Hello!
My partner and I have been having issues today with our rabbits fighting for the first time. Our bunnies are called Freckle and Rolo. I will try to provide as much background information as possible, as we are unsure where the issue has come from.
We got two new young rabbits from Pets at Home just over a week ago. They are both boys and they will be about 12 weeks old this week. They were living together in the store, and for over a week now they have been sharing an indoor cage and running around the living room together, and have also enjoyed following our cat Loki around. Loki is fine with rabbits and they are always constantly supervised when they are in the same room.
As we both work full time, their routine for their first week has started with a run in the morning before we leave for work followed by pellets. Then, when I come home for lunch they both have a run and are given greens. Then when we are home they are let out for most of the evening, finished with pellets before bed. They have constant access to Timothy hay and water throughout the day. This routine continued for about 7 days. I was away for the weekend so my partner got them out at the same times they were used to during the week. Today and yesterday I have been off work.
Yesterday (Monday) they were fine. Yesterday afternoon/evening I completely emptied their cage of sawdust and cleaned their cage. We used sawdust originally as this is what they would have been used to in store and we wanted to maintain some familiarity for them to reduce stress. However, since reading around about this we've decided not to use sawdust any more. They were also using a smaller corner litter tray all week (cleaned daily) which we replaced yesterday with a larger litter box (a rectangular one) which we have placed next to their hay. Again, everything seemed fine after this.
This morning we got the rabbits out for their normal run. Our other cat (Kuro) came in to have a look, which is the first time he has been around them with them outside their cage. Everything was perfectly calm. Then suddenly Freckle, after approaching our cat Kuro, suddenly ran in the opposite direction. Kuro did absolutely nothing but lay there. Freckle then repeated this process (approach, stop, run away) three times. He was doing this on a laminate wood floor, so there was a bit of sliding around too. As we went to remove Kuro from the room, Freckle ran toward Rolo and started trying to push his head underneath Rolo. Things began to get steadily more frantic and they were soon chasing one another in a tight circle and then started fighting (laid on the floor on their sides). Fur was flying and we did the first thing we could think of which was to remove a rabbit and separate them, placing Rolo in their cage and closing the door. Rolo had a bit of blood on his nose (which I noticed after blood transferred to my finger when he bit me for getting in the way) - I'm pretty sure this was not my blood, but I cannot find any injuries on either bunny and there's been no blood transferred elsewhere.
I immediately called our vets for advice. We are already taking them both to the vets this Friday (3 days away) for their vaccinations and to get them booked in for neutering. We are aware male rabbits will need neutering as soon as possible to avoid fighting, but we were not expecting this at about 12 weeks old. We have now spent the entire day swapping them between locations (one of them in the cage while the other is free to run around the living room). There has been constant access to hay, water, toys and a litter box for each of them.
Occasionally we have attempted to let them run around together between swapping them over. Freckle (the one who was spooked by the cat) is now very wary of Rolo (the one who had blood on his nose). If Rolo approaches Freckle, Freckle will run away. This has been causing a bit of a chase situation which we have been stopping when it starts. To prevent fighting, we have been using a loud noise (using a metal saucepan and a spoon) rather than physically getting between them, as advised online. This has been partially successful in that is DOES stop the chasing/fighting but, when we bang the saucepan, all they do is freeze in place for a little while and then start the cycle again. From what I understand, the desired effect is that they should seek comfort from one another, which is not happening. Due to the fact Freckle already seems jumpy, I'm worried this is just making the situation worse by putting both rabbits even more on edge?
Another behaviour we have noticed is, when Freckle DOES let Rolo approach him, they will position themselves nose to nose. Rolo will then start forcing his nose underneath Freckle's head. From what we've read, Rolo is asking Freckle to lick him (and therefore be submissive). However, Freckle just sits there for a while, with Rolo shoving his head further and further under, and then Freckle runs off. The more Freckle refuses, the more persistent Rolo becomes.
They have eaten some greens next to each other, sharing the same piece and attempting to eat it out of each other's mouths. They also later on shared a bowl of pellets, bumping each other's noses out the way as normal. But both times, once they finished eating, the running/chasing started again. It mainly starts with Freckle running away. However, not long after they stopped eating the pellets, Rolo started charging at Freckle whenever he came near. I'm wondering if Rolo has been becoming agitated by Freckle's refusal to lick him?
I have let them out together in the last hour. Rolo was more relaxed after a nap and, when Freckle ran away, Rolo only chased him for a second and then stopped. The chasing on Rolo's side was slower and followed by an occasional binky, so I'm wondering if Rolo was attempting to be playful but Freckle was still wary? I could be completely wrong - I'm only thinking this way because Rolo came away from the original fight with blood on his nose, so I'm wondering if he hurt Freckle and now Freckle is cautious.
