Bonding help needed

[PepperG]

Hi. My male and female neutered rabbits have been bonded for over 5 years.
My male rabbit has been poorly last week and spent 5 nights separate from his mate in veterinary hospital. When I put them back together after being separated in their own territory they started to fight. I separated them again on Saturday night and started to reintroduce them on neutral territory yesterday. All went well. I did the same this morning and have cleaned out their enclosure to get rid of any scents from the vets for example. I have put them together in their own territory. They were fine for 20 mins and then the female mounted the male and they started fighting again. I would appreciate some advice on how I can get them bonded again. Thanks in advance

 

[Omi]

Sadly, this is sometimes an issue when one of a pair of bonded rabbits has to spend time at the vets. As you've realised it is the smell of the vets that is usually the problem.

I would say that you have done all the right things to rectify the situation. But as they have started to fight again when you put them back in their own territory, I would suggest you leave them in the neutral territory for longer, which hopefully will be successful. It's not easy to say how long to leave them, but I would certainly give it several days where they are friendly towards each other before trying to put them back in their original home. If the same thing happens again when you put them back, then just put them back in the neutral territory for a bit longer. They need to regain their trust in each other.

Good luck.

 

[Shimmer]

As well as smelling different, he may also be acting differently if he isn't 100% recovered. The girl will be picking up on all sorts of signals that he's not 'right' and often that means they see off what they think is an 'intruder' as the rabbit they now see isn't the partner they knew before. I would give him time to fully recover on his own - maybe separate them by a wire mesh barrier / puppy panels. Separate them completely if there is aggression through the bars and then treat it as a rebonding when he's up to it.

 

[PepperG]

Sadly, this is sometimes an issue when one of a pair of bonded rabbits has to spend time at the vets. As you've realised it is the smell of the vets that is usually the problem.

I would say that you have done all the right things to rectify the situation. But as they have started to fight again when you put them back in their own territory, I would suggest you leave them in the neutral territory for longer, which hopefully will be successful. It's not easy to say how long to leave them, but I would certainly give it several days where they are friendly towards each other before trying to put them back in their original home. If the same thing happens again when you put them back, then just put them back in the neutral territory for a bit longer. They need to regain their trust in each other.

Good luck.

Thank you for your response. Much appreciated x

 

[PepperG]

As well as smelling different, he may also be acting differently if he isn't 100% recovered. The girl will be picking up on all sorts of signals that he's not 'right' and often that means they see off what they think is an 'intruder' as the rabbit they now see isn't the partner they knew before. I would give him time to fully recover on his own - maybe separate them by a wire mesh barrier / puppy panels. Separate them completely if there is aggression through the bars and then treat it as a rebonding when he's up to it.

Thank you. I've separated them with puppy panels. I think I maybe have rushed to reintroduce them. I'll try to rebond them over a few more days x

 

[Jaelyn]

Hi. My male and female neutered rabbits have been bonded for over 5 years.
My male rabbit has been poorly last week and spent 5 nights separate from his mate in veterinary hospital. When I put them back together after being separated in their own territory they started to fight. I separated them again on Saturday night and started to reintroduce them on neutral territory yesterday. All went well. I did the same this morning and have cleaned out their enclosure to get rid of any scents from the vets for example. I have put them together in their own territory. They were fine for 20 mins and then the female mounted the male and they started fighting again. I would appreciate some advice on how I can get them bonded again. Thanks in advance

I am sorry that happened, I tried bonding my NZ bucks. I have to say it all went well, other then humping each other ALL the time they were fine together. I dont keep them together 24/7. only if i need to switch cages and put them together for a second. it feels good to know I can put them together without them killing eachother (kinda)