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Help please!! Fighting

DemiS

DemiS

Warren Veteran
I just got home and let the boys out and they started fighting really badly. I've separated them and I'm setting up the dog crate because I don't want to try put them back together tonight

Should i put the cages very close so they can still see and smell each other (but not bite each other)?

Should I swap them in the different cages so they don't get too teritorial over one?

Should i let them settle and see how they are tomorrow or should I just keep them completely separate until after their neuter, and how long after their neuter should I try again?

They're going in on thursday (they did have wednesday available but it was with a less experienced vet). Is there much hope they'll go back together again after?

:cry:
 
Don't worry! When I was bonding my previous trio the 2 females fought so so aggressively, it was frightening... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7QOKF5lDXU(go to 4:04 in this video) but in the end they became really good friends. I just didn't give up with bonding. I'm sure it's possible they'll make friends again.

If I were you I'd put the cages close together but if they keep being aggressive I'd keep them separate until after neutering.
 
Last edited:
DemiS said:
I just got home and let the boys out and they started fighting really badly. I've separated them and I'm setting up the dog crate because I don't want to try put them back together tonight

Should i put the cages very close so they can still see and smell each other (but not bite each other)?

Should I swap them in the different cages so they don't get too teritorial over one?

Should i let them settle and see how they are tomorrow or should I just keep them completely separate until after their neuter, and how long after their neuter should I try again?

They're going in on thursday (they did have wednesday available but it was with a less experienced vet). Is there much hope they'll go back together again after?

:cry:
Click to expand...

I'm sorry hun. Its stressful I know.

Personally, I'd do what you think is right.
Cages side by side, (close but not biting each other close). Swapping cages daily. And leaving them separate until 6 weeks after neuter (this is what I'd do in your situation, but please weigh in what everyone else suggests).
 
You need to keep them separate now until after they have been neutered. You don't need to worry about them becoming territorial over their cages, but I would give them plenty of time in the hopes they will forget this fight.
 
6 weeks seems so long :( I'm worried that the longer they're apart the more the bond will break but at the same time i don't want to make it worse by reintroducing them too early. Their balls have literally just dropped so would it still take the same amount of time for hormones to die down as it would an adult rabbit?

I don't know if i should try move the neuter to wednesday with the less experienced vet :/ although i guess one day doesn't make a huge difference
 
Don't use the less experienced Vet, please. A day is not going to make any difference at all. They've fought and there is nothing you can do to reverse that. Once they fight they usually fight again, but there is hope that once neutered they can be bonded successfully. You will have to be patient now.
 
6 weeks is the average for hormones to die down and would be your safest option. You could try sooner, but there's the possibility hormones could still play in the rebonding.

Normally the hormone surge as soon as testicles descend is higher than an older adult entire male to my knowledge. E.g. it spikes and then levels out. (Please someone correct me if I'm wrong, I may be remembering dogs hormones)

Sent from my SM-G903F using Tapatalk
 
DemiS said:
6 weeks seems so long :( I'm worried that the longer they're apart the more the bond will break but at the same time i don't want to make it worse by reintroducing them too early. Their balls have literally just dropped so would it still take the same amount of time for hormones to die down as it would an adult rabbit?

I don't know if i should try move the neuter to wednesday with the less experienced vet :/ although i guess one day doesn't make a huge difference
Click to expand...

I'd stick with the more experienced vet on thursday. You could try bonding sooner. I've bonded 4 weeks after neutering before with no issues. It's whether you'd want to take that risk though!
 
I'm so upset, they'd been absolutely amazing together, apart from the odd hump (which neither seemed bothered about) they showed absolutely no signs of fighting or being territorial. I don't think they'd been fighting in their cage because there's no fur, but not long at all after i got home and let them out they started scrapping. I have seen worse fights but they were still on the floor scratching and biting :cry: I'm alternating letting them exercise and watching very carefully, neither of them are going up to the others cage and trying to fight through the bars which is good i guess and Elmo (who's in the dog crate) flopped out even though Cookie was outside right next to the crate so hopefully they haven't been too traumatised
 
DemiS said:
I'm so upset, they'd been absolutely amazing together, apart from the odd hump (which neither seemed bothered about) they showed absolutely no signs of fighting or being territorial. I don't think they'd been fighting in their cage because there's no fur, but not long at all after i got home and let them out they started scrapping. I have seen worse fights but they were still on the floor scratching and biting :cry: I'm alternating letting them exercise and watching very carefully, neither of them are going up to the others cage and trying to fight through the bars which is good i guess and Elmo (who's in the dog crate) flopped out even though Cookie was outside right next to the crate so hopefully they haven't been too traumatised
Click to expand...

Maybe it was just a one off and something spooked them causing the fight?
 
Yeah possibly, I wasn't watching them when they first came out but then i heard a scratching noise, at first i thought one had just slipped on the laminate (sometimes they slip and panic a bit then try run which makes them slip more) but then when i looked they'd pulled a bit of fur. I let them calm down and sat them back next to each other and they started fighting again. I've given them a thorough check, Cookie has a very very tiny graze where Elmo must of ripped some fur out but apart from that they're physically fine
 
Anyone else have advice on when/how to try again?

It makes me so sad, I think they miss each other because only a small area (about a foot) of their cages are in contact with each other but they keep sitting close to each other, and when one is running about and the other in their cage they've been sniffing with no aggression whatsoever they're quite happy to sit and groom themselves sat really close. I'm worried that by separating them I've made things harder :( Part of me thinks maybe something did just scare them in to a little scuffle and now they miss each other, but i don't want to risk another fight by putting them back together too soon
 
DemiS said:
Anyone else have advice on when/how to try again?

It makes me so sad, I think they miss each other because only a small area (about a foot) of their cages are in contact with each other but they keep sitting close to each other, and when one is running about and the other in their cage they've been sniffing with no aggression whatsoever they're quite happy to sit and groom themselves sat really close. I'm worried that by separating them I've made things harder :( Part of me thinks maybe something did just scare them in to a little scuffle and now they miss each other, but i don't want to risk another fight by putting them back together too soon
Click to expand...

I would not try them together again until at least 4 weeks after their neuters. Once Bucks fight they dont forget. Personally I would keep them out of sight and smell of each other as now they have had a fight they will continue to wind each other up even if they cant actually get to each other. That would make re-introducing them again very tricky indeed x
 
I'm following this thread as it seems you're in a similar situation to me, fingers crossed we can rebound our buns after the neuters
 
ElsasMummy said:
I'm following this thread as it seems you're in a similar situation to me, fingers crossed we can rebound our buns after the neuters
Click to expand...

I just saw your thread before this one. Its awful isn't it :( They're off on a bonding holiday on thursday, I'm so scared they won't go back together
 
Keep us informed about the bonding holiday, I'm not sure if I'll be bonding mine myself or sending the to a boarding place to do it. Neuter is being done as we speak, feel sick with worry!
 
My two bucks fell out just before being neutered. I was upset because they had been so cuddly before.

I kept them out of sight smell or sound of each other for about six weeks then rebonded them in a neutral area (a pen in my bedroom) and introduced two spayed does (already bonded from barc rescue).

They have lived very happily as a quad ever since. That was in October 2013. The boys often snuggle up to each other, even though Frosty will often chase Snowflake away at food time!

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/s...ics-page-2-post-19-update-now-a-quad-More-pic
 
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