Male rabbits after being neutred

Question
QUESTION: Hi, I have 2 male rabbits who got along really, really well together from the beginning. We had them neutered the other day and that night, they were fine and happy together and the spraying etc had stopped which was great! However, yesterday morning we came downstairs to a floor full of rabbit fur, mainly from 1 of the rabbits. They were lying down together and seemed fine, then all of a sudden they were fighting and one had the other pinned to the floor, biting him! We managed to separate them and called the vet who said to keep them apart. I am so upset and confused as I thought neutering them would prevent this? They never fought before. We introduced them together last night and one went for the other one (as before) and so they are still separated. It seems as though Tiger (aggressive one) has completely changed and now sees Bruce (submissive one) as his enemy :-( I don't want Bruce to 'go into himself' anymore as he has always been the more shy one and less daring. Can you offer me any advice please? Thanks, Alex
ANSWER: Hi Alex,

well, it's a tough one.  If you would have left them intact, there's a good chance they'd fight somewhere along the way, with the high hormone levels (you've now seen such a fight).

The problem that can happen is that when you separate a bonded pair, even for a short time, one or both can have problems when they come back together.  Unfortunately there is no real way of knowing beforehand if a rabbit is going to have a problem like this or not.

For now, it's right to keep them separated.  However I'd keep them in the same room, if their cages can be a couple inches apart (where they can't nip the other) side-by-side so on one wall they can see the other, that would be best.  Start switching litterpans (ie give some material of one to the other) so that they get re-used to the other rabbit's smell in the box again.

For playtimes, right now they need to be separated by double gates spaced a few inches apart (so they can't nip thru the gates).  By the end of the 4-5 weeks of doing this, you will want to see both of them being able to sit across from the other, not on guard but grooming, and you'll want to see them flopped/laying down and resting at the gate edges.  If both are resting together on each one's side, that is a good sign.

All of the above is precursor work that needs to be done before re-bonding can occur.  I would not try re-bonding until 4-5 weeks after their procedures, as it takes that long for their hormone levels to drop to their new lower levels.  Too soon and they will still fight.

Bonding will have to be re-done in a neutral space in your house.  It will require one person in the area with them to break up a fight.  Certain behavior isn't fighting - light nipping, chasing, loose fur pulling - are part of setting dominance between the pair and should not be interrupted.  Full-blown fighting like you saw needs to be split up.  

Start with short periods in the neutral area (an area neither owns).  Ten minutes.  If no problems, next time add 5 minutes.  If one continually fights (Tiger), if you still want to try to rebond, you may need to wait a few months before trying again.  Doing all the pre-bonding things above.

Essentially you are bonding them from scratch.  This could easily have happened if one had been ill and you took it to the vet by itself.  With your pair, if one ever needs attention and you are able to re-bond them, don't separate the pair, bring both of them in, to minimize the time they are apart. You could even bring both out on the exam table and have the vet look at the sick rabbit while one of you holds the other rabbit.

I would suggest going to the House Rabbit Society web page and read these articles:

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/introductions.html

http://www.rabbit.org/chapters/san-diego/behavior/bonding-tips.html

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/4-4/tough-bonding.html

http://www.rabbit.org/chapters/san-diego/behavior/expect.html

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-4/marriage.html

Write back anytime.  Lee



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks Lee, this is really helpful. They are in separate hutched now but close to one another. My partner has tried them together again this morning and Tiger is still very vicious. We have separated the kitchen with a metal pen so they can see but can not get to eachother and Tiger is constanly tryin to bite the pen to get to Bruce. We have been alternating the between time in each cage/hutch so they can smell one another. We have never kept them separate before and to be honest they have been more bothered with one another than either me or Rich! Cleaned one another, laid together constantly, played together, so i figured they had properly bonded. I will definately have a read of these articles and once again, thank you so much for your advice!
Alex

Answer
Hi Alex,

they had bonded properly, that isn't the problem.  Separating them caused the bond to break.  It is unpredictable whether it will happen or not.  Many people don't want to risk it and will keep their bunnies together even when only one has to go to the vet.

It's good you've got them separate.  I wouldn't try to put them together for several months (3 or more).  Tiger needs to mellow and not feel stressed by Bruce's presence.  And when you do get to a point where you want to do bonding exercises, it must be done in a neutral space that neither have as part of their territory.  

Lee