male rabbits together

Question
i did have 5 male rabbits 5 months old they were all in a massive run, i woke this morning to find one of them had died and the other 4 are now fighting with each other, i have had them all since birth what is the reason for them fighting now and could you tell me why one died.

Answer
Hi Claire,

I'm sorry to hear one of your guys died.

They've hit sexual maturity and they are establishing dominance.  They are hierarchical animals, somebody is always in charge.  It may be that two were vying to be the top guy, neither backed down and submitted, it got to be a bigger struggle than either wanted, and one lost and died.  Usually they don't go to the death.  It was probably not on purpose that he got a wound or injury that was fatal.

My suggestion to you is to separate them into four cages right now to prevent other injuries and problems.  Especially if you have female rabbits around.  This adds fuel to the fire.

The safest thing for you to do is separate them.  You probably should have them all looked over by your vet for wounds, as they will get abscesses.  They also may be hiding injuries from you that will get worse if left unattended.

I would not even try to put them back together until they are all neutered and then, a month after the last surgery to make sure the hormones are settled at their new, lower level.  Go to a good rabbit vet for this (not all are).  If you don't have one go to:

www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

and find a House Rabbit Society-recommended vet near you.

Write back anytime.  Lee