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Fighting :(

Scrappy's Little Helper

Scrappy's Little Helper

Mama Doe
I was woken at five this morning by Fudgie and Snoopy fighting. I separated them and they've been having spats on and off since. At the moment they're in separate rooms. I have no idea what's triggered it. I had the windows open last night as it was quite warm so I don't know if they heard or sensed a fox outside and that has triggered referred aggression. I do know there are foxes around here. Temperature might also be a factor

I'm going to get them health checked at the vet's to rule out any possible illnesses. In the meantime I'm not sure what to do for the best when I go in to work tomorrow. At the moment I don't feel I can trust them alone together unsupervised for that length of time. They both have full free range of the flat so I was thinking of dividing it in half with puppy panels (should I also put something over them so they can't see each other?). I'm a bit worried about the implications of that, especially about damaging the bond long term and Fudgie getting territorial about her side.

I'm hoping my boss will let me work from home the rest of the week. It's only tomorrow really that I need to be in because of an all day meeting, which I hate anyway but it will be even worse tomorrow as my head will probably explode with anxiety worrying about the buns :(
 
Aw sorry your buns have fallen out Scrappy! I think I'd be inclined to keep them in separate rooms when you're at work. Big smiles for your boss, I hope you can work from home & do you bunny marriage guidance successfully
 
Thanks J&B, that tallies with my gut feeling. I think I have to make sure they don't escalate into a really bad scrap otherwise it will be impossible to re-bond. :( I'm hoping the fact that they bonded so easily and have had a strong bond ever since will mean they'll be able to get over this.

I've booked them in for 5 this evening. Unfortunately my usual vet is away this week and I have no idea how rabbit savvy the locum is going to be. I just thought that if there is a health issue then a week might be too long to wait.
 
Scrappy's Little Helper said:
Thanks J&B, that tallies with my gut feeling. I think I have to make sure they don't escalate into a really bad scrap otherwise it will be impossible to re-bond. :( I'm hoping the fact that they bonded so easily and have had a strong bond ever since will mean they'll be able to get over this.

I've booked them in for 5 this evening. Unfortunately my usual vet is away this week and I have no idea how rabbit savvy the locum is going to be. I just thought that if there is a health issue then a week might be too long to wait.
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Very wise, I hope its just rabbits being rabbits & there is nothing medical underlying . Vibes for a savvy vet
 
Scrappy's Little Helper said:
Thank you. Am I right in thinking that your girls recently had a falling out? If so, have you managed to successfully rebond them? I must admit I have a constant nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach that their bond is now irreversibly broken :(
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Yes. They had a spat that lasted for a couple of nights. Fur all over the front room & their bedroom.
I stopped arguments during the night (sleeping outside the gate) and kept them confined to their room. After two nights of no arguments they went back to being allowed around the house & touch wood we've been fine.

I was terrified we'd have to split them up and find them buckfriends but thankfully its worked out.
I'm sure yours will be okay x
 
Scrappy's Little Helper said:
I was woken at five this morning by Fudgie and Snoopy fighting. I separated them and they've been having spats on and off since. At the moment they're in separate rooms. I have no idea what's triggered it. I had the windows open last night as it was quite warm so I don't know if they heard or sensed a fox outside and that has triggered referred aggression. I do know there are foxes around here. Temperature might also be a factor

I'm going to get them health checked at the vet's to rule out any possible illnesses. In the meantime I'm not sure what to do for the best when I go in to work tomorrow. At the moment I don't feel I can trust them alone together unsupervised for that length of time. They both have full free range of the flat so I was thinking of dividing it in half with puppy panels (should I also put something over them so they can't see each other?). I'm a bit worried about the implications of that, especially about damaging the bond long term and Fudgie getting territorial about her side.

I'm hoping my boss will let me work from home the rest of the week. It's only tomorrow really that I need to be in because of an all day meeting, which I hate anyway but it will be even worse tomorrow as my head will probably explode with anxiety worrying about the buns :(
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Really sorry to hear this Scrappy :(

I can't remember, are they both girls?

I hope, after a brief separation, they will settle back together. If I were separating them I would make sure they couldn't see one another, or worry at one another (to be together) through the bars. Certainly if I couldn't be with them to supervise.

