*Funny*Bunny*
Warren Veteran
Thought it would be a good idea to get information together on spring fever for old and new members alike who have either not heard of it, know a bit about it or know more and may even have experienced it so we can all be prepared in case it does cause any of us trouble!
My knowledge on it is that although rabbits can and do mate all year around, in the wild the males and females mainly come together in Spring time which will maximise the survival of their offspring, and the remnants of this trait in our domestics is spring fever! Where as the days get longer they start humping each other more, established hierarchies can go a bit haywire, they get more boisterous, can show more aggression towards each other, can get more territorial and ultimately it can ruin a bond between bunnies
HOWEVER from being on here for a few Springs I know that is not a likely final outcome, but it has happened, it is a just a slightly higher risk time of year for a bond, and even if they don't fall out they still may have more minor scuffles than usual, and with their extra energy they may get more destructive than usual too, so it would be useful to have some tactics!
I've suggested some topics below to get started! Would be great to hear others' knowledge, experiences and stories on the topic
- What is spring fever? (add to my limited knowledge base above!)
- Have you ever taken precautions for spring fever?
- How have your bunnies experienced spring fever in the past?
- If you have had spring fever fall outs in the past, did you manage to successfully rebond? Did you wait until after spring?
- What to do if a fight does break out? When do you intervene, when is a small scuffle enough to separate a pair/group?
- Should bonding be approached differently in spring? If you've bonded in spring before did you find it particularly difficult?
- Any other stories or information you think would be useful to know about spring fever or in tackling the issues caused by spring fever!
My knowledge on it is that although rabbits can and do mate all year around, in the wild the males and females mainly come together in Spring time which will maximise the survival of their offspring, and the remnants of this trait in our domestics is spring fever! Where as the days get longer they start humping each other more, established hierarchies can go a bit haywire, they get more boisterous, can show more aggression towards each other, can get more territorial and ultimately it can ruin a bond between bunnies
HOWEVER from being on here for a few Springs I know that is not a likely final outcome, but it has happened, it is a just a slightly higher risk time of year for a bond, and even if they don't fall out they still may have more minor scuffles than usual, and with their extra energy they may get more destructive than usual too, so it would be useful to have some tactics!
I've suggested some topics below to get started! Would be great to hear others' knowledge, experiences and stories on the topic
- What is spring fever? (add to my limited knowledge base above!)
- Have you ever taken precautions for spring fever?
- How have your bunnies experienced spring fever in the past?
- If you have had spring fever fall outs in the past, did you manage to successfully rebond? Did you wait until after spring?
- What to do if a fight does break out? When do you intervene, when is a small scuffle enough to separate a pair/group?
- Should bonding be approached differently in spring? If you've bonded in spring before did you find it particularly difficult?
- Any other stories or information you think would be useful to know about spring fever or in tackling the issues caused by spring fever!