Are Rabbits Nocturnal? The Science of Rabbit Sleep Explained
If you’ve ever noticed your rabbit thumping around at 5 a.m. or suddenly going berserk with energy just before sunset, you’ve probably asked yourself: are rabbits nocturnal? The short answer is no — but the full answer is far more interesting, and understanding your rabbit’s true sleep-wake cycle is one of the most important things you can do for their health and happiness.
The Science: Rabbits Are Crepuscular, Not Nocturnal
Rabbits are crepuscular animals. This term, from the Latin crepusculum meaning “twilight,” describes species that are most active during the low-light hours of dawn and dusk — not the middle of the night, and not the bright midday sun.
This behavioral pattern is deeply hardwired into rabbit biology and dates back millions of years to their wild ancestors. In the wild, rabbits face predation from a remarkable array of hunters: foxes, hawks, owls, weasels, cats, and humans. The crepuscular window — those 30–90 minutes around sunrise and sunset — offers a strategic compromise: enough ambient light to detect ground predators, but dim enough to avoid the keen eyesight of diurnal (daytime) raptors and the infrared-detection advantage of nocturnal hunters.
A 2012 study published in Behavioural Processes by Mykytowycz and Gambale confirmed that wild European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) spend the majority of their surface foraging time in twilight conditions, retreating underground during the hottest, brightest midday hours and well after darkness falls. Domestic rabbits retain this ancestral rhythm even after thousands of years of selective breeding.
Why People Confuse Rabbits for Nocturnal Animals
There are several reasons the “rabbits are nocturnal” myth persists:
They sleep a lot during the day. Rabbits are notoriously still and sleepy during midday — their eyes are often half-open or closed, they’re stretched out in a “loaf” or fully “flopped” position. To a new owner, this looks like the animal is nocturnal. In reality, this is simply the midday rest period shared by most crepuscular species.
They make noise at night. Rabbits often move around their enclosure after midnight, especially if they wake up for secondary activity bouts. Owners in adjacent bedrooms hear thumping, running, or chewing and assume that’s when rabbits are most active — but peak activity has already passed by then.
TheyRe hard to observe at dawn. Most pet owners are asleep during 5–6 a.m., which is often peak rabbit activity time. By the time the family wakes up, the rabbit has already had its morning sprint session and is settling into a rest period. The owner misses the evidence entirely.
The Rabbit’s Daily Activity Cycle: Hour by Hour
Here is what a typical 24-hour cycle looks like for a healthy domestic rabbit:
| Time Window | Activity Level | Typical Behaviors |
|---|---|---|
| 4:30 – 7:00 a.m. | Very High | Binkying, running, foraging, grooming, demanding breakfast |
| 7:00 – 9:00 a.m. | Moderate | Eating hay, mild exploration, settling down |
| 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. | Very Low | Deep sleep, loaf resting, minimal movement |
4:00
 How do rabbits protect themselves from predators?Domestic rabbit guardians are aware of the danger of their pet rabbits from predators. Yet many rabbits guardians prefer raising rabbits outdoors. But that is not the topic of this article today. In this article, I have explained how rabbits protect themselves from their predators. Although a prey animal, rabbits surprisingly have many characteristics, which help them defend from predators. Likewise, rabbits can protect their territory to keep their kittens safe. Knowing about these will not ensure domestic rabbits’ safety, but it is undoubtedly an exciting read for bunny lovers. What adaptations do rabbits have to survive?Rabbits are cuddly animals, and nature has gifted them several defense techniques, to prevent themselves every day. Many rabbit guardians do not understand when their rabbits are sleeping and when they are awake. First guardians need to know that rabbits are crepuscular animals. They are most active during dawn and dusk. Dawn and dusk is the transition period for most predators. During these hours, predators are likely going for sleep or taking a rest. Thus rabbits can safely forage and play around during these times, avoiding their predators. Perfect eyesight.Having eyes on the sides of their heads, rabbits have almost 360 degrees vision. This 360 degrees vision keeps rabbits extra safe from predators. No matter from which side a predator approaches for an attack, highly likely, the rabbit will notice the predator. A predator may attack from the right, left, top, or behind. Rabbits have sight in all directions. The rabbit will freeze or run depending on the severity of the attack. Good hearing.Rabbits have a range of hearing, similar to humans. However, rabbits can listen to higher frequency sounds than humans. Therefore rabbits detect noises which are far away. If an animal is approaching the rabbit, the rabbit can immediately be aware of the danger in that situation. Being aware of the predator in the vicinity will enable the rabbit to take quicker precautions. Excellent sense of smell.Have you noticed how your rabbits are always sniffing the air? This is a way for rabbits to detect danger. Rabbits have a definite sense of smell. If they smell anything unusual in the area, they will take precautions. Such rabbits can smell a predator approaching even from a far distance. Without the predator coming close, the rabbit can run for its tunnels. The moment rabbits sense anything unusual, they will sniff to figure out any odd smell