thanotoriousbun
Member
hey there- hoping for advice here, I know it's hard to say what a best to do as all buns are unique but I am pretty desperate atm. I know this is a long post but if you do make it through the whole thing I would love all the help I can get!
going to try to be as concise as possible:
Background: I have a pair of bunny brothers, adopted together at age 6 weeks. they were super tight as babies (as I know usually is the case). Around 11 weeks a few issues started- one bro developed a barbering habit for the other and both were attempting to mount and it became so problematic that we checked in with vet and determined they were ready to be neutered, though it was on the early end of spectrum for doing so. Did that at 12 weeks and following it we let them heal and kept them apart for about a week but tried to reintroduce them to the same area. Mounting continued and it started to escalate to low key fights, so we separated them. I know hormones can take a month or so to stabilize, so we chalked it up to that. Put them in adjacent pens right next to each other so they could see/smell each other and it has been problem free. We have occassionally put them together on our bed or somewhere else neutral and they get along quite well, however the barbering rabbit still does this to the other; his brother does not mind but it is obviously an issue, mostly because of the hair ingestion. So they have remained in their separate but adjoining pens.
Which brings me to last night- I decided I wanted to try letting them be together (in a new, neutral space) while being closely monitored. They were doing well, barbering was happening once in a while but again the other rabbit is not bothered by this and clearly was enjoying the grooming in general. Gave them greens to eat, they happily munched away together side by side. Then some mounting started. I have read that this should be allowed, and we did at first, but it became too tense and they started to get a touch combative. So we redirected them, and they got over it. Suddenly I see them starting to circle/chase a bit and in an instant they were full on fighting. My bf and I rushed and pulled them apart, and in the frenzy/confusion of doing that, barbering rabbit absolutely bit the hell out of my arm. I was beyond shocked and traumatized, mostly thinking of him biting his brother that hard (as that was his intent).
I'm now just at a loss for how to make this work. I can't bear the prospect of them having to remain separate forever, it breaks my heart. But I don't want them to mame or even kill each other
Does the fact that it got this far mean they can never be bonded, or is there hope?
Thank you so much for reading, and for any help that can be given!
going to try to be as concise as possible:
Background: I have a pair of bunny brothers, adopted together at age 6 weeks. they were super tight as babies (as I know usually is the case). Around 11 weeks a few issues started- one bro developed a barbering habit for the other and both were attempting to mount and it became so problematic that we checked in with vet and determined they were ready to be neutered, though it was on the early end of spectrum for doing so. Did that at 12 weeks and following it we let them heal and kept them apart for about a week but tried to reintroduce them to the same area. Mounting continued and it started to escalate to low key fights, so we separated them. I know hormones can take a month or so to stabilize, so we chalked it up to that. Put them in adjacent pens right next to each other so they could see/smell each other and it has been problem free. We have occassionally put them together on our bed or somewhere else neutral and they get along quite well, however the barbering rabbit still does this to the other; his brother does not mind but it is obviously an issue, mostly because of the hair ingestion. So they have remained in their separate but adjoining pens.
Which brings me to last night- I decided I wanted to try letting them be together (in a new, neutral space) while being closely monitored. They were doing well, barbering was happening once in a while but again the other rabbit is not bothered by this and clearly was enjoying the grooming in general. Gave them greens to eat, they happily munched away together side by side. Then some mounting started. I have read that this should be allowed, and we did at first, but it became too tense and they started to get a touch combative. So we redirected them, and they got over it. Suddenly I see them starting to circle/chase a bit and in an instant they were full on fighting. My bf and I rushed and pulled them apart, and in the frenzy/confusion of doing that, barbering rabbit absolutely bit the hell out of my arm. I was beyond shocked and traumatized, mostly thinking of him biting his brother that hard (as that was his intent).
I'm now just at a loss for how to make this work. I can't bear the prospect of them having to remain separate forever, it breaks my heart. But I don't want them to mame or even kill each other
Does the fact that it got this far mean they can never be bonded, or is there hope?Thank you so much for reading, and for any help that can be given!
