They were fine for two days now they fight? Bonding.

Hello,

I have two rabbits, Freddie the male and Amber the female. I have made a large space in a room, put a lot of neutral hay down on the floor, a couple of water bowls and they also have shelter (a rabbit hutch big enough so they shouldn't feel trapped). They were fine for nearly two days. Freddie would groom Amber then the next day Amber was grooming Freddie, they are both drinking and eating quite happily (they even eat from the same pile fine).

But now nearly two days on they have decided to start fighting. It normally starts with one sniffing the other, then they start moving all jittery, and lock onto each other and fight. They keep trying to fight now, one minute they were locked on biting and clawing each other taking chunks of fur out (some with skin), then the next Amber started to groom Freddie after he nudged his head under-neath her, but then 5 minutes later they start a scrap and lock into each other again.

I am worried a about letting them keep biting each other because Freddie only has 3 legs (he was brought into an animal charity with his leg broken and had to have it amputated, but hes so happy now anyway) and I am worried about him getting another abscessed on his leg, as he got one before from getting bitten from another female a couple of years back when we tried mixing him back then, and would have been put too sleep if it had attached itself to his bone.

So any advice on what I should be doing or when to know when to call it quits on trying to mix them, I'm affraid of one of them getting seriously injured (especially Freddie as he only has 3 legs)

Thanks in advanced, Cameron.

hi welcome to the forum, how old are your bunnies? are they already neutered?
has any part of there environment changed to cause them to behave like this? if not it could be a case of spring fever at this time of the year

mini lop1 said:

hi welcome to the forum, how old are your bunnies? are they already neutered?
has any part of there environment changed to cause them to behave like this? if not it could be a case of spring fever at this time of the year

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Thank you, yes they are both neutered, Freddie is about 4 and Amber is 2. Nothing has changed in there environment. What is Spring Fever?

p.s. They live in portugal but are currently in the house to keep them cool.

Which rabbit did you have first and have you introduced then in a neutral area? Females are very territorial so could this be the problem if your female considers the territory to be hers?

tonibun said:

Which rabbit did you have first and have you introduced then in a neutral area? Females are very territorial so could this be the problem if your female considers the territory to be hers?

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I had Freddie first, then got Amber. They are both in a neutral environment which neither of them had been in before. If Amber is a bit territorial then what shall I do?

How much space have you given them? In the early stages of bonding, too much space, too soon, can cause chasing and then fighting. It might be worth reducing the space as you say you're only 2 days into the bonding process.

Mackers said:

How much space have you given them? In the early stages of bonding, too much space, too soon, can cause chasing and then fighting. It might be worth reducing the space as you say you're only 2 days into the bonding process.

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I've given them about half a medium sized bedroom, Hmm I would have thought it was better to give them more space so that they can run away from each other and would feel less threatened, I could try giving them less space though, I have a medium sized rabbit hutch, im just worried about putting them in there because I can't get to them that easily if they are fighting.

There are two schools of thought on bonding. The first is to give them acres of space and only come together when they feel comfortable in each others company. You need a large space and lots of time. The second method (the only one I've had success with) is the 'forced' method in a confined space. You essentially force them to sit next to each other with no space to run away. But if nobody can run, then nobody can chase either which means no fights normally occur. The space is increased very slowly, probably over the space of about a week ( but all buns are different). Increase the space too quickly and they usually start to chase/run/nip/fur pull = potential fight. I start in a space not much bigger than a carry cage. Then I increase to a medium dog crate, then to a normal sized rabbit run, finally the whole conservatory and eventually back into their shed/aviary.

But you know your rabbits best and you know what will suit them. There is no 'one size fits all' when it comes to bonding I'm afraid.

Good luck..! It can be a stressful process for all concerned...

Are both bunnies on good health? Sometimes an ill bunny can become a target if theres something 'not quite right'

All the best
fee x

Mackers said:

There are two schools of thought on bonding. The first is to give them acres of space and only come together when they feel comfortable in each others company. You need a large space and lots of time. The second method (the only one I've had success with) is the 'forced' method in a confined space. You essentially force them to sit next to each other with no space to run away. But if nobody can run, then nobody can chase either which means no fights normally occur. The space is increased very slowly, probably over the space of about a week ( but all buns are different). Increase the space too quickly and they usually start to chase/run/nip/fur pull = potential fight. I start in a space not much bigger than a carry cage. Then I increase to a medium dog crate, then to a normal sized rabbit run, finally the whole conservatory and eventually back into their shed/aviary.

