Behaviour - natural communities/territoriality

[curiouscarrot]

Curiosity....

I can and will search online, but if anyone just knows and can save me the time (which I don't have at the moment and am not feeling well), how do bunnies organize themselves in their warrens? It seems a lot of effort to bond pet bunnies, what do they all do in their natural environment, are they always fighting and tearing each other to pieces or is it just because there's only 2 of them that they feel the need to fight? Do they fight for position? How much? Do they kill each other, or is it just a bit of a barney and the winner gets to be in charge?

Second question. My question about maybe adopting a third bunny made it seem that it might not be a good idea, she might not make friends and might even bust up the existing friendship. How territorial are they over terrain? Could another hutch with another pair sharing a common exercise area/run work (different times) or would they be stressed by the others having marked it and by knowing/smelling/hearing/whatever that there are other bunnies about?

Thanks.

 

[Zeroshero]

I don't have experience with "bonding" rabbits. We had several domestic rabbits running free in our backyard when we were kids and I don't recall ever observing them fighting. They had plenty of room to run and stay out of each others space. I do watch the wild rabbits in my neighborhood and they behave the same way. They have little "herds" (I don't even know what they are called LOL) that seem to be based on age. They are nearby each other but I don't ever seem them laying next to eachother. I believe a lot of the issues are due to space territory, I think of them a lot like little horses. If you put two pasture mates in a small pen opposed to a larger pasture the more dominate horse will move the other horse around, by kicking, biting, and chasing the other more often than they might if they were out. So basically what I am saying is, I imagine it would be more difficult to bond three rabbits without ample space. I am sure injuries would be eminent until they established their hierarchy which might be more stressful than its worth. I think that I'd they shared common areas separate they would be fine. I don't ever see a wild bun guarding a specific territory.


If that rambling makes any sense I hope it helps

 

[Azerane]

I think it is pretty much reasoning of space in the wild. If a dominant buck is beating up a younger buck, the younger buck isn't going to hang around and let himself get torn to pieces, he's going to move off and find his own space of land (put two bucks together in a hutch and it's a whole different story, the inferior buck doesn't have the opportunity to move away so has to keep fighting). It's been a while since I spent a lot of time watching wild rabbits, but from what I noticed at least around my grandparents farm, they tend to associate with one another, likely safety in numbers of eyes and ears watching for danger, but they aren't hugely social. They're a very successful animal and to be they have to make sure that they have enough for themselves to eat, enough places for themselves to hide, so providing there's plenty of food and plenty of space and hidey holes, there's not much reason to beat each other up (also, a rabbit that smells of blood or has been injured has little to no survival chance in the wild). In captivity, while there is plenty of food, space is of a premium and there's no predators to worry about so they can devote more time to hating on each other I should think it highly unlikely that wild rabbits would fight to the death, while it may happen, the winning rabbit still risks getting him or herself seriously injured in the process which would not be beneficial.

As for pet rabbits, if you happen to get a third and you use the same play space for both the pair and the individual, it shouldn't be a problem. They may spend a bit of time sniffing and chinning things, and will possibly spread more poops and maybe pee where they shouldn't. But once they get used to the routine and used to the third rabbit's smell I should think that would decrease a little. Some rabbits may get jealous knowing that another rabbit is out in their run space and might shake at the bars a bit, but they're not going to hate you for it

 

[curiouscarrot]

Thanks for the replies. Yes, that makes sense. It's very interesting. They aren't really how they look, all cute and sweet, there's a lot going on there, behaviour-wise.