FUR EVERYWHERE! Neutered male rabbits fighting!

[BoffinMum]

Our two male bunnies are about 6 or 7 months old, and they are vaccinated and neutered - they had the op about 4 weeks ago. They are a sibling pair and until a fortnight ago they were very closely bonded and groomed each other, etc. We pet them twice a day and they are very tame. However now they are having fights and there is fur everywhere. It's really quite vicious. We keep separating them as soon as they start fighting, and put the dominant one into the run, which has a little shelter. But I am starting to wonder what on earth to do, and whether there is any advice Mnet people have.

Just noticed your post. Basically one of the boy rabbits died suddenly in August 15, we think from a gut problem. So we went to a Wood Green animal shelter and tried to pair the remaining boy rabbit with a girl rabbit. The first pairing wasn't successful but the second one was, so we took her home, and now they are good friends, with the female slightly dominant but also happy to groom the male rabbit. If you talk to a reputable shelter they might be able to take in your boy rabbits and return one to you with a paired female, which would make life a lot easier.

Enrichment is also very important. We invested in a chicken run which is about 11ft x 5ft x 6ft high as an outdoor run so they get a lot of outdoor time, and also it is human height so easier to clean out and interact with the rabbits. Ours is wood and mesh and especially made, but Omelet do a good one as well:

www.omlet.co.uk/shop/rabbit_products/outdoor_rabbit_run/

Some people have these setups which are also very stimulating:

www.runaround.co.uk

Our run cost a lot of money but we think it has been invaluable in keeping them healthy and happy. We put different toys and things in there for them: apple branches for chewing, runs, platforms, tubes and that kind of thing. It varies every week. We scatter feed vegetables in fresh hay in there and we have two water bottles set up. Then at night we move them into a large hutch and feed them a few scattered pellets and a bit more fresh hay.

Overall though I think if you have a pair of fighting males you have to have one rehomed and the remaining one returned to you with a matching female, even though this might upset your daughter. It will make rabbit keeping more enjoyable for both humans and rabbits though, so worth doing.

You can never tell with rabbits. I have five rabbits. Summer was bought at 8 weeks old along with his brother and sister who have since died and Summer (now 7 ) was on his own for two years because he did not get on with our other rabbits. We had rehomed Rosie and Wispa (male) when Summer was 3 but he hated them. Wispa died 2 months ago, so we tried Rosie with Biscuit (male) who had always been on his own. They got on and by accident Summer got in with them, we expected fur but no they got on. We also have Star (male) and Dolly who hates Summer but Star just looks at Summer and runs away. Dolly likes Biscuit but not Rosie !
They all have separate living quarters but when out the garden they are Dolly and Star in one run, then the others in the other.

Hope you have been able to follow this story.