Two male rabbits will always fight. That’s what I had heard, and my two neutered males, Mugsy and Ginger, seemed to prove it. Every time I tried to put them together, even in “neutral” territory, they would roll around on the floor, growling, scratching and biting until I had to separate them. Cleaning up after those episodes, I learned the true meaning of the expression “the fur was flying”!
At this point, I figured that Mugsy and Ginger would never get along, and began to wonder about other alternatives. Maybe I should get each of them a female friend? I decided to start with Mugsy, as he had always been less inclined to play with people and seemed more in need of companionship.
But a funny thing happened. No sooner had I started making phone calls to HRS about adoptable bunnies, than Ginger began hanging around Mugsy’s cage. He would sit outside the door and poke his nose through the wire, as if he wanted to get closer. With encouragement from Karen Couture and some new information she provided, I decided to try again.
Since they’d already gotten used to having their cages side by side, the next step was what we called “bunny car rides”. We put both rabbits in the back seat of the car with only a litterbox between them. I sat in back with them, armed with a spray bottle of water in case they started fighting, and my husband drove us around for about 20 minutes. Miraculously, they both jumped in the litterbox (a tight squeeze!) for security, and we rode around in peace. I was stunned.
For the rest of the week we continued the car rides, and then started leaving the rabbits together for 5 or 10 minutes after their daily jaunt. We needed a small, neutral space for them and opted for a downstairs hallway blocked at one end by a baby gate. Both buns were cautious at first in this new place and would frequently hop into the litterbox to nibble some hay when they were feeling unsure of things. Occasionally, Ginger got a little over excited and tried to start mating, but Mugsy was patient. No fights broke out and gradually we started increasing their time together.
Mugsy was always the first to edge closer and press his body against Ginger’s side. He never gave up and calmly endured all his companion’s antics, even the time Ginger sat on Mugsy’s head! Then one day I noticed them snuggling up against each other, their eyes closed in contentment. Finally, after about a month, we let them loose in the living room, the big space where they used to fight.
Today they hop and play together, sleep side by side and have even started grooming each other. Ginger likes visiting Mugsy’s cage, and both rabbits enjoy almost unlimited free running time in the house. Now the only fur that flies is at shedding time!