Two bucks?

So we got another rabbit yesterday- a 5 month old Netherland Dwarf He is the most curious little thing. Anyways, even though he is in another room from my buck, if the two were ever to be together, could they become aggressive? I'm thinking on the terms of two stallions being in the same premises= not good! Do bucks get aggressive when put together?

Usually, yes, they would fight. Some are more tolerant than others. My two bucks, father and son, are in adjacent cages and sit side by side like two guys chatting over a beer. But I think that would change if there were ladies about or if they were actually in the same cage.

I wouldn't cage 2 bucks together but I've had minimal problems doing colonies of just bucks and I have put breeding age bucks together in a colony with does short term when all the does had been bred already by the first buck. There was a minor argument that was rather interesting to watch. The younger, smaller buck decided to chase the does around who had no interest in being bred and was making a real pest of himself. After awhile the older buck that was twice his size had enough and when he went by half jumping on a doe that buck grabbed him by the front leg and flipped him on to the ground. There was much screaming and I thought for sure major injury had been done. I actually squished the big buck's head to the floor to get him to let go. The little buck hopped up perfectly unharmed. He had only been held down and the skin wasn't even broken. There was never another argument between them and the younger buck has treated the does better ever since. I actually have watched some arguments that looked extreme in the colony but have only had one injury and it was a minor one involving a torn ear. I've learned not to panic when they are throwing each other to the ground and to look for signs of actual attempts to break skin. Absolutely do not try introduction with any rabbits in a cage or small area including small rooms where they can't get out of each others' space. In those situations they are likely to kill each other.

I put my two does cages together yesterday and they started fighting thro the cages... I had to move them.....

does will often fight through the cage wire when first put side by side. doesn't take long for them to give it up though. As long as they can't actually reach body parts I let them be unless it goes on longer than a morning. Then I put up a divider (big nestbox works well for that) and that 99% of the time solves the issue. take out nestbox two days later and they are friends. that 1% of the time that they don't settle down means documentation and not putting those two next to each other again.

You've never seen a fight like 2 aggressive buck rabbits trying to take each other out.

Never, I repeat NEVER, try and put the two together, unless you're into bloody, fur-flying entertainment. I know they look cute, but most often, they turn into raving lunatics when they feel their turf is being tread upon by another buck.

I second what SatinsRule said. You're already having behavior problems with the first buck and now have introduced another into the home. You have all the makings of a major fight brewing if you put them together.

I had two bucks housed next to each other, and they were fine--junior and senior. I separated them and later put them back next to each other, now 2 seniors, and they tried to attack through the wire. Since they were securely caged I let them stay next door anyway and they eventually gave up and got in a literal pissing contest...lovely. I do not recommend them hanging out together.

In one of my other topics, someone suggested to behavioral problems from my rabbit could be caused from him just not knowing the smell of another buck, and to put their cages next to each other so they can get used to each other. I'm guessing this is not a good idea?

It depends on the rabbits. It could help or it could make things worse.

might help for them to see each other, might make it worse, but they will adapt to the new normal either way i would think. If you keep them apart they should get used to the new smell without needing to investigate. I just wouldn't introduce them on the floor where the can get at each other. It sounds like they are just at that teenage stage--they are hit with hormones and they don't quite know what to do with them...

equestrian<3":3nck7ve4 said:

In one of my other topics, someone suggested to behavioral problems from my rabbit could be caused from him just not knowing the smell of another buck, and to put their cages next to each other so they can get used to each other. I'm guessing this is not a good idea?

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Unless you want one rabbit pizzing on the other one, I'd separate them such as to prevent it from happening. I don't know so much that it's about catching the other buck's "aroma" so to speak, but let them realize that some competition has moved in next door and they'll become meaner than a junkyard dog.

Now, just curious.... I do let all my rabbits together, of course under supervision, and in a very large out door area, and they all get along, or at least seperate... They are also caged pretty close together(cages do not touch though and they cannot reach each other)... I do move the cages around frequently(once a week), I also move the rabbits around frequently(twice a month) to different cages(of course after sterilizing them) to give them a new environment, and new neighbors. Plus I have noticed that because of this, they do not seem to get so stressed out over traveling and other times I may need to move them. I have none of the behaviour problems(peeing through cages, fighting, shyness or aggression)....

Is it because of the frequent changes and socializing, or just the temperament of my rabbits??

I guess I am trying to figure out if this is a bred in kind of behaviour problems, or environmental?

Not all rabbits are that territorial, but the potential for problems is there. They are more likely to get along in a large area than in cages. I think in instances where the rabbits get a chance to know each other there is less of that kind of dominance behaviour. My two bucks are in cages side by side and they seem to enjoy each other's company. But they know each other... The younger one was born in the colony and the older buck, his father, has always been great with the youngsters. Even so, I would not trust them in the colony together at this point.

Maggie is correct. Not all rabbits are territorial, but all it takes to get that pot boiling over is for just one of your bucks to go mental and you suddenly have a case of "Bloodsport" on your hands, and in the process of trying to separate warring factions, you'll be walking around with scratches and gouges the likes of which you've never seen before.

Thanks everyone! I'll give them a few days to settle down and see what happens. I'm hoping after a little while they will to used to each other's smell and go back to normal

KatzNetherlands":2aw1yzv1 said:

Now, just curious.... I do let all my rabbits together, of course under supervision, and in a very large out door area, and they all get along, or at least seperate... They are also caged pretty close together(cages do not touch though and they cannot reach each other)... I do move the cages around frequently(once a week), I also move the rabbits around frequently(twice a month) to different cages(of course after sterilizing them) to give them a new environment, and new neighbors. Plus I have noticed that because of this, they do not seem to get so stressed out over traveling and other times I may need to move them. I have none of the behaviour problems(peeing through cages, fighting, shyness or aggression)....

Is it because of the frequent changes and socializing, or just the temperament of my rabbits??

I guess I am trying to figure out if this is a bred in kind of behaviour problems, or environmental?

Click to expand...

I think you have mellow bunnies. I have had some that were, and others that would shred each other...the difference was the rabbits inborn temperament, not my management. I am sure you can manage for mellowness and you are doing everything right there, but I also think a lot depends on your rabbits, so for your own sake don't be lulled into thinking that they will always be like that!! You may at some point bring in somebody new and upset the apple cart, so always watch closely. It sure shocked me when it first happened. I am prioritizing temperament in my breeding goals, believe me!

It is definitely the first thing I breed for...

cmabb":z2wxnh9f said:

I put my two does cages together yesterday and they started fighting thro the cages... I had to move them.....

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I would suggest keeping them farther apart, and with time, putting the cages closer together, but not letting them out together. Our jr doe Layla has been with us for about 4 months, and her and our other doe Nibbles still fight through their cages until we pull them farther apart<br /><br />__________ Tue Aug 16, 2011 1:01 pm __________<br /><br />

equestrian<3":z2wxnh9f said:

In one of my other topics, someone suggested to behavioral problems from my rabbit could be caused from him just not knowing the smell of another buck, and to put their cages next to each other so they can get used to each other. I'm guessing this is not a good idea?

Click to expand...

They don't mean exactly side-by-side. Put them in the same room in their cages, and keep the cages about a foot apart. They don't get a chance to fight through the cages, but they get to get used to the scent of the other rabbit.

Most animals are like others. Put two sexually mature stallions or bucks together, they will fight. The other intruded on their territory and may take/breed their females, they need to protect it. Put two stallions beside eachother with only a fence separating them, they'll fight through the fence to protect their territory.