Bunny bleeding!

[BethBunny]

Hi I just joined. We have two bunnies that we got in April 2019 from a local farm auction. They live in a hutch which is inside the garage for the winter but outside in their hutch in a fenced yard the rest of the year. My oldest left the hutch lid open this morning and one bunny escaped when my husband opened the garage. We discovered him out front an hour later! He was covered in dirt but seemed ok. My daughter checked on him a little later and he had blood on his back side on back above tail. and a bit on his nose. We took him out back and looked him over better and watched him hop. He seemed fine!

we put him back and the other bunny started climbing on him and appeared to be licking him I wasn’t sure if he was trying to bite him?? I picked up the other bunny to separate them and discovered he had blood in his private area?? I was very confused. Now I am wondering is the blood on the escape bunny was from the other bunny and if so what is wrong!! Please any help or suggestions? We do not have a formal vet for our bunnies but do a vet for our two cats. Thank you so much!!

 

[JBun]

I am presuming your rabbits haven't been spayed/neutered and properly bonded? If not or even if so, if they are fighting, they need to be immediately separated as rabbits can cause serious, even fatal injuries, particularly if they are both unneutered male rabbits. And they will need to be kept separate for now.

Then you need to do a thorough check of both rabbits. If there are serious injuries then you will need to try and find a vet that is open today, that treats rabbits. If there are only minor injuries but ones that will still require vet attention, I would make sure the wounds are cleaned up as best you can, and call an experienced rabbit vet first thing tomorrow. You will need a vet that is specifically trained to treat rabbits. If you don't know how to properly clean the wounds or how to clean up a rabbit correctly, make sure to ask or research, as bathing rabbits isn't recommended and can sometimes cause serious injury or even death.
https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/

If your rabbits are not spayed/neutered, in order to be able to bond them later, they will both need to be fixed, wait 4-8 weeks for hormones to fade, then go through the bonding process. But even then there is no guarantee they will rebond, especially after having had a serious fight. I would suggest thoroughly researching the bonding process before you attempt it, as bonding can sometimes be a very complicated process, depending on the rabbits involved.
http://www.saveabunny.org/rabbitcare/bonding-guide
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Bonding_rabbits_together
https://www.cottontails-rescue.org.uk/information/bonding-bunnies/

 

[Preitler]

There isn't too much actual info in your post, so I'm just fishing in murky waters:

You've got two males, right? None neutered.

It could be that that escape tipped over a kind of stalemate about dominance, and returning the one triggered a fight. Unlike does bucks tend to fight for real damage from one instant to the next, they can grow up together and seem peaceful, until something snaps. I keep bucklings together up to 5-6 months, there might be some tensions now and then but it was only once in 7 years that the mood snapped and I had to cull 3 out of 6 right away when I got home from work, it was a bloody mess.

If I'm correct, and you have two intact males - or whatever if they did fight, seperate them right away! In nature one would drive the other away, doesn't work in captivity, so it can get ugly real fast.

About the injuries, in an all out fight they try to rip open their oponents belly with their hind claws, so check their whole underside. Genitals and testicles protrude somewhat, so that a claw can engage there.
If it was just humping and biting, the injuries would be on the back.

 

[BethBunny]

Thank you, JBun! This is helpful. Yes they are unneutered males. The one bunny seems uninjured (The escapee ) just covered in now drying blood. The other bunny has blood in its genital area. How do we tell if it is a serious injury?
We have separated the bunnies on the top and lower level of the hutch. Thank you so much!

 

[BethBunny]

Thank you! This information is helpful. Yes two males. Together since we bought them. Not neutered. We have separated them and are keeping an eye on them!
Thank you so much!