Two bonded rabbits are now fighting.

Question
Hello;

I have two female rabbits, one at 4 years old and the other at 1 year. Recently they have started to fight to the point where i can not let them near each other. I am wondering why this sudden fighting has occurred? The youngest had a bath due to medical reasons and that seemed to set it off, i put it down to stress but now, more than a week on, theres no change. The year old is always the one that sets it off, resulting in hair pulling and front feet fighting but no mounting so i do not believe it's a dominance thing. They were difficult to bond to start with and they've never been very close. Will i have to start the bonding process again?

Thanks

Answer
Hi, Holly.

Oh, dear.  Yes, a bath could certainly have set things off, as the bathed bunny came back smelling like a stranger.  We always recommend that if one member of a bonded pair needs veterinary care that BOTH bunnies go, to prevent exactly this sort of thing.

I think you will find the articles here useful:

http://rabbit.org/tag/bonding/

And especially this one:

http://rabbit.org/mending-a-broken-bunny-bond/

I hope it will help to bring peace and harmony back to your home!

Dana