NEED HELP WITH RABBITS!!!

[Ellaoreospice]

sooooo, my rabbits partner recently died and I decided to get her a new friend. I looked for days to get her a new friend, and I found one (a 12 week old baby bun). So first we divided them so they can see eachother but not touch and both the rabbits were so happy together so we decided to put them in together. At first they were fine and then my rabbit attacked the baby! We seperated them but we’re going to introduce them both in the bath tomorrow because none of them have been in the bath and hopefully won’t fight. I really want to be careful because the new rabbit is the baby and I thought my older rabbit would be more tolerant but it seems not likely to be good. Both the rabbits are females. Does anyone have any tips for keeping them together?

 

[cassie]

Rabbits are really not social animals. Sometimes two rabbits will get along with each other but most of the time they don't. Fights can be serious or even deadly.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I agree with cassie.
Best to let them be neighbors.

 

[Ellaoreospice]

I agree with cassie.
Best to let them be neighbors.

Yeah, my rabbit actually prefers to have a partner. She was so happy when she saw the baby but then I think I introduced too quickly so much other rabbit got threatened

 

[Ellaoreospice]

Rabbits are really not social animals. Sometimes two rabbits will get along with each other but most of the time they don't. Fights can be serious or even deadly.

Yeah, my rabbit actually prefers to have a partner. She was so happy when she saw the baby but then I think I introduced too quickly so much other rabbit got threatened

 

[Bunnylady]

She was so happy when she saw the baby

I'm curious - how do you know she was happy? What, specifically, did she do?

 

[tuesdaylove]

It is generally recommended that pet rabbits should be kept in pairs, and some people say it is cruel to keep them alone. Personally, I have kept solo rabbits that were perfectly fine. I have two neutered males that I've been trying to bond so that they can live together. Right now, they have two separate enclosures, but the walls are connected at one point. That way, they can see and even groom each other, but cannot harm one another. They get on great like that but if I place them in the same pen, they fight immediately.

Rabbits can take a very, very long time to introduce. Your best bet is putting a male and female together -- both fixed! Mine are both fixed but I've been trying to get them together since June and they still fight.

I've heard female rabbits can be very mean to each other. If you possibly can, get one or both of them spayed, and that should help a lot. Keep them within viewing distance of one another until the baby gets a little bigger, then start trying intros. They will fight a little to establish dominance, but separate if the fight doesn't break up or you see blood.

 

[Bunnylady]

It is generally recommended that pet rabbits should be kept in pairs, and some people say it is cruel to keep them alone.

I think anyone who has had experience with lots of rabbits (particularly if they have had intact animals) would disagree with this recommendation. While it is true that a lot of rabbits seem to enjoy (or at least tolerate) the company of other rabbits, things can get very, very ugly when they can't get away from each other. I still remember walking into my rabbitry one day and seeing a testicle lying on the floor under a cage where a couple of young male rabbits (litter mates) were confined; clearly, those boys should have been separated to cages of their own before then. I've had does chew each other up, too - even litter mates and mother/daughter pairs. I've seen bucks that were too persistent get mutilated by cranky does. Wire dividers may not be enough; I have seen toes, tails, and chunks of ears removed by the rabbit in the cage next door. My daughter currently has a Netherland Dwarf doe that is perfectly sweet when kept in a hutch away from the other rabbits, but who will attack you if you try to handle her when she's caged where she has other rabbits near her. IME, while some rabbits may be sociable, not all are (wild rabbits aren't, so it shouldn't be surprising when their descendants aren't, either), and nobody should be made to feel guilty for keeping a single rabbit.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Luckily my own experience has not been bloody.
I do strongly agree with what bunnylady has said.
We took on a group of four for a friend. What they failed to mention was that the does had been bred. That 4 turned into 14 pretty darn quick.

Even on my 1/4 acre I could only have one out at a time or they would brutally fight. The fights were vicious regardless of which 2 were involved.

 

[Zoomie]

I will chime in and say this is my experience as well: rabbits are very territorial. There may be times and there may be special cases where they get along - litter mates who grew up together, sometimes - but for the most part, rabbits want their own space. And boy, can they ever fight, if a rabbit happens to end up in another rabbit's territory. Not a pretty sight.

Not all animals are social; humans are, but many species are just not. It does not hurt them to be kept alone; they prefer it. They don't see the other animal as a companion, they see it as competition. This is fine, it's their natural behavior.