What is with them today?!!!??!?!?!?!

[LuvMyRabbits]

Ok so I'm new to all this rabbit stuff..have had my 2 bunnies for about a month now, maybe a little longer..I took them to a vet to have them sexed since we bought them both and the store wasnt sure of the sex ( at that time I wasnt aware of the Rabbit Rescues I see on this site or I would have taken that route rather than purchasing them from a pet store )Sothe vet tells us that they are both female and both around 6months old..We were going to get them fixed but then decided against it because the vet told us that rabbits have a hard time with any type of procedure because they are prey animals and there is a high risk that they may die during the procedure :cry1:Well since they are both females and there is no risk of pregnancy we decided that the risk was not worth it...They get along great and have only had one incident when we very first got them where they got into a little fight and I broke it up and it was over..no one was hurt..just a little bit of fur pulled out..from that point Spirit was the dominant one and Shadow was the submissive one..Ok so this morning per usual I let them out of their cages ( which sit side by side ) They both go to the veggies I put out for them just like normal..then Shadow ( the mini lop usually submissive one ) procedes to mount Spirit and pull little tuffs of her fur out..then they start going in this circle over and over ( and that is how the fight started that first time ) so I make them stop going in the circle and Shadow goes right back over and does the same thing mounts Spirit and pulls her fur out...Spirit is just laying there so I'm not thinking it hurt her but I'm not going to allow Shadow to pull her fur out thats just not going to happen....This has been going on since 9am...I have even put Shadow in her cage for a "time out" for 10 minutes since I'm unsure what else to do since me taking her off of her isnt working...but the time out didnt work either...So that was going on since 9am this morning same thing over and over :XSpirit only lost a few tuffs of fur but thats still to much as far as I'm concerned...A few times after they did the circle thing Spirit mounted Shadow but mostly it was Shadow mounting Spirit...Can anyone tell me whats going on with these ladies? I wouldnt want to see either of them hurt..Now they are laying on the floor side by side like they usually do..like nothing even happened :expressionless...thanks for your help =)

 

[paul2641]

Hormones are just coming in I would say if they are only starting to hump each other, I am guessing they are a little younger then the store let on maybe going on 4 and a half months, As that's when hormones really start, I would expect if they were 6 months when you got them they would have been instantly humping each other, And If I was you I would be getting them spayed asap go to a different vet as the one you where at wasn't to confident about the procedure I have had 4 rabbits altered including 2 females none of them received pain medication and they all pulled through, So once you find a vet you are confident with spaying your two females do it, Also there is an 80% of unspayed female of getting uterine cancer under 4 years just not worth it to risk loosing your buns because you didn't get them spayed.

 

[Happi Bun]

Don't take this personally, but your vet doesn't know what he's talking about. While there is always some risk when doing surgery on any animal (even human), spaying and neutering rabbits has become very popular. For good reason too, with females it eliminates the chance of reproductive cancers and can make them drastically calmer and more pleasant. The same can be said for neutering males, though for neutering there is not as many health benefits.

If your vet is not familiar nor feels confident in spaying/neutering rabbits then I would seriously start looking for a more experienced and rabbit savvy vet. I say this because all the rabbit's that come through the rescue I volunteer at get altered and a rare few don't survive due to underlying health issues. It's an extremely small percentage compared to the number of rabbits that survive and go on to live happy lives.

 

[LuvMyRabbits]

I am looking in my Yellow pages for a vet more familiar with rabbits...the way the vet made it sound they were doomed and with how I am towards animals I wouldnt be able to stand myself if anything were to happen to either of them...So were thinking its a hormonal thing??:?They took a break for awhile and just layed next to each other but now they are back at it again..except this time its Spirit Mounting Shadow..My god they just keep going in circles!!!I feel so bad that I could have prevented this by fixing them 2weeks ago

 

[crystal]

try not to blame yourself. you did your best with the info the vet gave you. and you didn't want to hurt them, there is no shame in that!

like other people have said, ask some different vets. make sure they have done the procedure lots of times before and with good success. I'm in the process of doing the same thing...

I'm pretty new to the rabbit thing as well, but maybe you need to keep them separate to prevent injury until they have been spayed... what do other people think?

 

[NorthernAutumn]

You've got two does in the throes of hormone driven rage. Each wants to be top dog in the relationship, hence the crazy humping. Remove the hormones, and they will likely become more polite with eachother

I would personally construct 2 separate kennels for the time being. If possible, build it out of NIC storage cubes and zipties so that they can lay up against eachother through the wire for comfort. Would hate for a serious fight to break out out of hormonal frustration... very $$$ in vet bills, not to mention dangerous.

Then, phone the vet ASAP, and have them both done on the same day. This will make them both stink like vet office, and the "ill" signals that they transmit to eachother will not likely prompt aggression (as both will feel lousy).

I had my 2 pound doe spayed, and there has been an incredible difference in temperment over the last 6 months. She was very snappish and fearful before, with little hormone driven tantrums. Cool as a cucumber now

 

[LuvMyRabbits]

NorthernAutumn wrote:

You've got two does in the throes of hormone driven rage. Each wants to be top dog in the relationship, hence the crazy humping. Remove the hormones, and they will likely become more polite with eachother

I would personally construct 2 separate kennels for the time being. If possible, build it out of NIC storage cubes and zipties so that they can lay up against eachother through the wire for comfort. Would hate for a serious fight to break out out of hormonal frustration... very $$$ in vet bills, not to mention dangerous.

Then, phone the vet ASAP, and have them both done on the same day. This will make them both stink like vet office, and the "ill" signals that they transmit to eachother will not likely prompt aggression (as both will feel lousy).

I had my 2 pound doe spayed, and there has been an incredible difference in temperment over the last 6 months. She was very snappish and fearful before, with little hormone driven tantrums. Cool as a cucumber now

lol that is exactly what I had on my hands all day yesterday...after hours of my attempts to get them to stop the only way I found was to rub their heads while they were by each other and they would lay down next to each other and let me pet them..soon as I stopped petting they were right back at it..Unfortunatley my 5yr old witnessed one of the incidents and I had to tell him that they were excercising:blushan:But finally I realized I wasnt the bunny whisperer and gave them each hour intervals of running in my room while the other bunny was in the cage...it was very sad because whatever one was in the cage at that particular time the other one would go up to the bars and visit her and just look like why are you in there..I felt so bad :cry1:The craziest thing is that this morning when I let them out of the cage to get their veggies...everything was back to normal..Shadow did try to mount Spirit about 15 minutesafterbeing out of her cage this a.m but I moved her away and havent had an incident since then...they are back in love I guess..but dont worry I am still getting them fixed for sure...would not want to have a repeat of yesterday...and being a woman I know how them hormone situations can be lol..poor rabbits :biggrin2:


oooo I forgot to add..they have seperate cages that are right by each other..if this starts up again do you think it would be best to do what I did yesterday and just give them hour intervals of free run taking turns like yesterday... until after the procedure is over?? They come out of their cages at like 7a.m and dont go in for the night until about 11p.m

 

[NorthernAutumn]

Taking turns is great They might choose to lay up against the bars together, which is still comforting for them.
Don't worry... all should be back to normal a few weeks after the spays. I'm delighted that you have 2 hutches prepared