2 males

[moneybunnies]

i have 2 male rabbits i bought almost a year ago.they were very close and never left each others side, well now theycant be near each other, they fight all the time and wont go into therecage at night any more. is there any way 2 male rabbits can learn tolive together again? i leave them out all night now cause when they dogo in im afraid one will be dead when i come out in the morning.eitherway im afraid im gonna lose a rabbit. is there any hope?

 

[pamnock]

This sometimes happens when they reach sexualmaturity. Neutering may help. If both are veryaggressive "alpha" males, they may never bond. They caninflict severe injury on each other (I've heard of cases of testiclesand even tummies being ripped wide open), so I would not take a chanceby leaving them together.

Pam

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

My baby boys have been seperated due to fighting.They were getting pretty vicious and pulling ahir everywhere! And theywere bonded before, I would not advise leaving them together. Andfixing them may not help as both my boys started fighting roughly 5months after they were fixed. It's best to house them seperatly.

 

[Buck Jones]

Most successful bonding of rabbits occurs betweenmale and female, followed by female to female, and lastly, male tomale, in that descending rank order of success. Some malesmay bond with other males, but the probabilty is much less than theother two combinations.

We have had bonded heterosexual bunny couples for years, now.One of the best sites for bonding information, in my estimation, ishttp://www.mybunnies.com/bonding.htm

Certainly worth a look, and it may give you some help, and/or help.

Buck

 

[batbunny]

well, im new to the wonderful world ofbuns, im sure that the experts on this forum can help you out. idoknow that there are often are problems with same-sexcouples, especially in males. also, i understand that buns are veryterritorial.as for it taking a year for them to develop this animositytowards one another,hormones have quite a bit to do with aggression& whatnot.now thattheyvegrown,their hormone levels are probably up.are theyneutered?it would probably be a good idea to get them intoseperate cages, near one another so that theyre not lonely &let them have playtime together.

 

[batbunny]

guess they beat me to it.

 

[moneybunnies]

thanks for the info. but do you think its ok tokeep them out all night ? they live in my back yard.( the cage was handbuilt by my husband, it stands 5 ft tall, im afraid wildlife might getthem)

 

[Carolyn]

Hi Moneybunnies,

If the cage is outdoors, it needs to be protected by the elements(shade from the sun, wind,cold temperatures,andrain), and predators. A fence will not only helpkeep your rabbits in, but predators out. (Fence should beburied in the ground a bit so that the rabbit can't easily dig and getunder it.) A hutch at eye-level adds more protection for yourrabbit as well as ease for you to check on them, feed them,etc.

I'd definitely separate the two boys. It will stress therabbits if they're constantly fighting and too much stress can cause aheartattack even if they don't fight to the death first.Rabbits will fight until they're tired. Once they regaintheir strength again, if they feel they haven't adequately solved theproblem, they'll go back to fighting.

-Carolyn

 

[moneybunnies]

my yard has a wall around it but wildlife does getin once in a while. are there certain animals that would eat or hurt myrabbits? the cage they have gives plenty of shade, but they wont go inat least one wont. please help!:?

 

[Carolyn]

Hi MoneyBunnies,

Actually, the easier question would be what animals don't attackrabbits? Since they're the lowest of the food chain, there aren't manyanimals that won't attack a rabbit. Birds, fox, cats, dogs, you nameit. If the animal will eat meat, it will attack a rabbit.

To entice your rabbit to go in the cage, put the food in there. You canwait until it'd dinner time and then show him you have food in yourhand and slowly walk him over to the cage until he jumps in and getsthe food. It'd be the only place I'd place the pellets if you want themto get into the habit of eating in there.

-Carolyn

 

[moneybunnies]

i only feed my bunnies at night, so they will gointo there cage but since they do nothing but fight in there one bunnywont go in.thats the only reason i leave them out now. id hate to seeone dead in the cage cause he couldnt get away.

they seem to be doing good but its only been 2 nights.

 

[Carolyn]

If you keep housing the two males together, you Will wake up to a deador nearly-dead rabbit in the cage. If you care about the two of them,which I'm sure you do, SEPARATE them IMMEDIATELY. Right Now! This hasgone on long enough. The weaker one must be completely stressed whenit's night time. That's probably the one who doesn't want to enter 'thelion's den' at night. Poor little guy. Would you want to have to fightfor your life night after night? You're worried about predators; thembeing together is like one predator on prey.

Don't let these rabbits stay in the same cage another night. Even if you have to put one in the bathroom for the night.

They're going to hurt each other at the very least, then there's bacterial worries, infections, etc.

Stop delaying. One more night could be their last and I'm sorry tosound cruel, but do you want their blood on your hands? It's unfair andirresponsible to keep putting them together. They aren't going tomagically get along. They're two males fighting for their 'warren',territory, control, and power.

If you have to find a breeder in your area, I'm sure one of them wouldbe willing to lend you a cage if they have one until you're able to getone yourself, or a shelter would, or just buy a portable animalcarrier. You're really playing with fire, and the death or severeinjury can be avoided by You.

-Carolyn