I have two bunnies (about 4-5 months) who were well bonded but twice now, my female has attacked my male, but only at night. I separated them and hesitantly introduced them again the following morning and they were fine. They cuddle and groom each other but once night hits, I’ll wake up at 6 in the morning by the sound of her going after him. He has a small gash on his side now. Not sure what this could be and what to do? Thanks.
My Bonded Rabbits Suddenly Fight at Night?
- Thread starter apryl
- Start date
Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:
Hi, I understand that you have two rabbits, male and female and they are 4-5 months now and housed together.
Is any of them neutered? I suspect that they are both still intact because normally vets taking rabbits for neutering from 4,5-6 months old.
If so, rabbits under 4 months are still babies and babies will just get along with every other bunny, after 4 months (it depends on breed and personality, can be 5 months or 7 months, can be 3,5 months) they are entering their hormonal phase, they become sexually active and can start fighting for dominance, humping, circling are also signs of that they should be separated.
In your case, if you are sure that you have one male and one female, and your female suddenly started attacking your male, it means most likely that your female got pregnant and she cant accept any sexual interaction until she gives birth. So she will keep attacking him to protect herself, because he's young and sexually active male and he will keep trying to mate with her, and she can't let him do it because she is pregnant and protective, so if he will keep chasing her for sex she will keep attacking him and can damage him really badly, especially genitalia.
So you need to separate them not for one night but completely separate so they can't see and smell each other, otherwise they both can become very stressed.
Male can be neutered straight away (you still have to keep him separately 8 weeks after neutering because he will still be hormonal), female can be neutered (spayed) after she will stop nursing.
So if she started attacking him just recently it means that she will have babies around 21-22 of August, then she will be nursing for 8 weeks so you can schedule her for neutering for the end of October. Then you will have to wait another 4 weeks after her surgery and then you can reintroduce them as completely new rabbits and it is important that you do it in a neutral territory.
They were not bonded in fact since baby bond doesn't count, they are young adult now and they can't be kept together just like this, female rabbit can get pregnant when she is 14 weeks old. It is also possible that she will have babies earlier than I said above, in case you just didn't pay attention earlier and only noticed those signs now.
So, separate them now and start preparing everything for the babies, she can have between 1 and 14, as I said above it could be around 20-22 August.
Is any of them neutered? I suspect that they are both still intact because normally vets taking rabbits for neutering from 4,5-6 months old.
If so, rabbits under 4 months are still babies and babies will just get along with every other bunny, after 4 months (it depends on breed and personality, can be 5 months or 7 months, can be 3,5 months) they are entering their hormonal phase, they become sexually active and can start fighting for dominance, humping, circling are also signs of that they should be separated.
In your case, if you are sure that you have one male and one female, and your female suddenly started attacking your male, it means most likely that your female got pregnant and she cant accept any sexual interaction until she gives birth. So she will keep attacking him to protect herself, because he's young and sexually active male and he will keep trying to mate with her, and she can't let him do it because she is pregnant and protective, so if he will keep chasing her for sex she will keep attacking him and can damage him really badly, especially genitalia.
So you need to separate them not for one night but completely separate so they can't see and smell each other, otherwise they both can become very stressed.
Male can be neutered straight away (you still have to keep him separately 8 weeks after neutering because he will still be hormonal), female can be neutered (spayed) after she will stop nursing.
So if she started attacking him just recently it means that she will have babies around 21-22 of August, then she will be nursing for 8 weeks so you can schedule her for neutering for the end of October. Then you will have to wait another 4 weeks after her surgery and then you can reintroduce them as completely new rabbits and it is important that you do it in a neutral territory.
They were not bonded in fact since baby bond doesn't count, they are young adult now and they can't be kept together just like this, female rabbit can get pregnant when she is 14 weeks old. It is also possible that she will have babies earlier than I said above, in case you just didn't pay attention earlier and only noticed those signs now.
So, separate them now and start preparing everything for the babies, she can have between 1 and 14, as I said above it could be around 20-22 August.
Last edited:
Another option is to have her vet-checked to see if she is pregnant. If she is, you could have an emergency spay performed so that you won't have to deal with having multiple cages to separate the babies and then finding homes for all of them (not to mention any extra medical expenses if things don't go well with the pregnancy or the kits).
It’s just strange, I’m usually always in the room with them and I have never seen/heard any humping. I’ve seen it with my previous rabbits but never with these two. The boy is younger than my female by a few weeks possibly and he is VERY submissive. Is there another possibility other than a pregnancy?
The other possibility is that they are fighting because they are hormonal (even if they are both the same sex). In either case they will need to be separated. Once they are both fixed and have had time to heal, they can be re-introduced to see if they will bond.
It's nothing strange actually, should be expected. If not pregnant they are growing and becoming teenagers anyways, so if she is a bit older, she becomes hormonal and territorial, maybe he is still like a baby and not trying to mate with her, so she is hormonal and wants to be mated but he's still passive and she gets angry, that' why she keeps attacking him. In this case she maybe still isn't pregnant because he never tried, but if you leave them together he is going to change a lot in the next few weeks, again, it is very individual.
Thank you! Do you have any idea why it only happens at night, though?
6 in the morning isn't night for them, it's one of their most active times. Even my athritic boy gets amorous ideas and pesters his spayed cuddlebun at this time, but she just hops away or goes on the windowsill where he cant follow.
I can't say really it depends on your rabbits. I have a bonded pair, they are both 11 months now, female a couple weeks younger than male, male is neutered long time ago in November and they bonded since February. They love each other and groom each other and all, but then suddenly she can start chasing him, love bites a little humping and all that, but only takes a few minutes and she grooms him again washes his eyes he loves it. And he is a very calm rabbit so he tolerates it, I wouldn't say he likes it but she's only become so sexy once in a while, maybe once a month for a couple days. I know I have to spay her as well so they will be happier together, but I was naive I thought if one of them is neutered that would be enough because they can't have babies. Wrong. Nature calls and females get horny.
Diane R
Well-Known Member
Find a good rabbit vet and have them both neutered right away.
