Integrating two male bunnies help! lavender oil!! fighting..

Hello, I am new to the forum and would like some advice from you bunny experts. I am currently the owner of two male dutch bunnies, one of them was neutered 3 days ago and is around 20 weeks old and the other is just 10 weeks old. When we first got the newer bunny, the older bunny would try and mount him all the time but there wasnt any fighting. After the older ones neutering, i tried again to integrate them, and i placed some drops of lavender oil on the back of their necks as a women in a local pet supply shop said that she had tried that and it stopped the mounting. Unfortunately, the bunnies started fighting very agressively so i of course split them up and got a nice little bite from the younger one. I have not tried again since. They are currently lying happily in seperate cages next to each other.

Was it the lavender oil?
How long before the older bunny calms down after his neutering?
How should i go about integrating them now? Should i wait until the younger bunny has been neutered as well.

Thanks for your help.

Sorry I havent got any advice but hopefully someone will be able to help soon

lavender oil is quite a calming oil, but I would never recommend applying essential oils to buns, they have such a strong sense of smell it is too strong for them.

You probably need to wait until both rabbits have been castrated and have had some time for their hormines to calm down, particularly now they have had a proper scrap. 3 days after his op was much too soon to try, next time wait at least a month.

Hi,

I had a similar experience with my two boys, they were both 13 weeks and in the space of an hour had started fighting.

From all the research i have done, and a great deal of advice from our local rescue centre, once two males fight, especially at such a young age then there is no going back. They need to remain separated.

Unfortunetly, because my two were house bunnies, i had to let them both go. They have now both been re-homed though which is fantastic

HTH xx

I wouldn't give up yet Get the other one nuetered, give it a good month after that then try again - nuetral territory and give them plenty of time. In the mean time keep the cages next to each other.
I don't know but I owuld avoid putting lavender oil on them - essential oils are pretty strong stuff and I wouldn't use them without advice from someone in the know.

I am going to wait until the younger one has been neutered... and then at least another month after that, But i am concerned now, is there really no going back once they have fought?!

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=10221&highlight=cheryl+bonding+rabbits this is an excellent piece written by Cheryl.

From my own experience (as a rescue) we don't normally bond male rabbits due to the length of time they can take and their is no guarantee that they will bond. Rescues tend to bond male / female pairs as they usually have neutered male / females available and many of us choose the easier option given the time restraints Rescues have.

Males can be paired but you need time and patience, you need to go in the with the thought that if it doesnt work they will need to live apart. There are many people on this forum who have male pairs whom have not always lived together. 2 males can be abit of hit and miss when it comes to being together unlike the male / female pairings.

well i can only try and if it doesnt work then ill still love them both