Territoriality outdoors

[curiouscarrot]

I have 2 pairs of rabbits. One pair is in a chicken hutch/run at the moment and I let them out today as a bit of an experiment to see what they'd do (one of them had started a tunnel to china in the run so it was a bit of a disaster-area). They stayed quite close to their "house" and went back in by themselves. They seemed quite relaxed and didn't take off/hide. It got me thinking that they might be able to free-range in the backyard sometimes.

Is rabbits' territoriality related to their house, or do they just fight any bunnies they come across? Would it be possible to let both pairs out at the same time? (I wouldn't let them out if I wasn't there, so letting everybody out at once would increase their time out)

I have an enormous backyard (it's a triplex block).

thanks.

 

[Akzholedent]

I know my Ellie comes after anyone who comes close to her house, be it human, dog or chicken, so I presume she wouldn't be keen on another rabbit either. I'm hoping she chills out when I get her spayed next week, because yeesh, she can be a piece of work! (But she is cute... so the scratches make it worth the effort it takes to feed her. Lol)

 

[Watermelons]

Doesn't sound like a good idea at all.
Yes fights can break out, and over the silliest things. If you have a bonded pair you can even break their bond by introducing new rabbits
Are they all spayed/neutered?
Do you have predator netting above your entire back yard?
How deep do the fences for your yard go to prevent anyone from escaping under them?

 

[curiouscarrot]

I'm not planning on introducing them, just asking whether, if they came across each other "in the wild" (so to speak), they would fight, or whether fights are "territory based".

They are all neutered. I'm in the suburbs, there aren't the type of predators you get in country areas (or perhaps in suburbs in the US). It's not uncommon for bunnies to have the free range of a backyard here. The question is whether they'd brawl if they met somebody else otherwise than on their "home turf". How territorial are rabbits, do they maraud around trying to claim more "property" or is is a defensive territoriality, where they protect their burrow and food sources?

 

[Watermelons]

Allowing them to come into contact with each other is the same thing....
You can still break bonds of all ready paired rabbits by introducing newn ones. Nobody can predict if they will try and kill each other. Their rabbits and sometimes it has nothing to do with territory, its just another rabbit.

And plenty of predators exist in the "big city" that are a serious danger to rabbit. Just because others do something stupid, does that mean you have to follow? Do whats right by your rabbit and keep them protected.

 

[curiouscarrot]

Their rabbits and sometimes it has nothing to do with territory, its just another rabbit.

I'm trying to learn about rabbit behaviour. Are you saying that rabbits just have directed aggression for no reason?

And plenty of predators exist in the "big city"

We're not talking about the "big city", we are talking about my location, specifically.

keep them protected.

Did you miss the bit about not leaving them unsupervised? In any case, I haven't decided to let anybody run rampant, I am just looking to learn more about rabbits and how they behave.

Does anybody have any links to info about rabbit behaviour in relation to socialisation/territory etc. ? Maybe David Attenborough has done a "story" showing a rabbit "family". I must have a search online.

 

[Akzholedent]

I wouldn't say all rabbits "attack first, ask questions later." My rabbit Rascal was the most chill, relaxed rabbit ever. We also had four males who lived together all their lives, and got along great.

Some rabbits do flip out and just are ticked off all the time for seemingly no reason. Just like that cranky neighbor down the road. ;-)

My rabbits used to play "tag" with our chickens, so I don't know that they try to claim more "property". I'd say it's more of a defensive thing.

 

[curiouscarrot]

Thanks, yes, I'm sure there's an element of personality involved. I'd read about cats and it's interesting how they "sort themselves out" when it comes to territory. Someone might be very territorial and want the whole neighbourhood to be theirs and others are quite happy to let them. Others fight about it until it's sorted as to who has what and who is allowed to go where....

The thing is that in cats, as far as I understand it, it's determined by scent marking and obviously it applies to "outdoor cats". Indoor cats won't have marked the outside to let everyone know it's "theirs".

I'm just interested to find out what rabbits do. Wild rabbits (in Australia) must have restricted territory, or be constantly brawling, because they are everywhere... (out in the bush, that is). The main focus of any Department of Agriculture material would be how to get rid of them, not how to keep them happy in a pet setting.

 

[Watermelons]

We have huge amounts of domestic rabbits on the loose here. Their all ferrel. In massive areas they tend to stick to themselves and typically kick each others butts when they get too close. They can usually get along long enough for feeding time (a mini car dealer i pass on my drive to work puts water bowls down and bows of who knows what for the ones on their property) but there is a bun y in charge and there are some that are never allowed near that area. Somebodys always chasing somebody. And theres usually a good 30ft between each bunny when their grazing. Save for a few you can pick out that are pretty well bonded.
Rabbits can be total turds. There is zero guarantee anyone will get along. There is a decent chance you can break a bonded pair by allowing contact with other rabbits. And there is a decent chance 1 or more may end up with some injuries. Or it could be fine.

The ones ive been able to get near and pet, always had injuries from other rabbits. I had to chase a pair off the buddy at work one day who wouldnt leave him alone. Entire property and they kept hounding the poor guy

 

[curiouscarrot]

There is a decent chance you can break a bonded pair by allowing contact with other rabbits.

It's such a shame that they all can't "chum up" or at least be trusted not to get "aggro" with each other. They'll each have a reasonable sized house and run each when I put up their new houses, but it's still a confined area. They are quite sweet as individuals (well, 2 of them are ), it's a shame they couldn't be a group because then they could have more room to run about in. There's lots of lovely weeds for them to eat if they could have loose play time.....

 

[Watermelons]

My 2 are a bonded pair. Any time ive brought another rabbit into the house be it to borrow for the day or whatever reason... they are housed seperately and cant see each other..... 30 ft apart in the rec room.... my 2 loose their ****. Their cage gets destroyed. Bedding hay and litter everywhere. I cant imagine what would happen if they could see the other rabbit (who is always unphased bu their stupidity) or interact with it.

We had a bunny christmas party and my 2 were chasing away Mikey, sas's flemmie and Emilys rabbit a ND. My guys are a whopping 3lbs.
Rabbits are turds.

Heres a video of one of the rabbits at work.
http://youtu.be/dEbRmDGZ6gk
Somewhere in the video i play with his ear and you can see the hole in it. He also had numerous scratch marks on his body and ear you cant see.

Either way no matter what you decide you need to be aware of the issues that could occur. And be prepared for the worst.

 

[curiouscarrot]

My guys are a whopping 3lbs.

I'm not sure what she weighs, but my big girl is huge. Her "boyfriend" is only little though (he's a netherland dwarf). The hutch they came with has a separate floor for each bunny, I'd have to put them out in the run for their together time. Now they are together in the chicken house/run. Interestingly, when they first moved in there, he chased her around. She just ran away, she didn't fight him or anything. (I've no idea why he was chasing her, he's got his "bits off" so it wouldn't have worked out )

He seems quite "grumpy" at times. The way he flings his veges aside at dinner time is hilarious.

When they were still in their old hutch, they were quite close to my other bunnies, but probably couldn't see them because they were higher. Hilda (the whopper bun) did see them up close when I was letting them out on the patio. Nobody seemed upset by it though.