Good luck xx
 
I'm very sorry to hear this and hope they return to playing nicely together soon. Sighs......can't rabbits be odd sometimes :?
 
MightyMax said:
Really sorry to hear this Scrappy :(

I can't remember, are they both girls?

I hope, after a brief separation, they will settle back together. If I were separating them I would make sure they couldn't see one another, or worry at one another (to be together) through the bars. Certainly if I couldn't be with them to supervise.

Good luck xx
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Thanks MightyMax. They're male/female and up until now they've been a dream couple, always snuggled up. That's why this sudden fighting has come as a bit of a shock!

Just got back from the vet where they both had a good going over. No obvious signs of illness in either of them so for the moment I'm ruling that out as a factor - although I know some illnesses can "lurk" without obvious symptoms so I'll be keeping a careful eye on them. Good news is that neither have injuries, which is amazing considering I've got some pretty bad scratches on my hands and arms from separating them. I was in too much of a panic to even think about getting a towel! Anyway I had their claws clipped while we were there.

I was really nervous about putting them in the carrier together in case they seriously kicked off again, but thankfully they didn't. They've voluntarily gone back to separate rooms again. I'll see how they are this evening and might consider separating them overnight or I'll sleep in the living room with both so I can intervene more quickly.
 
daphnephoebe said:
Yes. They had a spat that lasted for a couple of nights. Fur all over the front room & their bedroom.
I stopped arguments during the night (sleeping outside the gate) and kept them confined to their room. After two nights of no arguments they went back to being allowed around the house & touch wood we've been fine.

I was terrified we'd have to split them up and find them buckfriends but thankfully its worked out.
I'm sure yours will be okay x
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Thank you, that's given me renewed hope that they can be ok!
 
Omi said:
I'm very sorry to hear this and hope they return to playing nicely together soon. Sighs......can't rabbits be odd sometimes :?
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Thanks Omi, I really hope they settle again soon. I sort of wish it had happened last night while I was still up so I could have seen who and what triggered it!
 
Personally I'd sleep with them and leave them together. The stress of the vets would have probably helped a little in making them 'forgive' each other.
Obviously only do it if you're comfortable with this.
 
Scrappy's Little Helper said:
Thanks MightyMax. They're male/female and up until now they've been a dream couple, always snuggled up. That's why this sudden fighting has come as a bit of a shock!

Just got back from the vet where they both had a good going over. No obvious signs of illness in either of them so for the moment I'm ruling that out as a factor - although I know some illnesses can "lurk" without obvious symptoms so I'll be keeping a careful eye on them. Good news is that neither have injuries, which is amazing considering I've got some pretty bad scratches on my hands and arms from separating them. I was in too much of a panic to even think about getting a towel! Anyway I had their claws clipped while we were there.

I was really nervous about putting them in the carrier together in case they seriously kicked off again, but thankfully they didn't. They've voluntarily gone back to separate rooms again. I'll see how they are this evening and might consider separating them overnight or I'll sleep in the living room with both so I can intervene more quickly.
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I'm much more heartened that they are a male/female couple :D

I am really hoping that it's a one off and won't happen again.

Good to know that neither of them have any health issues, though of course we never know exactly what's brewing with them :roll:

I would be very surprised if they don't get back together again OK, Scrappy xx
 
MightyMax said:
I'm much more heartened that they are a male/female couple :D

I am really hoping that it's a one off and won't happen again.

Good to know that neither of them have any health issues, though of course we never know exactly what's brewing with them :roll:

I would be very surprised if they don't get back together again OK, Scrappy xx
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Thanks MM. Could I ask for some advice on what to do now, please? My flat is kind of open plan in that there is only one door (to the bathroom), the kitchen and bedroom are separated off by door ways, but no doors. I can put barriers across those doorways if I need to. Since the fighting kicked off Snoopy has spent most of the day in the bedroom (I put an extra litter tray, food and water in there) while Fudgie has mainly stayed in the living room. He has made occasional trips out into the living room. Since they got back from the vet they haven't had another fight, but there is still a lot of tension. When they come into contact with each other they both grunt and he runs back into the bedroom.

