Bonding

[Jems]

We have Pappy and Snowball who are a bondedpair. They live together in a cage and are quitehappy. I now have Buggles who is currently living with theguina pig. THe rabbits all get thier out time at the sametime and they don't pay much attention to each other. If Iput Buggles in the cage with Pappy and Snowball they all run around thecage in a circle somebut they don't fight. There issome -ah hum-humping going on back and forth-heads, butts- they don'tcare. Are Pappy and Snowball accepting Buggles or how do Itell if they don't want her there? I don't leave themunattended to be safe but would like to have them all be budseventually if possible.

Will rabbits actually fight if they don't want/like another or arethere other things they do to signal thier dislike?

Thanks

Jen

 

[Buck Jones]

Jems wrote:

...Will rabbits actually fight if they don't want/likeanother or are there other things they do to signal thierdislike?

Rabbits will most certainly fight if they don't like one another andthere is no mistaking it! Fur will fly, bites will occur, aswell as scratching, deeply enough to causebleeding. Sometimes, they will "lock" together in acombattant manner that appears like a rolling, exploding ballof fur.

Other signs of aggressioninclude tense posture,with head projecting forward, ears down, rear end elevated to a higherlevel than thefront shoulders and head. Angryrabbits may also exhibit rapid digging motions as a kind ofdisplacement activity and/or a nonverbal "signal" of potentialaggression. Chasing a subordinate rabbit mightbeanother sign of attempting to establish dominance and couldlead to fighting in the rabbit being chased stops and holds its ground.

We have always viewed mutual grooming as an indicator of bondingsuccess. Once that begins, we allow the buns to be togetherin the same cage for graduallylonger periods oftime. After a day together without any aggressive posturing,we leave them together over night, but close enough to hear if anythinggoes amiss. A successful overnight together and we considerthem to have effectively and successfully bonded.

For further reading regarding bunny behavior, link to:http://www.muridae.com/rabbits/rabbittalk.html

Buck

 

[LuvaBun]

Rabbits will certainly fight if theydon't want to be around each other, but it sounds as if your three arestarting to accept one another. As my two bunnies bonded very quickly,I can't give much advice on introducing a third, but there are severalon here who can, and hopefully they will be able to help._ Jan