All rabbit owners please help??

Question

Hi all,

We bought 2 male dwarf rabbits 5 weeks ago. They are 15 weeks old now and have up till now got on famously. Recently they have been behaving oddly and I watched one of them bullying the other one tonight. He's also digging in the sawdust and trying to escape. He is jumping around and being very skitish. I've no idea what is wrong with them. The smaller quieter one who is being bullied seems to be crouching and hiding in the corner while the other is behaving very oddly. Whats happening ?? They were fine up till this week and I can't work it out. They have a good size cage and are let out for a run around. x

Answer 1

Hi!

Males can live together fine, but neutering is usually necessary because of hormonal and territorial issues.



Rabbits also enter a phase, the 'terrible teens' at about 4-5 months old when the hormones start kicking in and that little baby turns into a grunting, boxing, biting ball of fluff! They usually become very destructive during this time, so providing lots of toys to chew, throw around, toss, nudge etc. help.



I would separate them both, but have their cages near so they can still smell and see the other bunny before the fighting escalates, and with two hormonal boys it usually does. Neutering helps wonders to calm two boys down, and is key if you are looking to keep these two boys bonded.



How long have they not been eating?

Answer 2

Anytime you have two or more rabbits together, one will always be dominant. It may not always be the same one, as this can change.



Generally the one that is dominant will probably be the dominant one until some kind of event (ie fight) where the roles reverse. Without such an event, it is likely that the one that is dominant may remain as the dominant rabbit for a long time. Basically how this happens is over a period of time, the submissive rabbit gets enough courage or annoyed enough to fight back against the dominant rabbit and if he wins, he's dominant, else the other rabbit remains dominant.



Here's a site you might want to check out

http://www.rabbit.org/chapters/san-diego/behavior/

Answer 3

I agree with Iv. You do need to get the boys neutered. They may get a bit more agressive for a week or two while their hormones have a surge but should calm down. Separate them but keep them within site of eachother after their ops to keep them bonded. If, when you put them back in the same hutch, they fight, remove them again, then swap them into the others hutch/pen every day to 'force' them to accept eachothers smell. If this is proving difficult another way to ensure bonding ( and this sounds harsh but isn't) is to take them on a car journey to unsettle them. This unsettling usually results in them turning to each other for comfort, reinforcing their pre teen bond. Otherwise go to a rescue who can rebond on neutral territory for you usually for free or a small donation. Also get their teeth checked as this may be a cause of them going off their food .

Answer 4

Your rabbits are reaching maturity, and as a general rule, they don't like sharing their personal space with another rabbit. One rabbit per cage is a good rule to live by. Seperate them and see what happens.



As for the guy who claims to be a vet....I'd expect proper spelling and punctuation from a person with a college degree!!

Answer 5

Rabbits are very territorial and do not like sharing their allotted space with any other animal. However, if your two males are from the same litter, consider getting them castrated and they should live happily together. Neutering removes all behaviour problems such as mounting, agression and spraying. Sadly, if they are from different litters, you will continue to have problems even with neutering and the agression and dominance from one to the other will continue.

Answer 6

you cant have two males in the same cage together ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY ARE NOT SPAYED!!!they are going to eventually kill each other..only best choice you got is to get them spayed and put them in a seperate cage for a while.eventually intro them (if they get along you can put them together , if not they have tolive in a seperate cages).only reason why this happen now ( 15 weeks old) cos they are reaching the maturity age(teenage years) and need to be spayed.if you do nothing you'll end up with one dead bunny darl ...take it to the vet asap and get them both spayed

Answer 7

This is the wonderful start of bunny puberty. I'm not kidding either. I suggest you get them nuetered ASAP or you will experience far worse things like fighting and urine spraying. You can find a rabbit savvy vet at http://www.rabbit.org

Answer 8

Sounds like a dominance issue. You should try to keep them in separate cages so that they each have their own space.



You may also want to look into neutering your bunnies. It might calm them down a bit, plus it will help them live longer.

Answer 9

make sure and it is hard to tell that they are same sex if not separate they are trying to mate .if they are they same males they will fight and pick on the weaker one and again separate.usually two females do not fight any other combo does .once they mate the mama will have babies and they male will smell it and try to mate asap ! within minutes after giving birth yes it is nasty but that is what they do ..good luck

Answer 10

I suggest you have them both neutred if you want to keep them together.



Male rabbits just dont get on in the same hutch once they approach sexual maturity.



Good luck!

Answer 11

you can not keep two male rabbits together... now they are sexually mature they are competing as they would in the wild for dominance... they need to be castrated before they seriously hurt or kill each other..

Answer 12

2 male rabbits will fight, the only way to keep them together is to get one nutered

Answer 13

NEVER put two males in the same cage - ever! They fight with each other.

Answer 14

r u nuts!!!???u cant put 2males or females in one cage they r gonna kill each other!!!u should have bought 1male and one female get the one who is bullied out of the cage or he is gonna die.the other will calm down too.a bigger cage wont help it.they have been better before coz they waited until u will put away one of them.

Answer 15

just put them in seperate cages, maybe cuz they were young i dont know but its better if they are seperated. good luck

Answer 16

Just a guess but they could be from different litters.