Rabbit Behaviour

Question
WE have 2 house rabbits which are separated our male which has been neutered was very good until our female moved into the house as a companion after numerous attempts of trying to put together we have given up and now they live seperately.

Our male was well trained indoors and use to use a litter tray at all times and never use to urinate nor poo on the floors but has began to do this and wont use his litter tray.

Our female will sometimes use her little tray but tends to prefer peeing against the door of ajoining rooms with the male. she also becomes aggressive towards us if we pass between the rooms. When outside she is normally well behaved and will walk at the side of either me or my partner but now is determined on running from us or rubbing her nose on other things especially outside, we are thinking about giving her up as she has left some nasty scare on my partner from bites. We would appreciate any help as we dont want to have to give either up

Answer
Hi,

I would assume the female is not fixed.  This is part of your problem.  She's very territorial and marking territory.  In the rabbit world, males just want to be with the girls.  Females want land.  If you smell like the other bunny she will overmark it.  That's the chinning.  They have scent glands under their chins.

It's also the problem why bonding didn't work.  You never pair a fixed rabbit with an intact rabbit.  Low hormone versus high hormone bunny isn't a good match most of the time.  Further you will run into more problems between the pair as the unfixed one does actions based on hormones, the other one bases actions more on personality and less on hormonal instincts.  Far less aggressive behavior versus far higher aggressive, impulsive instinctual behavior.

The solution to have a successful indoor house rabbit is getting them fixed so they will mark less and be litterpan-trainable.  It will also reduce the attacks, reduce the impulses to be aggressive, and allow her to make decisions rather than just acting because her hormones are high.

You really have to have a good rabbit vet for spaying.  Also you have to really watch them the next 1-2 weeks after for signs of infection and to make sure they are eating and drinking at normal levels.  Females should be given a weeks' worth of pain meds you can give them with an oral syringe - generally metacam.

It will take 4-6 weeks for her hormone levels to drop and stabilize at her new, lower levels.  You'll see improvement before this, but hormone levels can fluctuate during this time as the body adjusts, but by 4-6 weeks it'll level off.  The hormones already in the blood and body need to be used up and it takes awhile.

For bites right now, do not reach into her cage to do things while she is in there.  Females get cage aggressive with hands in their cage.  If she nips at feet or legs, wear some boots or slippers that cover the area so she doesn't get a reaction from you.  Once she finds out it doesn't work to stop what you are doing, she should stop doing it.  You may also want to wash hands if you've pet your other rabbit first.

If you need a good rabbit vet go here:

www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

to find a House Rabbit Society recommended vet near you.