around them. Rabbits are incredibly silent and odorless.Rabbits being a prey animal, it is only reasonable for them to be silent. They are calm animals and do their things quietly. That way, they are not easily exposed to other wild animals. Interestingly another thing about rabbits is that they are odorless. Many people ask me this question: do rabbits smell or not before adopting a pet rabbit. The answer is satisfying. No rabbits do not smell at all. It is because they are self-grooming animals as well as nature has gifted them in such a way to keep themselves safe from their predators. Being odorless, predators cannot detect rabbits quickly. Attacking animals cannot only rely on a rabbit’s smell to find the location of rabbits. Because they are odorless, the attackers will be confused quickly with other smells. Being quiet animals, the task of hunting a rabbit becomes yet more complicated for predators. Rabbits have longer hind legs and short forelegs.This combination helps the rabbits as well during a threat from a predator. Rabbits can run very fast. They are swift and can run as fast as 25 mph. The longer legs are a huge benefit for rabbits when they are running uphill. A predator like a coyote cannot run as fast a rabbit while climbing uphill. The longer hind legs of rabbits and shorter forelegs are a benefit for rabbits to keep their pace running uphill. And rabbits understand this very well and use it to their benefit to stay ahead of their predators. Rabbits live in warrens and feed near them.It may sound exciting that rabbits like to live in tunnels. But there is a definite reason behind why rabbits construct tunnels as their home. Rabbits build their tunnels and sleep inside them. Warrens are a group of tunnels that connects rabbits home with several exits. Thus if a rabbit considers danger, they can hide in their tunnels. They can enter through one tube and exit through an opening in a different location. A more significant predator cannot enter a tunnel with a small opening. However, predators such as snakes might manage to enter a tunnel. Nevertheless, the rabbit can exit the shaft with an opening on the other side. Before the snake can reach for the rabbit, the rabbit will be out and lost in the wild. Another interesting fact is that rabbits prefer to feed near the tunnel opening. Rabbits remain close to the tunnel openings most of the time they are active. That way, anytime a rabbit senses an attack is approaching, rabbits can immediately run back inside the tunnel. As I have mentioned already, these tunnels are connecting with several other rabbit homes, which allows the rabbit to exit through another side. How do rabbits fight predators?Well, rabbits do not fight predators, but they have learned how to prevent themselves from attacking animals. A rabbit will truly fight a predator when the rabbit has no alternative option. In many cases, a rabbit fighting against a giant predator will ultimately result in the rabbit’s demise. Foremost rabbits are prey animals. Wild rabbits know the number of threats they have, hence these wild rabbits always lookout for predators. They have excellent eyesight, sense of smell, and good hearing. Similarly, rabbits are intelligent animals and have learned to use their characteristics against threats. If a rabbit feels a predator is approaching them, they can signal other rabbits in the group by making a thumping sound. Rabbits like to feed near the tunnel openings and remain in large groups. Once one rabbit senses danger, it can make sound by blowing its hind legs on the ground. Rabbits have a few techniques to defend attacking animals. Freezing.Rabbits will commonly freeze at the spot when they notice a predator once they freeze in the place they can create a camouflage to hide from the predator’s eyes. By freezing and blending in the environment, a rabbit can hide from the predators. The predator with lost signs of a potential meal will forget about the target and look for new prey. Rabbit’s fleeing.If a predator is pretty close to the rabbit, then blending in the environment is not reasonable anymore. At that moment, realizing the danger, a rabbit will flee. Rabbits can move swiftly, and taking quick steps to run away from the predator can save a rabbit’s life. They can run very fast, and as I told earlier, they usually have their food near their home. Going too far can be dangerous for them. Rabbits also have an advantage over their predators while running uphill due to longer hind legs than forelegs. Rabbits will hide inside warrens.Rabbits will run and quickly get inside the tunnels they have built. Most predators will give up once a rabbit enters the tunnel. Because when the rabbit enters the tunnel, probably the rabbit will try to escape the shaft through an exit on the other side. As rabbits’ burrows have numerous exits, it is best for the attacker to not wait on the other side of the tunnel. Because indeed, the rabbit can leave the tunnel using any exit out of the multiple ones. Also, if the attacker is a large animal in size, then inevitably, the attacker cannot enter the tunnel. The tunnels are narrow and suitable only for rabbits to pass through. A rabbit’s last resort is a fight.Once a rabbit runs out of options and can’t figure out ways to escape anymore, the rabbit will stand its ground. Rabbits can kick quite hard using their hind legs. A blow from their hind legs can hurt a small-sized animal. A cat can be injured if a rabbit kicks with the hind legs. Likewise, rabbits can use foreleg claws to defend themselves. A rabbit will not always succeed in its fight for defense, but many times they can escape the predators by fighting and fleeing. However, fighting is the last stand of defense for wild rabbits. It is more common for rabbits to flee once they sense danger. Want your rabbit to be happy and healthy? Need other things for your rabbit?  