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Fighting bunnies

merryandpippin

Young Bun
Hi as some of you may remember I made the horrible decision to separate my neutered bunny brothers a couple of months ago due to the blood fest fighting they started after months of cohabitating.

Well I've finally been able to get a second hutch and move merry out of the run in the garage (with carrier as nest area) so he could reenter daylight bless him. Anyway I've kept him in the hutch for a couple of days to settle and today I let him run around in the garden with pippin in his hutch to keep them apart and would shoo him away from this area if they looked aggressive.

Anyway during a couple of minutes of kid induced distraction they clearly had a bit of a to do through the hutch wiring. Unaware I got merry back in his hutch and was about to let pippin out for his freedom session only to find him bleeding below his nose. So I kept him in as he's the more aggressive bun and will bite and scratch me at any attempt to remove him from the fight zone. If merry isn't around he's very affectionate towards us.

I bought them to live together with free range of our garden when were home. I don't want to confine them to hutch and runs but I'm rapidly running out of options. My hubby is already peeved that we now have two huge hutches taking up our small garden space but I'm feeling less and less confident that were going to be able to offer them quality of life in the long run.

Any suggestions to remedy this situation please?

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Rabbits usually act aggressively through wire as the one penned up is defending his territory. I hope the rabbit with the bitten nose is ok. Are you going to try to rebond them at all?
 
Ah what an awful situation, having to separate them even though they are a bonded pair. I wonder what happened.
I suppose your only options are to try to rebond them, back to basics, neutral area and everything, and a thick pair of gardening gloves at the ready!
Or keep as two singles, and perhaps get a puppy pen to put around the hutch with the bunny in while the other one is free range, at least they won't be able to get to each other through the wire.
I suppose a girlfriend for each is out of the question?:D
 
Yeah he's on the mend tried to get him into the run today to have a bit of exercise in there for now but he wasn't having it. I like the idea of a run around the hutch that could work and they could still get the option of free ranging in the garden. He he I think I'm a bit too scared to try rebounding them with all of this going on and yes girlfriends are sadly out of the option 2 bunnies max the other half said :( its a shame cause I think merry would rebound with another bunny but pippin just won't have it :(

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Yeah he's on the mend tried to get him into the run today to have a bit of exercise in there for now but he wasn't having it. I like the idea of a run around the hutch that could work and they could still get the option of free ranging in the garden. He he I think I'm a bit too scared to try rebounding them with all of this going on and yes girlfriends are sadly out of the option 2 bunnies max the other half said :( its a shame cause I think merry would rebound with another bunny but pippin just won't have it :(

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Any good boarding places you can send them off to?
 
It can be tough rebonding males that have fought. They seem to remember their history and launch back in.

To stop injury, you could double mesh - put a second layer of mesh on the in/out side (depending which side the current mesh is on) of the run. The double layer usually gives an inch or so gap so they don't touch if they stick a nose through.

You could achieve the same with some clear perspex or popping a fold up pen around the runs alternately.

Cardboard would be a cheap solution for the short term or possibly just a pegged sheet.
 
There are boarding places but don't know what that would do? Forgive my stupidity!

Thanks for the tips tamsin I think that's the way forward it's such a shame though!

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There are boarding places but don't know what that would do? Forgive my stupidity!

Thanks for the tips tamsin I think that's the way forward it's such a shame though!

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Some boarding places will help you bond, you can send them away for a 'holiday' and someone with more experience can cope with all the stress!!!
 
Ahh that makes sense! That could be worth a look into but would they be likely to break up again?

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Yeah I thought as much :( the run around the hutch didn't work either both just spent the entire time marking their territory and trying to get at the other bunny. They both looked really stressed out by it so I'm still at a loss about how to allow them to exercise!

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Could you keep them completely apart for a few months (until summer is over) with no sight or smell of each other then rebond? This was advice I was given and it worked for my two bucks who had fought. I added two does in as well and they are now a quad (bonded october 2013).

Or (this may sound heartless) could you swap one of your bucks for a doe and have an m/f pair?
 
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