TheTigerThief
Warren Scout
I'm having a really rough time trying to rebond my girls... I mentioned back in February that my girls, sisters Cleo and Petra, were spayed. While they were intact, they lived together quite happily. As they got older and their hormones kicked in they had a couple of scuffles but nothing serious and they always sorted it out. Unfortunately since their spays they HATE eachother! Every time we've tried to reintroduce them in a small, neutral playpen they attack eachother. I know a few spats are normal, but they almost instantly lunge at eachother and start circling; fur flies and they end up on their sides kicking eachothers' bellies. This is all within seconds of being in the pen together. I'm getting seriously worried now that it might be hopeless, they just won't ever be able to live together again... I know it was in their best interests to be spayed, but I'm still a bit devastated it seems to have made them turn on eachother. 
I've been out observing them this morning. They are currently in separate runs with a wall dividing them*. They ignore eachother mostly, but a few times one of them would start sniffing the wall and try to poke her nose through. A couple of times they both lunged and started scratched at the divide, almost like they were digging at it. But I also noticed Cleo would hop away from the divide when Petra poked her nose through and would start grooming herself. This is a sign of submission, isn't it? Does this mean there might actually be hope they'll get along again?
I recently contacted my local rabbit resuce for help, and they suggested table bonding. Does anyone have experience with this kind of bonding? How do I stop them fighting, or do people need to be holding them? I don't want them to fall off and get hurt if they start fighting. I've also been reading about stress bonding. Can this be effective? My main problem with taking them for a car ride or something is if I put them in say, a laundry basket and they just attack eachother. Petra already has a nasty laceration on her ear and I don't want any more injuries if I can help it. Is there anything else I can do? At what point do I accept they may never be bonded? My mother has been looking after them while I've been at uni and she's pretty much given up on them being friends again...
(*We set up this divide with the intent of keeping them seperated, but somehow my lop buck, River, can move between their runs. He jumps on the roofs of the hutches and leaps over. He's the only one who does this. Sometimes we find him with Cleo, sometimes he's with Petra. He basically comes and goes as he pleases. Both girls love him to bits and his bonds with them seem as strong as ever, so should I leave him free to visit them both or prevent him moving between runs? I'm not sure if his visits between them are helping or making things worse...)
I've been out observing them this morning. They are currently in separate runs with a wall dividing them*. They ignore eachother mostly, but a few times one of them would start sniffing the wall and try to poke her nose through. A couple of times they both lunged and started scratched at the divide, almost like they were digging at it. But I also noticed Cleo would hop away from the divide when Petra poked her nose through and would start grooming herself. This is a sign of submission, isn't it? Does this mean there might actually be hope they'll get along again?
I recently contacted my local rabbit resuce for help, and they suggested table bonding. Does anyone have experience with this kind of bonding? How do I stop them fighting, or do people need to be holding them? I don't want them to fall off and get hurt if they start fighting. I've also been reading about stress bonding. Can this be effective? My main problem with taking them for a car ride or something is if I put them in say, a laundry basket and they just attack eachother. Petra already has a nasty laceration on her ear and I don't want any more injuries if I can help it. Is there anything else I can do? At what point do I accept they may never be bonded? My mother has been looking after them while I've been at uni and she's pretty much given up on them being friends again...
(*We set up this divide with the intent of keeping them seperated, but somehow my lop buck, River, can move between their runs. He jumps on the roofs of the hutches and leaps over. He's the only one who does this. Sometimes we find him with Cleo, sometimes he's with Petra. He basically comes and goes as he pleases. Both girls love him to bits and his bonds with them seem as strong as ever, so should I leave him free to visit them both or prevent him moving between runs? I'm not sure if his visits between them are helping or making things worse...)
