Fighting advice please

Hi, my first post so please excuse any mistakes!!!! We have two male bunnies, 5 months old. we bought them as a pair from the pet shop, sold as brothers with the same birth date but when taking them to get the snip we found out this wasn't the case and one is actually older by a couple of weeks!!!

Anyway,they have they have always got on well but this morning they had a little scuffle. I sprayed some water to stop it and they had been fine all day until this evening when again they had a fight with some fur flying, at first as they were just chasing each other round we thought they were just playing but now we aren't so sure. We can see that one of them is trying to be more dominant. But at the same time the other bunny isn't fussed and is quite submissive and seems happy to let him be in charge!!! It is only when the bunny trying to be dominant sniffs the others back end and he tries to run away that it all kicked off. Just worried that it's going to continue as they have got on so nicely. Any one experienced the same, should we be worried? Will it pass? Is it just playing? (they are indoor rabbits, with a large hutch but then whilst we are home they have the run of the living room and dining room)

Are they neutered? If not they will fight, rabbits can cause serious injury to each other. It would be best to separate them until they've been neutered.

Have they been neutered yet? If not then this needs doing asap.

If they are already neutered, do you have any other pets, particularly rabbits, around? Have you changed anything recently, maybe their bedding or their cage? Have you separated them for a period of time or taken one to the vet?

Take them out the cage, put them in a carrier together and take them on a car ride (the stress may make them seek each other for comfort). Clean their cage and all their belongings with vinegar (white is best as doesn't stain) and put them back in with only the essentials (litter tray + water), get rid of any food bowls or treats/toys, anything they can fight over. Try to give them 2 hiding places where they can escape the other, but nothing they get territorial or jealous over. Make sure they are supervised as much as possible.

If the fighting gets nasty then they will need to be separated - rabbits do not play-fight and it can quickly escalate. Please make preparations so that you can separate them quickly if need be. If you do separate them, they may be able to live together again in the future but only after they have been reintroduced carefully following the rules of bonding rabbits.

You said you took them to be neutered - so how long has it been? It takes about 6 weeks for hormones to die down. I would separate them now - rabbits can inflict horrendous injuries.

I don't agree with putting rabbits under stress in an attempt to bond - it seems cruel to me to frighten them in an effort to get them together.

About 6 weeks after neutering you could try re-bonding. This would have to be done in a completely neutral area. Lots of help on here about bonding but I think the most urgent thing is to separate them.

Thanks for all the replies, they have both been neutered around 9 weeks ago. Same day so that wouldn't cause any problems!!! They were in a holiday home last week as we were away but we pocked them up Thursday and it was only yesterday they had a squabble I would have thought if it was because of that it would have happened sooner?

They have been in their hutch overnight as this is where we put them at night, my husband stayed up to keep an eye on them and they have been fine lying together the one who is trying to be more dominant was being groomed by the other one. If we have to separate them then we won't be able to keep them both as we don't have anything to keep a separate one in. They have a large two tier hutch (can't see how we can split it so they both have equal space but can see each other) I'll be devastated if we have to rehome one ��

It could very well be staying in a new place that has upset their relationship. Hopefully they will settle down again - do you give them lots of hay to chew. This can have a calming effect on them.

tonibun said:

It could very well be staying in a new place that has upset their relationship. Hopefully they will settle down again - do you give them lots of hay to chew. This can have a calming effect on them.

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Just what I thought, too.

Also, is there any reason why they have to be shut in their hutch overnight - their most active time is dusk and dawn.