Consequences of separating bonded rabbits.Wondering whether separating bonded rabbits is the right thing to do, although you don’t have any choice? You will rethink your decision after learning what may happen if you separate a bonded rabbit pair, even for a short while. I have answered the most common questions in this article. The most common of all reasons to separate a bonded pair is due to desexing rabbits. How long can bonded rabbits be apart?Rabbits are very territorial animals, keeping bonded rabbits apart even for 24 hours can contribute to rabbits breaking their bond. It sounds more straightforward that the rabbits will break their bond quickly. However, it is not easy for the rabbit pair to go through this stage. Once separated, both the rabbits will mourn each other. If a rabbit is far from its partner, then the rabbit will be lonely and may act grumpy from loneliness. In the worst-case scenario, one rabbit may forget the smell of the other for keeping a rabbit apart for a short while. Once the rabbit forgets the smell of his/her friend, it is highly likely you have to work on the bonding stages again. Now the question is why someone would separate bonded rabbits? What will you face if you have to separate bonded rabbits due to desexing?There can be many reasons for a rabbit guardian to keep their bonded rabbits apart from each other. The most common reason to keep bonded rabbits apart is spaying/neutering. Most rabbit guardians buy pet rabbits without doing proper research online. They only discover that rabbits are different from cats and dogs once they bring their new pets home. Why do I say this? Rabbits are considered exotic pets and require quite a bit of maintenance. Hence rabbits are not a starter pet. The first problem a rabbit guardian will face once they buy pet rabbits, that their rabbits require spaying/neutering. Can you take your rabbits to any veterinary and desex them? Absolutely no. Because the regular vet in your area may not be specialized in exotic pets. Therefore you cannot desex them immediately after you buy them Desexing them will be costly. So what will happen if you cannot desex your pet rabbits immediately? At this stage, rabbit guardians confuse themselves. They start raising the rabbits for a while without spaying/neutering them. Meanwhile, when they keep the rabbits together in a hutch. These rabbits start to build a bond with each other. So you may wonder what I am trying to mean. What I am trying to say is once you get hold of an exotic pet veterinary and take your bunnies to spay/neuter. The doctor will suggest you keep your rabbits separate at least for two weeks to a month. This duration of parting is standard after a rabbit is spayed/neutered until the rabbit recovers and is fully healthy. But the problem in such cases is when you take your rabbits to the vet, the vet may refuse to spay a female rabbit unless she turns six months old. So if you desex one of the rabbits before the other rabbit in the pair, that will result in a more extended period of separation for these two rabbits. Nevertheless, if you do not have any choice other than a separation bonded rabbit due to desexing, you will have to go through the bonding stages. Steps to bond rabbits are not complicated at all. However, in cases like these when a bonded pair remains separated for a while, and the guardian intends to bond them again, the condition becomes challenging. Once a rabbit’s bond is broken, they will forget the smell. If you try to re-introduce a neutered male rabbit to an unspayed female rabbit, the situation will be critical. Although these rabbits were paired before the female rabbit being extremely territorial might act violently towards the male rabbit. I am not saying this situation is usual; however, expecting such an incident is common. What happens once a rabbit pair breaks bond?Separating bonded rabbits can result in loneliness in rabbits. A rabbit will not understand what has happened to his/her partner. Thus the rabbit will mourn and feel alone. Not having a playmate and being lonely will cause anxiety in rabbits. Stress in rabbits can deteriorate the health of a healthy bunny quickly. Can rabbits bond again after short separation?The short answer to this question is yes. I cannot say that for sure, because I have never done that. I never separated my bonded rabbits. Rabbits can bond again after separation, but the process will be a lot more challenging than the first time. See, when a rabbit pair is broken or if a rabbit from the air remains away from the other rabbit for a while, then eventually the rabbits begin to forget each other. They will mourn the loss of their friend, but the bigger problem is they will forget the smell of each other. If the rabbits forget each other’s smell, they will behave like new friends once they see each other. So as a rabbit guardian, the steps for bonding these rabbits will be similar to starting from zero again. Not just starting from the beginning, the circumstances may be even worse. Because most likely, you have separated the pairs from each other only because you have spayed/neutered them. And in case you have neutered the male first and the female is unspayed, the female rabbit will act very aggressively towards the male rabbit. The female rabbits are very territorial, and she will think of the neutered male rabbit as a competitor now in her territory. Although they were friends before, they have forgotten each other’s smell and do not recognize each other. In most cases, it is difficult to bond rabbits after they have been apart from each other for some time, but the task is not impossible. Do you need to spend more time with them after separation?Yes, once a rabbit loses the partner, the rabbit will be lonely. At that moment, a friend is essential for rabbits. A rabbit, being apart from the partner, needs someone who can play and cuddle the rabbit. A rabbit guardian cannot do everything for the rabbit, similar to another rabbit. However, the rabbit guardian can spend more time with the bunny and give her a companion. Rabbits do get bored quickly, and after losing a friend, a bunny will act anxious. Therefore support from the rabbit guardian is necessary. As well as giving the bunny to play some rabbit chew toys may help with her boredom. Learn how to raise your rabbit!  