Urgent help please!

Hi everyone, a little info, our rabbits sandi and dani are 5 months, sandi was humping dani so I had the rabbits spayed yesterday. We kept them inside last night and they were fine. This morning I went downstairs and sandi was cowering in the corner, dani then humped her a lot more vigorously than sandi was humping her before the spay. I separated them for an hour and then put dani back in, straight away she was humping her again so once again I've separated them. They're inside in a run not their usual outside hutch and pen combination.

I'm just asking what to do really? Keep them apart for a few days or will that not help? Just keep them together and let it wear off? Would I put sandi (the one being humped) in their normal run and leave dani inside for another day or two or vice versa?

Thank you,
James

It might be best to keep them physically separated at this stage, although if you can still keep them nearby to each other (neighbouring cages or similar) it can be helpful. Due to the fact that they hadn't reached their hormonal phase yet, they weren't truly bonded. In a week or two when they're starting to heal up you could probably begin introductions again, although it can take up to a month for hormones to leave the system completely which can still cause issues.

Thanks, I've separated them and have put one outside and kept the other one inside, I'll do this for a week or so and then try and introduce them again and see how they are.

James

I would also keep them separate for several days, but keep them in cages next to each other. They both just had a major surgery and I would be concerned that the humping could risk injury to their incisions. And if you keep them in cages next to each other, it should make it easier to put them back together in a few days. Completely removing them from each others sight, could make it more difficult rebonding them. You may only need to give them a few days, and try them back together to see if they have settled down yet. If not, give it a few more days. Another reason to keep them next to each other, is that if they are used to being together, completely separating them can actually cause some rabbits to get depressed from the loss of their companion, which can affect their health.

This has gone badly. We just tried them again in a neutral environment and dani was literally attacking sandi. I hunk we are going to give one to my fiances dad, that way we can still see them both but I can't handle them fighting and leaving them together is too stressful as sandi is petrified. Thanks for all your help guys and girls

You need to keep them separate for a few weeks and just give them time to settle down. They are going to be feeling off since the spay surgery, which can sometimes cause a rabbit to exhibit uncharacteristic aggressive behavior. They can also have a surge of hormones that occurs post spay, that can also cause increased behavioral issues. So they just need a few weeks to settle back down and start feeling better. Don't attempt any bonding during that time, and if you have them in cages next to each other and they are acting aggressively, then it would be better to keep them in separate areas with no contact. Then you could try to see how they respond to each other after 2-4 weeks. It's really too early to give up on them bonding, just based on what their behavior has been so soon after their surgery.

We went and got another hutch today. They're opposite each other about 20 feet away to maintain visual contact but no more. We will try them in around a month

Thanks for your help as always, we hope they can be friends once again

James

Here's a few pictures of them from a couple of months ago

They're very cute Wishing you all the best for when it's time to try introductions again. When you do, use a completely neutral area that neither bunny has been in before, such as a bathroom or laundry.