As we have had to have one rabbit out of the cage all day (to keep them separate), there has always been one of us there to supervise and therefore they have not had any rabbit-only time in the room like they're used to. This is obviously a break in their routine (but one we consider unavoidable). I'm not sure if this will have had an effect on anything (like making them grumpy), but we have been as quiet as possible and they have had plenty of naps throughout the day.
Once we reached the evening they obviously became a lot more active and it was more difficult to keep one of them in the cage while the other was free to roam, as this is the time they would normally both be coming out for their run. I hate keeping them separate like this because I don't want to create more negative feelings through jealousy. My mum has brought us a spare indoor cage so we can keep them separate during the night, which we have placed next to the current cage so that they can still see each other. We were already planning to use this indoor cage to separate them when we get them neutered.
When they are not at odds with each other they still seem relaxed - they have been eating, drinking, binkying about, cleaning and sleeping on their sides stretched out. And when they are separated they keep going to the cage bars to one another and they occasionally actually seem eager to be where the other is. This may just be because they want access to all areas though.
As I've previously mentioned, we are planning on getting them booked in this Friday for neutering. Now that they have started fighting, I figure this can't come soon enough - although are hormones likely to be a factor when they're only 12 weeks old? Is it possible this has all started because Freckle got spooked by the cat and now their scuffle has messed up their hierarchy, leading to Rolo becoming persistent to re-establish this with the now-cautious Freckle?
This is our first time with a pair of rabbits and I would really appreciate some advice. However, we have previously had a single female rabbit (she passed away last August). From now, our plan will probably be to keep them in separate cages until after they have been neutered and recovered. But should we also let them out their cages at different times until then or continue attempting to let them out together for short periods? If this is due to hormones, I'd imagine that it'd be best to wait until after they are neutered now? And also, should we be swapping which cage they're in to prevent them becoming territorial, and if so how often?
I know you are generally meant to wait until after neutering to bond rabbits but, because they have already been living together, we're not sure how to handle this situation.
As you can imagine it's been a very stressful 11 hours. We are very anxious and we just want to do what is best for the bunnies. It's hard seeing them so frustrated with the new living arrangements but even harder seeing them causing one another stress when they're together. Rolo is spending tonight in the new cage and he so far doesn't seem very happy.
Thank you in advance for any advice you can give!
My partner and I have been having issues today with our rabbits fighting for the first time. Our bunnies are called Freckle and Rolo. I will try to provide as much background information as possible, as we are unsure where the issue has come from.
We got two new young rabbits from Pets at Home just over a week ago. They are both boys and they will be about 12 weeks old this week. They were living together in the store, and for over a week now they have been sharing an indoor cage and running around the living room together, and have also enjoyed following our cat Loki around. Loki is fine with rabbits and they are always constantly supervised when they are in the same room.
As we both work full time, their routine for their first week has started with a run in the morning before we leave for work followed by pellets. Then, when I come home for lunch they both have a run and are given greens. Then when we are home they are let out for most of the evening, finished with pellets before bed. They have constant access to Timothy hay and water throughout the day. This routine continued for about 7 days. I was away for the weekend so my partner got them out at the same times they were used to during the week. Today and yesterday I have been off work.
Yesterday (Monday) they were fine. Yesterday afternoon/evening I completely emptied their cage of sawdust and cleaned their cage. We used sawdust originally as this is what they would have been used to in store and we wanted to maintain some familiarity for them to reduce stress. However, since reading around about this we've decided not to use sawdust any more. They were also using a smaller corner litter tray all week (cleaned daily) which we replaced yesterday with a larger litter box (a rectangular one) which we have placed next to their hay. Again, everything seemed fine after this.
This morning we got the rabbits out for their normal run. Our other cat (Kuro) came in to have a look, which is the first time he has been around them with them outside their cage. Everything was perfectly calm. Then suddenly Freckle, after approaching our cat Kuro, suddenly ran in the opposite direction. Kuro did absolutely nothing but lay there. Freckle then repeated this process (approach, stop, run away) three times. He was doing this on a laminate wood floor, so there was a bit of sliding around too. As we went to remove Kuro from the room, Freckle ran toward Rolo and started trying to push his head underneath Rolo. Things began to get steadily more frantic and they were soon chasing one another in a tight circle and then started fighting (laid on the floor on their sides). Fur was flying and we did the first thing we could think of which was to remove a rabbit and separate them, placing Rolo in their cage and closing the door. Rolo had a bit of blood on his nose (which I noticed after blood transferred to my finger when he bit me for getting in the way) - I'm pretty sure this was not my blood, but I cannot find any injuries on either bunny and there's been no blood transferred elsewhere.