Want your rabbit to be happy and healthy? Need other things for your rabbit?  Click here to order the ebook How to raise healthy & happy rabbits! Read more
 All you need to know about fighting rabbits.There are several indications in rabbits that you misunderstand as if they are fighting. Misunderstanding bonded rabbits’ behavior towards each other is concerning. If you stop your pet rabbits imagining they are fighting while they were merely playful, you will unnecessarily stress your pet rabbits. By knowing why your rabbits are fighting, you can prevent them from injuring themselves, which is what I am going to discuss in this post precisely. Rabbits are prey animals and do not show aggression at all. But if your pet rabbits, even your bonded pet rabbits start fighting with each other, it is the rabbit guardian’s responsibility to interpret why they are fighting and how to prevent it in the future from happening again. Without knowing the reason behind the fight, you cannot rebond the rabbits ever again. Why do rabbits fight with each other?Rabbits are soft furry animals. Being quiet and cuddly doesn’t mean they can’t be aggressive. Rabbits are very territorial, and likewise wild rabbits, domestic rabbits like to build dominance if there are several rabbits in your house. Rabbits will generally fight to establish dominance.Assuming you own a single pet rabbit. One night before going to bed, you decided you will bring a new bunny friend for your pet rabbit. Doing so is an excellent idea. However, you adopted a new bunny and brought it home only to find out that your older bunny is trying to mount the newcomer. You see, as I have told earlier, rabbits are territorial animals. Once they see a newcomer inside his/her territory, the rabbit will attempt to establish dominance. They establish dominance by mounting on each other. Therefore it is said to follow rabbit bonding steps before you place two rabbits inside a hutch. Bonding rabbits are essential. And bonding two strangers requires a neutral territory. Rabbits are susceptible to smell. When you place a new bunny in the older rabbit’s territory, the smell of the newcomer will bother the older rabbit. As a result, the smell of the newcomer in the older rabbit’s territory will trigger a fight. In most cases, the older rabbit will mount the newcomer. Mounting is a way of fighting. The scenario will be worse if you introduce unneutered/unspayed rabbits. Rabbits fight when their hormone level is high.If you introduce unspayed/unneutered rabbits, it is likely they will start fighting someday. Understand the fact that neutering/spaying a house rabbit is essential. It is not only to prevent rabbits from fighting, as well as to keep your rabbits healthy. Adopting a single rabbit or a pair is a pleasure. Nevertheless, I reckon you are not willing to breed rabbits. You may say what if you adopt a pair of female rabbits. So there will be no problem with rabbits giving birth. Many rabbit owners are not willing to spend money on spaying/neutering as it is expensive in places. Owning a pair of unspayed female rabbits will stop your rabbits from breeding, and you can call yourself a proud owner. But one beautiful morning, you wake and notice signs of injury in one of your female rabbits. Can you guess what happened? You rabbits might have been fighting while you are sleeping in peace. Can you guess what might have triggered the fight? The probable reason for your rabbits to fight is the presence of a high level of hormones in your rabbits. The reason for being too hormonal is your female rabbits are unspayed. As they don’t have a way to keep their hormone level at normal, they are anxious. I believe you can already understand what may happen when you hold two anxious animals inside a cage for a long time? They will fight and will injure each other until you stop them and keep them separate. The same circumstances will follow if you decide to raise two male rabbits together. Male rabbits might even fight with each other to death. Small cages.Raising rabbits in a small cage is the most sickening thing a rabbit guardian can do. Any responsible rabbit guardian will not prefer to keep its pet rabbits in a small cage. Keeping rabbits in a small cage that restricts their comfortable movement will upset a rabbit. An upset rabbit will get grumpy. Unable to move inside a small cage because there are several rabbits inside the cage will cause gatherings to fight. Even if the rabbits are bonded, and the cage is not comfortable enough for one grumpy rabbit, the grumpy rabbit will push the other rabbit to one corner of the cage. If the rabbit has signs of injury and is scared to move at all within the cage, then you can guess your rabbits are fighting because the space you provided is not enough. Not enough space means the rabbit has a lack of freedom and exercise too. Rabbits need to run around, hop around to exercise, and remain