It was roughly 2 years ago since I started raising my rabbits because I believed it was the perfect pet for my personality. Rabbits are fluffy, gentle, and not noisy. I liked a pet that didn’t produce too much noise because it stressed me, and my father doesn’t like it either. I have encountered many problems while raising them, including the time my rabbits got a deadly fungus that scattered in their ears, legs, faces, and feet. It was one of the scariest moments I had since I lost one rabbit back then.
Within that period, I produced 18 plus rabbits, and I can’t still believe it. Whenever my doe gets pregnant and gives birth, I make sure that she and her babies are safe. I’ll continue to raise them, and when they reach 3 months old, I will give them to some of my friends and cousins who like to have rabbits as well. It’s very sad, yes. But I can’t cater for a dozen rabbits since all I want is to have at least two pairs.
So, this morning, I was truly shocked by what I saw in one of my bucks. He was bald on the top of his head. This means the doe and buck fought intensely last night. It is because the last time I gave them food around 5:30 p.m., he was not in that kind of condition. Due to my shock, I immediately got him out of the cage where the doe is also residing. I hugged him and said sorry. I knew he couldn’t understand me, but I felt so bad for him.
This is the first time that I've seen this kind of intense fight between my duck and doe. I do not have any clue why my doe resisted mating since they have been together for like a year now. They produced one batch of rabbits before, so I don’t see any reason why she rejected the buck. I’ve read several articles because they fight, and I think the female one is becoming aggressive and territorial recently.
This buck of mine named Apollo is the sweetest and gentlest among them. I haven’t experienced being scratched or bitten by him. The bald part was hairless, which I find bad. The thing I am grateful for is that he doesn’t receive any bites or wounds, because if he did, that would be bad. I will need to treat it immediately so the wound doesn’t get infected with infectious parasites.
I also checked his entire body just to make sure he didn't have any wounds, and thankfully, there were none. After checking his body, I fed him lettuce since my father went home with a big plastic bag of it. He seemed to like it because the lettuce was good for his body as well. On the other hand, I checked my doe to see if she had any wounds because I knew from their fight that she might have, too. Luckily, she has no wounds or bald parts on her body.
I just want to let you know that rabbits can be very aggressive when they find the cage stressful. Sometimes, if the cage is placed in an area where too much noise can be heard, it stresses them as well. If you have the plan to raise a rabbit, whether for pet or breeding, make sure you have a good environment for them. Their cage shouldn’t be made of wood because they’ll just bite and gnaw it until they can get out. It is better to use steel and iron.
In addition, there are several reasons why the doe and buck fight. First, either of them is territorial. This means that the rabbit finds it hard to accept a mate or an accompanying person in the cage where it lives. You’ll notice it when they fight and hiss a lot. Secondly, if their cage is too small to contain the two of them together. You have to consider the size of their cage when you decide to mate with them. Rabbits will be irritated when they can’t jump or run in the cage.
The last thing is food scarcity. This happens to me several times when I forget to put food for them. Or, when I go out and no one can give them food since everyone in my family is either working or studying. My rabbits will fight, and they will try to gnaw anything they can inside the cage. So be very careful. Don’t let them feel hungry or forget to give them food. You don’t want to see something you’ll regret. Now, I'll separate my buck and doe for a while, and I’ll try to reintroduce them every morning so they can still see each other. Just be patient and love your pets dearly.