Previously bonded sisters fighting

Question
Hello!  I have three rabbits, two sisters and their brother.  The boy is fixed and they have had them since they were about 4 months old.  They have gotten along wonderfully up until a few days ago when for whatever reason one of the girls started chasing her sister, and sometimes her brother.  From what I know if is probably her trying to mate.  I know it would be best to get both girls fixed also, but do you have any suggestions of how I could stoop this and rebond them?  Do you think this is just a temporary thing?  It really makes me sad that I have had to separate them so I would be truly appreciative of any additional information.

Answer
Dear Melissa,

This is almost bound to happen with unspayed females at some point.  They become sexually mature, want to mate, start humping other bunnies and fighting ensues.

For now, you do have to keep them apart. But make sure they can see/smell each other through the barrier, so they don't become completely unbonded.  Have both spayed at the same time, and let them recover together, even if separated physically.  The shared trauma will help.  Take the boy along for the ride for moral support and to prevent their unbonding from him, too.

You can find a rabbit-savvy vet here:

http://www.rabbit.org/vets

Once everyone is recovered, you can use the tips here:

http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-a=00062824-sp00000000&sp-q=bonding

to carefully bond them again in neutral territories, and on car rides.  I hope this helps, and that your trio is back together soon.

Good luck,

Dana