10 week old sisters fighting or sorting out dominance???

[Stufi]

Hi All,

I am brand new to this site. My Partner and I have 2 10 week old Lion head flops which we have had since 8 weeks (for the last 2 weeks).

They have a 6 x 2 inside run for when we are out, our main room for when we are home, and a 2 x 2 cage for night time. My GF is a Student and Piano Teacher so is at home the majority of the time and I let them out approx 730Am and they are put to bed approx 1130 - 12Pm.

They have been fantastic together and until today they seemed to have very distinct personalities. Pinky was always the more lively and adventurous and Womble was very relaxed and lay back but still inquisitive.

Last night we were awoken twice by what an appeared to be scuffles which included some screeching but soon calmed down. No more seemed to occur. They have been out and free all day and very happy. Having been watching them for a while tonight it now appears that Pinky now seems to be very quiet and subdued. Although they are getting on OK whenever Womble approaches from behind Pinky jumps and runs away. Next minute they will be grooming and lying on top of each other but Pinky seems very weary.

I have read lot of stuff on dominance but want to make sure this is no more

I may be being naive and worrying too much but we are determined to give them a happy life and want to ensure I do this right.

Any help and guidance would be much appreciated.

 

[Stator]

To be honest I think the problem may be that their nighttime enclosure is too small. In my experience a lot more scuffles and fighting occur when rabbits feel confined. I would do whatever you can to increase their nighttime area so they can have a bit more freedom.

Have you had them independently sexed by a vet? Sexing young rabbit's is quite hard and lots of people end up with unwanted litters because of mistakes so it's always good to get them double checked. You could also talk to your vet about neutering at the same time. They are at the age now when you should be thinking about it, even with two girls they need to be done because of the health benefits and it just stops a lot of the aggression and nesting behaviour that can upset the bond.

 

[Stufi]

Thanks Stator,

After reading some other stuff we have decided and are just in the process off putting them in seperate cages adjoining tonight as think they may have been a bit cramped but we thought that it may better form warmth.

They have been better as the nights gone on.

We have had them sexed but one other thing I have noticed whilst I've been watching. There has been a little bit of bum sniffing from both parties. They don't appear to be anything more than playful and they just end up running round in circles.

Does this mean anything in particular??

 

[Stufi]

Sorry forgot to say

We checked with the RSPCA and they said the earliest they would spay them was 17 week so we were going to get them done then. Others have stated to get them spayed as late as six months which seems late to me so I will stick with RSPCAs advice.

 

[Stator]

When they chase each other or nip each others bums, that's quite normal and they should normally be left to it. It's when they start biting each other that you know it's a proper fight and they need to be seperated. It's important for them to always have somewhere to get away from each other. Seperating them at night might be a good idea for now, but when they are bonded you really need to keep them together permanently or there will be lots of chasing etc whenever you put them back together.

 

[clairekaitlin]

I posted a virtually exact copy of your problem the other day, I have two sisters and they started fighting each other and the "quiet" one Daisy started humping the dominant one (snuggles) They are let out for 4/6 hours a day and sleep together in a cage which is about 10 times the size of them (they are teeny dwarf netherlands lol) Since a few scraps they are now getting on well but we will be getting them spayed at 5 months.
Just wanted to say good luck and hopefully yours will work out as well as mine have xx
claire xx

 

[blElmmete]

10 week old sisters fighting or sorting out dominance

it sounds to me like a dominance thing as ours do it all the time. I suppose its away of remindng one another who boss. I own bee, patch and snoop. Bee and snoop do this all the time and have always got a burst of energy where they run around like loonatics.

 

[Becky86]

This will hopefully stop when they are neutered 17 weeks is fine to get them neutered, my female was done at 16 weeks

Hope they stop the scuffles soon xXx

 

[Stufi]

Thanks everyone for your posts. Womble and Pinky have finally sorted out their differences and are best of friends now! We have doubled their cage size and they have full range of the room during the day... and grown a taste for Stu's expensive shirts! They had a an episode over christmas, i thought they were going to kill each other... :? one quick "no!" 5 mins of time out on opposite sides of the cage door (so they were able to see each other) and they were like nothing had happened. Since then touch wood there has been no further disturbances which makes me a happy owner

Again, thanks guys for all your help!

Fiona and Stu
Womble and Pinky

 

[areia]

hmmmmmmmmmm pending on size of bun girls are best done at 5 months, due to the parts being so tiny to remove, boys a lot easier you can check yourself if the plumb have dropped by tipping them or getting some help to part fur to see some plumbs and they can be done as soon as they have dropped some as early as 12 weeks

have you had them neutered ???

 

[Stufi]

We havnt had them done yet but it is on the to do list. they are about 4 1/2 months now...how quickly does time fly??? anyone near the uxbridge area have any recommendations on where to get this done? I have checked out the RSPCA and they seem reasonable (compared to some prices ive seen) cant remember the exact price but i think it was £37 for boys and £45 for girls and £27 for myxotosis jab (however you spell it! )