chasing behaviour and litter tray emptying

[Griffski]

Hi - I recently bonded a bunny- Ninja (neutered female)- with a new partner, Ronin (neutered male), after death of her previous partner. Bonding went well - he was excessively 'humpy' at the start and there was a short period where he started chasing her indoors every time i went into their room - was not sure if reaction to me or to the potential of me feeding them but when they were moved outside the bond cemented and all has been well. However, two slight issues in paradise recently (that I report together in case linked) and wondered if anyone has any insight from their own experience.

First is that when they were boarded for a week recently Ronin was constantly chasing Ninja (similar to early bonding) to the extent I am not sure they can be boarded again - boarding was in indoor hutch with release into 'play area'. This behaviour did not continue when they returned home.

Second is that someone (i don't know whom) started emptying out the newspaper and hay litter tray contents into their sleeping area upstairs in hutch. I switched to wood flakes substrate and all was well for a while but last week it started happening again. They have always been so clean and continue to only use the litter tray for liquid waste and most of their solid waste.

They live in an indoor hutch linked to outdoor hutch and (on other side) to outdoor run on decking so they have plenty of space. Through the day they have access to a safe grassed area the size of a double garage.

In normal day to day, apart from a little chasing behaviour at main feeding times that is easily interrupted, I see no sign of unhappiness in them. They will sit together in the sun and in the hutch and they feed right next to each other and I often see ninja grooming him. They have never shown aggression to each other.

Would appreciate if anyone has any ideas how i can sort the litter tray issue and what may underlie the chasing during boarding ? Is someone bored/feeling trapped/hangry (i underfeed pellets but overfeed hay)? Might they be tussling in the litter area and she makes a mess escaping from him ?

 

[Shimmer]

If the issue is mainly dealing with the mess, try switching to just newspaper under hay in the litter trays - much less sweeping up.

 

[Griffski]

hi Shimmer - thanks for your reply. That was the setup i have used for years newspapers on bottom of tray, hay on top so they could sit and munch hay there. There may have been some dominance behaviour in litter tray area (the 'bedding' area of the hutch that none of my bunnies would ever use as sleeping area) as I would only ever catch ronin eating in there (Ninja would either pull hay out to eat in sleeping area or eat hay placed downstairs) but there was no messing of the contents. When the messing started the newspaper was ripped into pieces and it and hay pulled out of the litter tray were strewn throughout the hutch. I'm less concerned with the mess (though it is a bit of a pain with shavings) and more concerned that it's flagging some underlying issue of which i'm not aware and especially that ninja may be having a hard time behind closed doors. I'll try to get a camera setup sorted (wifi doesn;t reach so not straightforward).

 

[tonibun]

A lot of my pairs have 2 litter trays and especially at this time of year one of the trays is for nesting purposes as the girls still live in hopes even though neutered. The behaviour you describe sounds very much like this. When Rabbits are moved to a new location there is often some chasing as they have to re-establish the hierarchy but it doesn't usually last for long.

 

[Griffski]

A lot of my pairs have 2 litter trays and especially at this time of year one of the trays is for nesting purposes as the girls still live in hopes even though neutered. The behaviour you describe sounds very much like this. When Rabbits are moved to a new location there is often some chasing as they have to re-establish the hierarchy but it doesn't usually last for long.

Thanks Tonibun - that’s an interesting insight. When she came to me last summer she’d had a litter (she was from a rescue charity) so I guess this could be first time she’d express that behaviour. Gives me hope this is a temporary activity and that it’s normal and not someone venting frustration I’ll switch back to paper and hay for sake of hygiene.
The chasing went on for the whole week of bonding

 

[tonibun]

They are all hoping for babies at the moment! Which Rabbit was doing the chasing?

 

[Griffski]

They are all hoping for babies at the moment! Which Rabbit was doing the chasing?

Ronin (neutered male) was doing the chasing (as he was during early bonding). The only time I see him do it now they’re back home is when he expects food - ninja just runs away from him and when food goes down his focus is on that. Ninja does not seem fazed by it. I would say they have an excellent bond. I finally caught the culprit re litter tray emptying - ninja (neutered female) - you were spot on

 

[tonibun]

Yep!