healthy. Not able to run and exercise, the rabbit will try to spend their extra energy on other rabbits. Pet rabbits may find fighting as recreation. However, if your rabbits are fighting, either recreational or not, you must stop them. Because if they have injuries, you will have to visit the vet and spend time on their treatment. Hence I always say to raise rabbits in a free-range environment. If you can’t raise rabbits in a free-range environment, at least try to construct a running space for your pet rabbits attached to your hutch. Rabbits will fight due to changes in their environment.Assuming you took my previous suggestion and decided to place your rabbits in a free-range environment abruptly. Yet you have contributed to another fight in your pet rabbits. I am not saying it is happening inevitably. But a sudden change in the rabbit’s environment can cause stress in rabbits. Perhaps you liked raising your rabbits inside a hutch in your garage. One beautiful morning you chose to bring your rabbits indoors and let them play in the living room. What may happen is, caged rabbits will be overwhelmed by their freedom. Now, the rabbits will be determined to establish dominance and mark their territory. And in the process of doing so, even bonded rabbits may start fighting. Not just that, a sudden change in the environment will change a rabbit’s mood. As a human guardian, you may not interpret their mood correctly. Sick rabbits will fight.I believe anyone might understand why a sick rabbit will fight. If you can’t guess, let me explain it to you. It is usual for any creature to be unhappy when they feel sick. Similarly, rabbits don’t feel happy when they are sick, and they feel irritated by the presence of other rabbits. Rabbits usually do not show any signs of sickness until they can’t hide it anymore. Rabbits are fighters. I don’t mean they like fighting with other rabbits, but they fight their pain all by themselves. They do not wish to show weakness. AS a result, when a rabbit is sick and feels very weak, the rabbit tends to fight with other rabbits inside their running space. A sick rabbit prefers to be left alone; hence the rabbit may feel annoyed by a companion rabbit. To avoid further disturbance, the sick rabbit will fight other rabbits and keep them away from him/her. They will fight if they feel a threat from predators.Threat from predators is a more common factor in wild rabbits. Domestic rabbits raised indoors have very few danger from predators. However, placing rabbits outdoors even inside a hutch makes them weak to predators. But once a rabbit senses danger, the rabbit will fight. I am giving this example because no matter what the threat is if any rabbit feels a menace, the rabbits will surely fight. If they feel a threat from a new rabbit in his/her territory, the rabbit will fight. Do rabbits fight to the death?Yes, rabbits fight to the death, but it is not as common as you may think. Wild rabbits may fight to the end more commonly than house rabbits. Fighting to the death in rabbits is possible if the rabbits are unneutered and unspayed. The probability for two unneutered male rabbits fight to the death is higher than two unspayed female rabbits. And domestic rabbits are always suggested to be de-sexed before adopting. If you can’t de-sex rabbits before adopting them, then de-sex them as early as possible after you bring them home. However, the wild counterpart is neither neutered nor spayed. Therefore more prone to fighting with each other to the death. All the reasons mentioned above for rabbits fighting with a high level of hormone can contribute to a deadly fight in rabbits in the wild. How to know your rabbits are fighting?To understand whether rabbits are fighting or not is quite complicated. Some behaviors of rabbit affection are similar to a rabbit fighting. Therefore it is often confusing. Rabbit guardians interfere, believing they are preventing a fight where they only block the rabbits from being affectionate. So understanding the difference in rabbit behavior is crucial. Only a rabbit guardian can understand it better when their pet rabbits are fighting, and when they are loving. However, there few general signs for rabbit fight comprehension, such as:
Rabbits fight in different ways depending on the situation and their motive behind the fight. Mounting is a common way of showing aggression to establish dominance. Biting fur and ears is a common sight if two rabbits are not happy together. Consider nipping as a way of fighting as well as displaying affection. Nipping is the most complicated sign to interpret. A rabbit gently bites another rabbit to present the love it has for the other rabbit. AS well as this soft biting can also initiate a fight in rabbits. So it is the rabbit keeper’s judgment that will stop rabbits from fighting and not prevent them from loving. Lunging at another rabbit, or bumping at each other is also very common among unbonded rabbits. A rabbit may bounce at another rabbit if the rabbit feels irritated. While accommodating rabbits in a small cage, a rabbit may lunge and bump the other one to one corner of the cage and create space within the enclosure. If rabbits are swiping with claws at each other, that’s when a fight can become deadly. If rabbits are throwing punches at each other, you must intervene before the rabbits severely injure themselves. Should I ignore when my rabbit fights?As I said, you must intervene when your rabbits are throwing punches and swiping claws at each other. Not just that, if your rabbits show any signs of aggression towards another rabbit, it is your duty to prevent the situation from escalating further. Although rabbits will not always kill each other