Bun Sisters Suddenly Fighting

[indus49]

We have two female bunnies, Daisy & Dakota. Sisters, came from the same litter. About 4 1/2 months old, still unspayed. All of a sudden 2 days ago, Dakota started mounting Daisy and biting the fur on her back. Keep in mind... both girls! Daisy didn't take too kindly... and now she's fighting back.

Both are separated in their own cages, their own runs. Even though the cages are side by side, they barely acknowledge each other! This... after living, playing and snuggling together for months. What happened? I cannot put them together now without a fight breaking out. It's pretty terrible.

We are getting them spayed this month... but are unsure what to do until then... and after spaying if Dakota's aggressive tendencies don't subside.

Thanks any and all for help.

 

[SweetSassy]

I think getting them spayed will help. Then after their spay slowly try to re-bond them again.

 

[tonyshuman]

April's right. It's very hard to get two intact does to get along well, although it can be done. After a week of healing and another week to get all the hormones out of their systems, you can re-introduce them. I'd keep the cages near each other (but not touching so they can't bite each other through the bars) for now and throughout the healing process.

 

[murph72]

It's quite common for two does to mount each other. They're really looking to proclaim who is going to be the alpha female in the herd. Spaying them will likely get rid of the hormones that are causing the problem. Some unspayed females can also get over this in time as long as they are not hurting one another. How bad is the biting? Keep in mind that bucks will usually bite at the back of a doe when they are breeding...this is usual bunny behavior. There are even some does that insist on mounting the buck first before she'll be submissive to the doe. With hormonal rabbits you'll get this kind of behavior. If you planned on getting them spayed anyway, that's a good plan of action. The mounting, in and of itself, however, is quite normal for an unspayed female.

 

[tonyshuman]

Yeah, the bucks bite the does right at the nape of the neck. Mine would do this even though everybody's fixed. After time, the mounting is at a minimum and the biting is no more.