A fight has broken out and I need some help!

Hi all, I'm new to the forum and in my first year of owning two beautiful rabbits... and here lies the problem!

I rescued two tiny mini-lops in the summer. They're sisters and have been head over heels with each other until this weekend. They are now around 9 months old and very suddenly they've started fighting. Poor Rosie has a chunk out of her ear. I'll take her to the vets ASAP and get her checked. I've separated them to the best of my ability (one side is a bit makeshift, they're together but separate). I'm not sure if Rosie is having a phantom pregnancy, shes following Peter (my daughter named her!) around and forcing her to move away from her area of the run, sometimes not letting Peter come down from the hutch, almost claiming the run as her own. Poor Peter is getting frustrated because her favorite spot is near the door, so that she can watch us in the kitchen! They have a huge cage and run, so it cant be that.

I'm nervous that this is the end of one of my girls. I'm pretty sure that this level of fighting means that they won't bond again and I'll have to chose one to be rehomed.

They haven't been spayed as I was told by the vet receptionist that it wasn't urgent and so I wanted to wait until the weather wasn't going to cause them to change their coat and get shock when they got returned to their home outdoors.

Does anyone have any advice on what to do? The thought of having to give one up is very upsetting as I cant be sure that she'll have such a lovely big house and so much love.

I;m sorry you're going through all this bunny stress. It will more than likely be hormones but a vet check on both would be wise. I think they will need to stay seperate til post spay. I'm afraid I'd be very wary about makeshift barriers - they will need to be solid, bunnies on the warpath are highly motivated to get in the others enclosure & feuding bunnies can fight til the death

I wouldn't lose heart though. Separate, spay as soon as possible, give them time to recover & start bonding as though from scratch. That's what I would do. Wishing you all the luck in the world

joey&boo said:

I'm afraid I'd be very wary about makeshift barriers - they will need to be solid, bunnies on the warpath are highly motivated to get in the others enclosure & feuding bunnies can fight til the death

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I've basically had to close the door on the built-in run and keep Rosie in the external run with a new warm bed, so they wont get to each other. She'll be warm enough with all the stuff I've put out there, but I'll have to make a decision on how to deal with the living situation in the morning. They could have done this before my other half lost his job, it would be so much easier!!

megancalling said:

I've basically had to close the door on the built-in run and keep Rosie in the external run with a new warm bed, so they wont get to each other. She'll be warm enough with all the stuff I've put out there, but I'll have to make a decision on how to deal with the living situation in the morning. They could have done this before my other half lost his job, it would be so much easier!!

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I'm sorry Rabbits never time things well

Have a look on ebay/freecycle/facebook selling sites etc. you might be able to find a second hand hutch cheaply.

It's tough to predict whether they'll go back together or not - the only way to know is to spay and then try it - just make sure it's neutral territory when you pop them back together.

Well, it's that time of year when the hormones run high in my does too. I have 3 pairs, some get more, others less, territorial and bossy -> establishing hierachy and securing territory. It's also the time when they start to dig in earnest when the ground isn't frozen, all preperations for getting offspring.
Both your does are mature now, and their hormones raging.

It really depends on individual charackters how well they get along despite that, it doesn't work out for all.
My duos work, they are all mother/daughter pairs. I don't seperate them when the tensions run high, I don't dare for one claiming the hutch as her territory, but give them lots of willow branches to chew on (just something to do), and give them more garden time to work out and get out of each others sight for a while, when they return to their hutches they are in a better mood.

joey&boo said:

I'm sorry Rabbits never time things well

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That's So True.

It's not cost me a thought that she could claim the hutch as her own :-( Would it be worth getting a second-hand hutch and letting them into the run separately so that if re-introduction was possible, they could have their own areas and a shared space? Would that work??

I'm really no expert on rabbit behaviour, I only know my bunch of Erinyes, and all rabbits are different, so take everything I say with caution, it's just my opinion about my rabbits, not THE truth.

I don't think she would claim the hutch, but think she is boss there. There always is a boss, they simple have to settle that point. Mine do that with their ritual humping and fur nipping, short chases with some tufts of fur flying. My hutches are rather big, and there are several ways to escape conflict and hide, I think that helps that the conflicts don't escalate - or it's just the characters of my rabbits, I don't know, but they never draw blood.
When it escalates, they grab each other and try to slit the belly of the opponent with their hind claws, that's when you have to act immediatly and can't be sure if they'll ever get along. Had that only between bucklings, and once with a grumpy doe and a naive buck.

Ahh, well, when two of my Alphas would meet in the garden I wouldn't be so sure if both survive, happend once - I stepped between them and got a bite wound on my upper arm, at least one attacked me in her blind fury. I don't think that would happen now, both are about 5 yrs old, that was when they were about 1 1/2.

If your's were mine, I would put them together in the hutch (when there are places to hide), grab a book and watch them for an hour. That bloody ear might actually have been an accident, wrong place to pluck fur, imho it's not a typical injury for a serious fight (that means one that isn't about dominance anymore, but about actually killing). When there is chasing, I would give them a treat - my betas like those more than they are bothered by the other doe humping her while they munch away, for me that's a good sign.
Anyway, it's only a few days in the year that tensions are high, that fades rather quickly.

There is no guarantee that no mood swing will occur, that they will never fight - but for me it is worth the risk, seeing how much happier they are every day.

But mine are breeding does, not pets. If they were pets, I would have them spayed, for several reasons.

Anyway, something to read, maybe not exactly on topic but related:
https://www.thebunnychick.com/2013/11/19/7-ways-hurting-rabbits-chances-bonding/
http://www.cottontails-rescue.org.uk/information/bonding-bunnies/
http://www.binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/tabid/53/CategoryID/9/PID/940/Default.aspx

You may find more relevant information here on RU.

Mine started fighting when their hormones started playing up, I'd originally planned to get them spayed later on approx another 4 weeks but when they started getting territorial I booked them in straight away.

They never injured each other as I caught it before then, all you can do is keep them separate but somewhere they can see and smell each other and get them spayed then after a few weeks start introducing them together slowly so see if they bond again