But you know your rabbits best and you know what will suit them. There is no 'one size fits all' when it comes to bonding I'm afraid.

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Thanks alot for your advice, I will try to mix them in a smaller space, I might start by bringing them on the sofa as I can sit one side of them and they will be confined to a small space. Then i'll put them in the hutch, then let them run outside the hutch. Thanks again!

Fee said:

Good luck..! It can be a stressful process for all concerned...

Are both bunnies on good health? Sometimes an ill bunny can become a target if theres something 'not quite right'

All the best
fee x

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Thanks, they are both really healthy, Although freddie only has 3 leggs so I was thinking she might be able to pick that up on him and think hes injured.

CLHarley said:

Thanks alot for your advice, I will try to mix them in a smaller space, I might start by bringing them on the sofa as I can sit one side of them and they will be confined to a small space. Then i'll put them in the hutch, then let them run outside the hutch. Thanks again!

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Sorry but it isn't a good idea to keep moving them, they need to sort out their hierarchy and can't do it if their territory keeps altering. Try to keep them together as long as they aren't fighting.

tonibun said:

Sorry but it isn't a good idea to keep moving them, they need to sort out their hierarchy and can't do it if their territory keeps altering. Try to keep them together as long as they aren't fighting.

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I agree with this. I'd try to keep them in their current space but just make it smaller.

Definitely small space to start with. We use a space the size of a litter tray - they are literally in the litter tray together for a few hours - I do put a water bowl by the side of the tray though. We partition the space as best we can - cardboard, anything really. We then increase the space very, very slightly - small enough so that they don't really notice. And so it goes on. We just sit watching them. It can put you back to square one if the space is increased too quickly and by too much.

Sometimes it can be done in just a day. Sometimes it has took a weekend and sometimes a long weekend! We have even had a couple who took a couple of weekends. They are supervised at all times which is why it is good to do this when you know you have plenty of time. It helps if you have someone to give you moral support and an opportunity to go to the loo!

When we have been forced to take it to another day, we have set them up in the same area, but partitioned off with mesh panels for the night.

Oven gloves are good to protect your hands when skirmishes occur. You can then pick one rabbit up and plonk it down again facing the other way - or try to distract.

It can take time but on the other hand we have had a couple who bonded very nicely in just a few hours.

Good Luck.

Separate them for now and give them a break from each other for at least a week. Separate so they can't see or smell, if I were you, and then try again in a completely neutral SMALL space. Preferably in a room neither have been before. It can be difficult to bond two buns that have been fighting badly, like yours, but hopefully a break from each other will help.

Good luck. x

It is quite common for things to appear fine for the first couple of days of bonding - then they have to sort out who is boss, by chasing or humping or fur pulling. This is fine, as long as they aren't actually fighting. If they fight you should separate. If not, you should leave them as they are so they can sort out their issues. You must not move them or increase their space until they have gone a whole 48 hours with NO chasing/humping etc. Only then can you increase the space slightly. Good luck.

Sorry i didn't read your first post properly. If there has been locked on fighting i really don't think it's a good idea trying again. That sort of fighting is not a good sign at all

Thank you everyone for your responses, I have listed to each and everyone of them and have decided to give them a little break from each other, then will try again putting them in a small space, and then expanding that same space a little bit at a time, but only when I see there is no fighting. They show signs of they are going to fight before they actually do so I will always be in reach of them to stop it before it will happen.

Thanks again everyone, if you have any more advice, I am still open!: )

p.s. my avatar is Amber (left) and Freddie (right) : )

CLHarley said:

Thank you everyone for your responses, I have listed to each and everyone of them and have decided to give them a little break from each other, then will try again putting them in a small space, and then expanding that same space a little bit at a time, but only when I see there is no fighting. They show signs of they are going to fight before they actually do so I will always be in reach of them to stop it before it will happen.

Thanks again everyone, if you have any more advice, I am still open!: )

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I think this is the best thing you can do. :thumb: I do hope you manage to bond them, but it may be that they will never go back together again, so it would be wise to start thinking about future arrangements.