I immediately called our vets for advice. We are already taking them both to the vets this Friday (3 days away) for their vaccinations and to get them booked in for neutering. We are aware male rabbits will need neutering as soon as possible to avoid fighting, but we were not expecting this at about 12 weeks old. We have now spent the entire day swapping them between locations (one of them in the cage while the other is free to run around the living room). There has been constant access to hay, water, toys and a litter box for each of them.
Occasionally we have attempted to let them run around together between swapping them over. Freckle (the one who was spooked by the cat) is now very wary of Rolo (the one who had blood on his nose). If Rolo approaches Freckle, Freckle will run away. This has been causing a bit of a chase situation which we have been stopping when it starts. To prevent fighting, we have been using a loud noise (using a metal saucepan and a spoon) rather than physically getting between them, as advised online. This has been partially successful in that is DOES stop the chasing/fighting but, when we bang the saucepan, all they do is freeze in place for a little while and then start the cycle again. From what I understand, the desired effect is that they should seek comfort from one another, which is not happening. Due to the fact Freckle already seems jumpy, I'm worried this is just making the situation worse by putting both rabbits even more on edge?
Another behaviour we have noticed is, when Freckle DOES let Rolo approach him, they will position themselves nose to nose. Rolo will then start forcing his nose underneath Freckle's head. From what we've read, Rolo is asking Freckle to lick him (and therefore be submissive). However, Freckle just sits there for a while, with Rolo shoving his head further and further under, and then Freckle runs off. The more Freckle refuses, the more persistent Rolo becomes.
They have eaten some greens next to each other, sharing the same piece and attempting to eat it out of each other's mouths. They also later on shared a bowl of pellets, bumping each other's noses out the way as normal. But both times, once they finished eating, the running/chasing started again. It mainly starts with Freckle running away. However, not long after they stopped eating the pellets, Rolo started charging at Freckle whenever he came near. I'm wondering if Rolo has been becoming agitated by Freckle's refusal to lick him?
I have let them out together in the last hour. Rolo was more relaxed after a nap and, when Freckle ran away, Rolo only chased him for a second and then stopped. The chasing on Rolo's side was slower and followed by an occasional binky, so I'm wondering if Rolo was attempting to be playful but Freckle was still wary? I could be completely wrong - I'm only thinking this way because Rolo came away from the original fight with blood on his nose, so I'm wondering if he hurt Freckle and now Freckle is cautious.
As we have had to have one rabbit out of the cage all day (to keep them separate), there has always been one of us there to supervise and therefore they have not had any rabbit-only time in the room like they're used to. This is obviously a break in their routine (but one we consider unavoidable). I'm not sure if this will have had an effect on anything (like making them grumpy), but we have been as quiet as possible and they have had plenty of naps throughout the day.
Once we reached the evening they obviously became a lot more active and it was more difficult to keep one of them in the cage while the other was free to roam, as this is the time they would normally both be coming out for their run. I hate keeping them separate like this because I don't want to create more negative feelings through jealousy. My mum has brought us a spare indoor cage so we can keep them separate during the night, which we have placed next to the current cage so that they can still see each other. We were already planning to use this indoor cage to separate them when we get them neutered.
When they are not at odds with each other they still seem relaxed - they have been eating, drinking, binkying about, cleaning and sleeping on their sides stretched out. And when they are separated they keep going to the cage bars to one another and they occasionally actually seem eager to be where the other is. This may just be because they want access to all areas though.
As I've previously mentioned, we are planning on getting them booked in this Friday for neutering. Now that they have started fighting, I figure this can't come soon enough - although are hormones likely to be a factor when they're only 12 weeks old? Is it possible this has all started because Freckle got spooked by the cat and now their scuffle has messed up their hierarchy, leading to Rolo becoming persistent to re-establish this with the now-cautious Freckle?
This is our first time with a pair of rabbits and I would really appreciate some advice. However, we have previously had a single female rabbit (she passed away last August). From now, our plan will probably be to keep them in separate cages until after they have been neutered and recovered. But should we also let them out their cages at different times until then or continue attempting to let them out together for short periods? If this is due to hormones, I'd imagine that it'd be best to wait until after they are neutered now? And also, should we be swapping which cage they're in to prevent them becoming territorial, and if so how often?
I know you are generally meant to wait until after neutering to bond rabbits but, because they have already been living together, we're not sure how to handle this situation.
As you can imagine it's been a very stressful 11 hours. We are very anxious and we just want to do what is best for the bunnies. It's hard seeing them so frustrated with the new living arrangements but even harder seeing them causing one another stress when they're together. Rolo is spending tonight in the new cage and he so far doesn't seem very happy.
Thank you in advance for any advice you can give!
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