during a fight, indeed they can injure each other severely. That is why never introduce a rabbit abruptly without following the bonding stages first. In a situation, if you notice where your bonded rabbits are not going well along with each other, you can immediately step in and place two rabbits in two different cages. How to stop rabbits fighting?You can stop rabbits fighting by separating them. If you notice two bonded rabbits are struggling, then you must scare them by making a loud noise. Like you can call them loudly by their name, which might scare them off and leave each other. Most of the time, scaring them off with bang works because rabbits are sensitive to loud noises. If their fight continues and either one of the rabbits is not willing to give up, you have to use your hands to pull them apart. Before doing so, you must wear gloves. Rabbits don’t usually bite their guardian. However, if the rabbit is in a severe fight and you try to pull them apart, your rabbit might dig its teeth in your fingers. Similarly, while trying to pull them apart, you can get swiped by their claws. Regardless of your rabbit does this intentionally or not, you must wear gloves before you step into a rabbit fight. How to prevent rabbits from fighting?Rabbits may start a fight for many reasons. Knowing the reasons behind a rabbit fight will enable you to prevent more conflicts in the future. I have explained above why rabbits may fight with each other. It is easy to understand why a rabbit fights a newcomer. Hence, bonding rabbits is crucial. But if bonded rabbits are fighting, unless the rabbit guardian figures out the reason, you will fail to prevent injuries in the future. If you notice your bonded rabbits are fighting because one of the rabbits is sick, then it is essential to take your ill rabbit to the vet. If you understand your rabbit is fighting because it is stressed. Figure out ways to keep your rabbits stress free in the future. A rabbit will be stressed if it doesn’t have enough exercise. A bigger hutch with a setup of sufficient running space will enhance the rabbit’s mood. The rabbit will be happier, healthier, and likely stay away from future fights. Nevertheless, changing your rabbits’ territory frequently and abruptly will cause stress in rabbits. So do not relocate your rabbits often. Finally, rabbits fight and mount to establish dominance. If they feel a newcomer as a threat in their territory, they will fight. Your old rabbit will not accept the new rabbit easily without proper bonding takes place beforehand. Without bonding, the older rabbit will attack the newcomer and try to eliminate any kind of threat. If the new rabbit is submissive quickly, then it is okay. However, it is not always the scenario. If the newcomer doesn’t submit, then the fight will continue and escalate to deadly conflict. Rebonding rabbits after a fight.Rebonding rabbits after a fight is not ideal. Yet, if you are willing to rebond your rabbits after they fought and separated, you must be extra cautious. Introducing them again may trigger a fight suddenly. But once rabbits are separated, they forget each other very soon. Being apart, rabbits quickly forget it’s partner’s smell. And separating a bonded rabbit pair after observing aggressive behavior, rebonding them is quite tricky. Rebonding separated rabbits after a fight brings back a bonded rabbit to stage one. Yet, I can’t assure you that these rabbits will remain bonded without having a conflict again in the future. What do you have to do once your rabbits fought and were separated? You have to set and X-pen for the rabbits and keep them close. Close enough, they can get used to their smell, far enough so that they cannot reach for each other. And you have to do this in neutral territory. If you do not follow the steps in neutral territory, you will contribute to a territorial dispute? Because if you start the bonding process in one rabbit’s territory, the boss rabbit in that territory will not be very welcoming of the new rabbit. Remember, as I said, they will forget each other’s smell? Therefore the newcomer will be seen as a threat in the territory. As well as do not rush the rabbit bonding steps, especially after a fight. Because rushing through the steps might not provide sufficient time for the rabbits to rebond. As a result, when you place two rabbits together, they may start their fight suddenly again. It is further common than you may imagine. Initially, after rebonding, rabbits may fancy their companionship. However, similar conflicts like in the past may trigger a deadly fight in your rabbits. You may wake up one day and find out one of your rabbits is severely injured, and even worse, a rabbit is dead. Why do rabbits fight in spring?In general, rabbits tend to fight when their level of the hormone is high. Spring is the peak time for rabbits to mate. Hence in spring, rabbits in nature have a high level of hormone. Rabbits in the wild are intact, and with a high level of hormone present in rabbits, they act more aggressively than healthy rabbits. I am not saying the high level of the hormone is abnormal during spring. It is the wild rabbits’ natural behavior. However, if you see your bonded rabbits are fighting in spring, the likely reason for that condition is the high level of hormone. Therefore it is suggested to neuter and spay domestic rabbits before adoption. Unneutered/unspayed rabbits fight with each other more often than neutered and spayed rabbits. Neutering and spaying a rabbit will keep the rabbit hormones in balance. With a balance in hormone production, domestic rabbits are less likely to act aggressively. Neutered/spayed rabbits will be less hormonal even at their peak mating season. Hence a fight in bonded rabbits is not expected. Neutering/spaying a rabbit not only prevents them from fighting, but it is also easier to bond with de-sexed rabbits. Learn how to raise your rabbit! Want your rabbit to be happy and healthy? Click here to order the ebook How to raise healthy & happy rabbits! Need other things for your rabbit? Read more
