Rabbits are social animals and they often enjoy living with other bunnies. In fact, it is widely advised never to keep rabbits on their own as they may become lonely. But in some cases, owners may notice that their precious buns begin to attack one another and this is often a cause for concern.
Rabbits may attack each other for several reasons. The most likely reasons are to assert dominance, mating, and bonding.
Knowing what to expect and how to handle the situation if your buns become hostile is one of the most critical parts of being a responsible pet owner. Let’s take a look at the reasons why rabbits may fight in a little more detail.
Why Are My Rabbits Attacking Each Other?
Putting two or more rabbits in a single enclosure may likely cause fighting, but the reasons for this may not be quite as straightforward as you think.
While they may look sweet and innocent, rabbits do like to know who is boss and each bunny will fight it out with the others to be in top standing. This is quite common with a lot of creatures and establishing dominance and a hierarchy can help the rabbits to live and work well together in the wild.
Just because they are being kept in captivity, this natural instinct isn’t likely to dwindle. When living in groups, there will typically be a dominant rabbit and this bun will get first dibs on food and grooming. With such a luxurious lifestyle, it’s no wonder that the rabbits will want to fight for this position.
Rabbits are also very territorial and if they feel that another bunny is trying to take over, then they won’t think twice about standing up for themselves. This may be something that you will need to look out for when introducing a new rabbit into an established group.
Another common reason that rabbits might fight when kept as pets is that they have a lot of pent up energy. Rabbits are naturally energetic animals and they require copious amounts of exercise.
However, sometimes, owners do not give them the right amount of freedom and this can leave them feeling frustrated. The only thing that they can do to release this energy build-up is to take their frustration out on other rabbits. If you notice this, it could be as simple as allowing your buns more time in the rabbit run.
When breeding rabbits, some people may notice that rather than mating, the bunnies end up fighting. The reason for this is more often than not to do with the location. If the male rabbit is placed in the female’s enclosure, he may be tempted to mark his territory and this can cause a fight to break out. For this reason, it is important to always take the female to the male.
Finally, it is not uncommon for rabbits to appear to be attacking each other when they are bonding. You might compare this to play fighting and you may notice that the rabbits chase one another and look as though they are fighting.
This is a rabbit’s way of getting to know a new housemate and may range from anything from a playful nip to a full-blown attack. However, for the most part, the rabbits won’t seriously harm one another.
That being said, it is important that owners keep their eye on newly introduced rabbits because there is a possibility that one may become injured. In some cases, a pair of rabbits simply may not get along and this could result in having to admit defeat and house them separately.
Is It Normal For Rabbits To Fight?
It may not be pleasant for an owner to witness but rabbits fighting is very normal behavior. You might think of this in a similar way to living with a housemate. While a fistfight may not break out because humans have the art of conversation on their side, there are bound to be arguments and disagreements.
This concept is the same for rabbits and when they have a dispute with their cagemate, a fight may break out. Most of the time, this won’t be serious, and the pair will sort it out between themselves.
Sometimes, rabbits may fight due to a surge in hormones and many pet owners will have their rabbits neutered to drastically reduce this.
How Do Rabbits Fight?
Rabbits may fight in a variety of ways. Sometimes merely chasing one another is enough to show the other rabbit that ‘I am not to be messed with!’ Although, it is important to remember that in some cases, chasing can be very aggressive and should be intervened.
However, on the flip side, rabbits may also scratch and bite and with very sharp teeth, there is a risk that a rabbit could cause a serious injury to his housemate.
In the search for dominance, you might notice that rabbits will mount one another. While either gender can do this, it is typically something that the males will do to the females.
There are several fighting behaviors that owners can rest assured will not normally escalate or cause any serious problems between the buns. These are:
- Lightly nipping without drawing blood
- Lunging and moving away
- Mounting without rejection
- Bumping noses
- Following one another around the enclosure
If you have to separate your rabbits because the aggression is out of control, it is vital that you protect your hands otherwise, you may be in for a nasty nip.
Do Rabbits Fight To The Death?
To look at a rabbit, you might think that they couldn’t possibly be capable of something as violent and aggressive as fighting to the death. But in truth, no matter how cute they are, animals will defend themselves come what may and this includes rabbits.
Most rabbit fights won’t result in a death but this is not to say that it won’t ever happen. Typically, if there is one old rabbit and one young rabbit then this can often result in a fatal fight.
What’s more, if there is a significant difference in size then the larger rabbit may use this to its advantage and kill its smaller counterpart. For this reason, you should be mindful when mixing breeds or rabbits that have a dramatic size difference.
The most common thing that may cause a death fight between rabbits is if the pair are both unneutered males. This surge in hormones and a desire to be the top rabbit may cause them to fight until one emerges victorious. Sadly, this happens quite a lot and so when keeping same-sex buns together, it is always a good idea to have them spayed.
Do Male Rabbits Kill Females?
Regardless of gender, if rabbits feel the need, they will fight to the death. Although, as we have learned, this is more common between two males.
The most likely problem between males and females will be a male attempting to mate with a female that rejects him and this could result in fighting.
