the bun being chased has had enough she just stops and they groom eachother. I know they aren't going to hurt eachother. But if it is serious fighting then you should separate them as they can do very serious injury to eachother. I have had to have several rabbits stitched back together after a fight

hi

How do you know if it's a serious fight Louise? When I first got the girls and put Benny in with them (as he seemed friendly) 3 of the girls attacked him one after the other and it was like the yin/yang thing but with bunnies kicking each others stomachs on the floor - It looked terrifying but the rescue lady said it was fine...I didn't have the nerve to let it happen again though and haven't put him with the girls since.

But when 2 of the girls did the same yesterday - obviously for the first time in their lives - they were very shaken afterwards but no blood so I wasn't sure if it was a 'serious' fight or not? They seem fine together today...

The thing my females do a lot of is bum sniffing, which then initiates a chase, nose to tail, until the one being chased jumps into a litter box - is that normal or a precurser to serious fighting?

I can't decide whether to split the group or are they living in relative harmony?

I always assumed that biting at the neck and trying to kick the belly with their back legs was when it had escalated to a serious fight - that is why I have stopped attempting to bond my two pairs together.

Caz

Thanks for all this advice!

I agree that biting at the neck would be more serious fighting but as it hasn't got there yet, I'll leave them to it and see if they can sort it out themselves.
They pull fur out and box like hares, standing up on their back paws but haven't drawn any blood or gone for each other's necks or tummies.

I'll have to get a photo on here so I can show them off!

hi

I think boxing's quite hostile isn't it - it's not a play fight?