So the question is, whilst I'm around to supervise should I keep things the way they are - ie the full free range so they don't get territorial over certain areas (especially Fudgie as she's a bossy little madam :roll: ) and let them sort it out at their own pace or should I try and redo the bonding from scratch in a few days when they've hopefully calmed down? (ie in a small neutral area).
 
Oh and I jut remembered another thing. Sometimes they go nose to nose with each other and stay like that for a few seconds making me feel like one or both are going to lunge. So I've been putting my arm between them - foolhardy I know! - to break the tension. Am I right to interfere like this or am I stopping them from sorting things out?
 
Scrappy's Little Helper said:
Oh and I jut remembered another thing. Sometimes they go nose to nose with each other and stay like that for a few seconds making me feel like one or both are going to lunge. So I've been putting my arm between them - foolhardy I know! - to break the tension. Am I right to interfere like this or am I stopping them from sorting things out?
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I'd say you're stopping them from sorting it out by putting your arm in the way. I know it's a horrible feeling because you feel like somethings gonna happen but they'll need to figure out again who's boss.

Personally I'd reduce them to a smaller area so they have to interact and figure things out. Something like the bathroom might be good as I can imagine that's your most neutral space?

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk
 
daphnephoebe said:
I'd say you're stopping them from sorting it out by putting your arm in the way. I know it's a horrible feeling because you feel like somethings gonna happen but they'll need to figure out again who's boss.

Personally I'd reduce them to a smaller area so they have to interact and figure things out. Something like the bathroom might be good as I can imagine that's your most neutral space?

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk
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Thank you, I think you're right. The problem was that I was a bit too over anxious about them fighting again. So I've taken a step back and stayed very close to them when they do interact so I can intervene quickly if I need to but without actually getting in between them. Good news is they haven't kicked off. Snoopy is very upset by what's happened so he is grunting and or thumping and running away a lot. Fudgie seems a lot keener for a reconciliation.

I'm also going to do as you've suggested and put them together in a small neutral space. As things stand they're not going to work things out by themselves, they're spending most of the time in separate rooms. I've taken tomorrow off work and my boss is letting me work from home until Wednesday (I'm so lucky to have such a lovely understanding manager!) so that gives me just over a week to try and get them sorted.

I divided the flat in half today because I still don't feel I can trust them alone unsupervised. It was like erecting the Berlin Wall, with me acting as Checkpoint Charlie. Inevitably I spent most of the day fretting that they'd either knocked it down or leapt over it to get at each other. Thankfully it was still intact when I got home.
 
Scrappy's Little Helper said:
Thank you, I think you're right. The problem was that I was a bit too over anxious about them fighting again. So I've taken a step back and stayed very close to them when they do interact so I can intervene quickly if I need to but without actually getting in between them. Good news is they haven't kicked off. Snoopy is very upset by what's happened so he is grunting and or thumping and running away a lot. Fudgie seems a lot keener for a reconciliation.

I'm also going to do as you've suggested and put them together in a small neutral space. As things stand they're not going to work things out by themselves, they're spending most of the time in separate rooms. I've taken tomorrow off work and my boss is letting me work from home until Wednesday (I'm so lucky to have such a lovely understanding manager!) so that gives me just over a week to try and get them sorted.

I divided the flat in half today because I still don't feel I can trust them alone unsupervised. It was like erecting the Berlin Wall, with me acting as Checkpoint Charlie. Inevitably I spent most of the day fretting that they'd either knocked it down or leapt over it to get at each other. Thankfully it was still intact when I got home.
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Scrappeeeee :wave:

Sorry I missed your post last night.

How are things today? It sounds like there have been no major incidents?
 
Hi Mighty Max :wave: Thank you for asking. Yep no more fights between them. However they're still not reconciled with each other so they'll both be going into the kitchen for some intensive couples therapy. They're actually doing exactly the same thing they were doing when I first bonded them - Fudgie approaching Snoopy, then Snoopy grunting/thumping and running away. They did eat breakfast side by side this morning without any problems so that's good!

I'll let you know how we get on today.
 
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