 Bonding two female rabbits: Is same-gender bonding possible?Bonding two female rabbits is not an impossible task if the rabbit guardian does it the correct way. Having two female rabbits can cause a deadly fight in the scene if proper measures are not taken like described in this post. In this post, I wrote about how to bond two female rabbits without complications and allow them to live in harmony. Can two female rabbits together?Yes, two female rabbits can live together. It is necessary to bond the two female rabbits first. If a new female rabbit is introduced to your female pet rabbit abruptly, then you might contribute in a deadly fight. Rabbits are very territorial animals. Regardless of gender, rabbits can be very territorial, and a newcomer in their territory will not be accepted. Thus if two female rabbits bond together, only then can they live together. But bonding female rabbits come with some other complications. Several measures must be taken before trying to bond female rabbits, such as spaying the rabbits. I have seen several house rabbits living and playing together. And surprisingly, I have seen pairs that are both females, and they are chasing and grooming each other. Is spaying essential before bonding female rabbits?Regardless of gender, it is best to desex rabbits before bonding them with each other. Spaying/neutering a rabbit will aid in a healthy life for rabbits. Desexing a rabbit contributes to a longer lifespan in house rabbits. Likewise, after a few weeks from desexing, as the hormone will slowly wear off from their body, the rabbits will become less aggressive. It is tough to bond unneutered/unspayed rabbits because the hormones in their body will keep them aggressive towards the other. And female rabbits are even more territorial than male rabbits. Therefore if your female rabbits are unspayed, indeed, the older rabbit will not tolerate a new rabbit in her territory. If the older female house rabbit is more prominent in size and shape, your new rabbit will suffer as soon as you bring them together. You might wonder what if only one rabbit is spayed and not the other? I know spaying a rabbit can be costly in some places as they can’t be treated with ordinary veterinarians. But the best practice is to spay both rabbits before the introduction process begins. I cannot positively say the bonding process will work if one of the female rabbits is unspayed. How to bond two female rabbits?Assuming you own a pet rabbit that is a female. Your cute pet does not have any bunny friend. So, you want to present her with a new bunny friend. There are rabbit owners that cannot spend adequate time with their pet rabbits, which results in a lonely rabbit. I have seen rabbit owners that have one rabbit initially, and they enjoy the rabbit’s companion. Similarly, the house rabbit enjoys the companion of their guardian. Rabbits are not lonely at all if the rabbit guardian spends adequate time with the pet rabbit. Nevertheless, in some cases, the rabbit guardians may get busy with work and can’t manage enough time to play with the rabbit. That may cause loneliness in rabbits, and the rabbits will suffer. Hence many rabbit guardians, once they realize they are spending sufficient time with their pet rabbit, buy a new rabbit. However, trying to bond a male rabbit and a female rabbit is an excellent idea. Because the process will be a lot easier, unlike bonding rabbits of the same sex. The situation will be a lot worse if the rabbits are not desexed. However, the topic of this article is about bonding two female rabbits, and I will not discuss anything that is not related to the issue here. What are the steps for bonding two female rabbits?Let’s think of it like this: You already own a female rabbit and raise it in a free-range environment. A free-range environment such as the pet rabbit has access to most rooms in your house and has a cage where she goes to relax only. Rabbits growing up in such conditions consider most of the house as her territory. Although your rabbit is litter trained, occasionally, she will poop here and there within the house to mark her territory. I am using this example because bonding such a female rabbit will be the most complicated of all. Why is that? Because most of your house is the rabbits running space and she considers it as her territory. If a rabbit stays most of his/her life inside a hutch, then only the hutch will be the rabbit’s territory. Thus trying to bond a free-range female rabbit will be considerably hard because a new member in her territory will not be taken lightly. On the contrary, it will be difficult for you to find a neutral territory to introduce the older rabbit with the new one. STEP 1The first thing to do is when you get your new female rabbit, you must visit a vet to spay her and ensure her longer lifespan. Likewise, if the older rabbit in your house is unspayed, you must take her to a vet to do the same task. Until today if you have believed your female pet rabbit behaves nicely then, you might be wrong. As your pet rabbit had no competitor in her territory, and she did not feel any threat. Therefore she had no one to fight. Hence, spaying your older rabbit is crucial because if she is unspayed and meets a younger female rabbit, she will bring down wrath on the newcomer. So step 1 is ensuring the female rabbits are desexed, and