Helping brothers to make up

[RT]

We have had our two boys (who we were told were brothers) for about 2 months and apart from a minor spat on the first night, they get one very well together. One of them is dominant (Norman) and the other submissive (Arthur) which helps. They were castrated the week before we adopted them and they live as house rabbits in a big hutch together.

On Easter Sunday I noticed one of them (or possibly both of them) had worms which was nice. We haven't had it in either of our previous two rabbits so I didn't realise it was something they could get. Anyway, I am treating them both with panacur and touch wood, I think the situation is improving.

However, from about this time, Arthur, who is very nervous compared with his brother started getting even more on edge than normal. He doesn't really like being stroked but had been getting used to it but now he was hoping out of the way at every chance. On Wednesday evening he took a lot of persuading to come out of his hutch when normally he loves running around but as he has been eating normally etc I didn't want to take him to the vets as he really hates it.

Then yesterday (Thursday), I let them out as normal whilst I made their breakfast. At first all was OK and then when I looked in the room they were in they were having a fight! There was fur everywhere but both seem OK and there were no cuts. I managed to stop them but Norman kept going for Arthur. I got Arthur back into their house and he started making this weird whining noise and I put Norman in a vet box whilst I raced out and got another hutch. We had to both be out yesterday at something that we couldn't cancel so Norman spent the day in the spare hutch in the same room as Arthur so they could see each other.

They had a quick interaction yesterday evening which I cut short as Norman kept running towards Arthur with his tail in the air and it seemed aggressive. This morning, Arthur came racing out of his hutch, ran over to Norman's, thumped twice and made the weird whining noise again. Norman just looked very confused.

So none of this is filling me with confidence with regards to reintroducing them. I suspect that all the time they are on Panacur we could have a problem. Both of them are obsessed with smelling each other's rear ends so I guess if they smell different to each other they are not going to like it.

What should we do next? Should we let them have small interactions or is it best to keep them separate until the Panacur has finished? They were very happy together before this and would like to spend an evening cuddling and washing each other. Before this, Arthur seemed to need Norman more than Norman needed him but in this case it seems to be Arthur who doesn't want to know his brother any more which is sad. Any advice would be gratefully received! Thanks.

 

[tonibun]

Boys do tend to fall out I am afraid, even when neutered. How old are they now?

 

[RT]

Boys do tend to fall out I am afraid, even when neutered. How old are they now?

We are not sure. Probably about 8 - 9 months at a guess.

 

[tonibun]

All you can do then is wait until the course of Panacur has finished and try them again in a neutral area. I suppose the course is for 9 days if it is just "ordinary" worms that they have so it isn't that long to wait. I personally wouldn't hold out much hope for a reconciliation, but you might be lucky.

 

[tulsi]

I got my two brothers back together after a few months apart (no sight, sound or smell of each other). I was advised to do it in the autumn/winter (spring/summer being a more hormonal time for them). They have been back together since october 2013 - with two bonded sisters added in at the same time just to add to the excitement.

 

[RT]

I got my two brothers back together after a few months apart (no sight, sound or smell of each other). I was advised to do it in the autumn/winter (spring/summer being a more hormonal time for them). They have been back together since october 2013 - with two bonded sisters added in at the same time just to add to the excitement.

Thanks for this as that is more encouraging than I had originally thought. If after the Panacur the situation is continuing, we will have to have a bit of a rearrange in the house so that they can be totally separated for a while. I really hope we can get them to bond again as they seemed to be so devoted to each other and its sad to think they now have to live apart. Funnily enough, we did think that Arthur would be more bothered by the situation as he seemed so dependant on Norman but he seems very pleased about having his own place whilst Norman is definitely more subdued than usual.

 

[tulsi]

I felt a right old meano keeping them as single rabbits for so long, they had also been devoted to each other. It has been so worth it.

Went out to feed them tonight and Frosty and Snowflake were sitting side by side in one of the litter trays eating together xxxxxxx Frosty always chases Snowflake at feed time but they settle down together within seconds. I really hope it works out well for your two.

 

[RT]

Thanks Tulsi.

I am after some more advice please. The boys have been in their separate hutches since Thursday but they can see each other. They have been coming out separately and we haven't had any thumping from either of them or any whining from Arthur since the weekend. When one of them is out, they go over to the other hutch and sniff the other rabbit and it all seems quite sweet. Lots of nose touching and nothing aggressive.

We make them swap houses every night but usually at some point in the changeover, Norman will try and chase Arthur. A couple of days ago, Arthur was terrified of him and would freak out but tonight he just hopped off like he used to (Norman would occasionally chase him but it never used to escalate into circling or a fight).

Also, this morning, Arthur came rushing out of his hutch at breakfast time and went over to Norman's house. I was worried what would happen but they sat sharing a portion of pellets quite happily and Arthur vibrated his tail a bit which I have seen him do in the past when Norman has been near him. However, after a while, Arthur decided he was a bit scared again and left.

They shared a bowl with pellets in it again this evening before I got Arthur in on his own again as Norman wanted to chase him and I am worried it could escalate. Sometimes I think the problem is that Norman wants to say hello, Arthur gets scared and then Norman feels rejected and so goes into aggressive mode. He seems to have been more bothered by their separation than Arthur when I had thought it would be the other way round.

Anyway, the Panacur ended yesterday and we were thinking of introducing them properly to each other tomorrow in the bathroom where they have never been. Its also a smaller area than where they currently are so I hope they don't immediately fight. At the moment, both of them are pooing everywhere in their current room (I will worry about tackling this another day!) so I guess territory issues are still quite significant to both of them.

What do people think of this approach? I was thinking of spending a couple of evenings in the bathroom with them and seeing how that goes. I don't want to attempt stress bonding stuff at this point but am I right to be hopeful of a rebond based on whats been happening during the past few days? Does this sound like a sensible approach?

Many thanks

 

[tonibun]

You will have to give it another go to find out if they will settle with each other. I can't say if the signs are favourable or un, the proof will be actually putting them together. Many vibes for a successful bonding.