at least a couple of weeks have passed after the desexing. STEP 2Now the introduction process must start assuming both female rabbits are spayed. At this stage, what you must do is find a place where the older rabbit never goes. Consider that location as neutral territory. If the older rabbit is in neutral territory, then she has no reason being territorial. You must do that so that both the female rabbits at this stage will not consider the other one as a threat. In this neutral territory, you must set an x pen. The simplest way to create an x pen is by using a DIY rabbit playpen. Use the DIY rabbit playpen to create two separate enclosures. And keep the two female rabbits in two separate enclosures. Set the enclosures at least several inches apart. Do not set the cages so far that the rabbit cannot communicate and not so close that they can grab each other to fight. STEP 3Give these female rabbits new litter boxes with fresh hay. Do not give them any litter box that has the smell of older rabbits. New litter boxes will prevent the older rabbit from acting territorial. Now there is a trick you can do. You can interchange the litter boxes every two days during the bonding process. I mean, you can take the litter box from the older rabbits cage and shift it to the newcomer’s cage. Similarly, take the newcomer’s litter box and place it in the older rabbits cage. That way, they both will get used to the smell of each other. And being in neutral territory, they will not count each other as a threat. STEP 4Now it is your turn to observe the rabbits. You have the rabbits in the cage doesn’t mean you are done with the process. You have to keep your eyes on the rabbits. Do not allow the rabbits to stay on the opposite side of the cages. If they are sitting on the furthest corner from each other, then it means they don’t like each other’s companion. It is a sign for the female rabbits that they can’t stand each other. Consequently, if you notice such behavior, bring the rabbits close to each other inside the cage. Do so for at least a week. By this time, observe their behavior. You can at least assume now that the rabbits are used to each other’s smell. Yet do not judge that they will bond with each other unless you see them inside one cage. STEP 5Now, the next step is to let the rabbits outside of the cage together. Do this in the neutral territory, and keep eyes on them. You can let them out together for hours in the beginning. You must slowly increase the time they spend together. First, let them spend 15 minutes together and observe their behavior during the period. See if they are aggressive or they are staying far from each other. If they start to fight with each other, immediately stop them and place them back into the individual enclosure. At this stage, if a female rabbit is yet acting territorial, highly likely, it will be the older one. So keep an eye on the older one so that she behaves appropriately with the newcomer. The older rabbit may mount the younger rabbit to prove her dominance and claim her territory. She might spray urine and poop around this unclaimed territory. If she does not, then you must place them back into their x pen and go back to STEP 4 again. Allow the rabbits to stay close to each other. Compel them to get used to with each other’s smell by frequently shifting their litter boxes. Also, pet them frequently one after another. That way, the rabbits will get used to the smell of the other female rabbit’s smell from your hand. They need to be comfortable with each other. If you fail at step 5, do not give up yet. Bonding same-sex rabbits are intricate work. If you have chosen to complicate things by bringing two female rabbits home, then you have to take the hassles. STEP 6Step five might take you back to step 4. In case you pass level 5, now you may allow the rabbits out of the cage frequently. Allow the female rabbits to play with each other. And slowly increase the time they spend with each other. Always be observant of their behavior. You are the guardian, and if you notice anything unusual, take them back to their cages. But give them more time to play together gradually. Suppose start by 15 minutes everyday, and progressively raise to 30-40 minutes and 1 hour. The whole process may sound very complicated before you work on it. But once you see your female rabbits living with each other in harmony, you will realize the time commitment has paid off. Conclusion.Bonding two female rabbits is not impossible, but the task is intricate. If you follow the steps, indeed, you can bond two female rabbits. Nevertheless, bonding rabbits require patience and time of the rabbit guardian. Usually, bonding rabbits may take only two weeks. All the steps I described above can be completed within two weeks. However, trying to bond two female rabbits may take longer than usual. It might take up to six months to get your female rabbits to like each other. Think of it like this: If a human meets another human, it may take a while for person A to befriend person B. They will need some time to become friends at first. Then after a few more dates, they will become close to each other. And casually, they will create a bond, and person A will become friends forever with person B. The same is applicable for bonding rabbits, regardless of gender. Although in most cases, two female rabbits will get used to each other within a month or two, in more complicated cases, it will take up to six months. Learn how to raise your rabbit! Want your rabbit to be happy and healthy? Click here to order the ebook How to raise healthy & happy rabbits! Need other things for your rabbit? Read more
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