how should I go about bonding for the first time?

[Tatiana338]

hey yall! I’ve got some questions regarding the bonding of my two buns a little introduction.. I’ve had my male Lionhead mix for about a year now, his name is Roger. I just recently adopted a female Lop named Izzy, and I plan to eventually have her and Roger bonded. I did take Roger to the local rescue, and he went on a few bunny “dates” which led us to the adoption of Izzy. they both did very well on the dates they did have in the rescue – neither tried to fight, and they just cuddled for a good 30 minutes or so each time. after we brought Izzy home, we put them together for their bonding sessions, and each time everything is fine until Izzy tries to hump Roger. he resists her and tries to run away each time, but he never tries to hump her back. does this mean that he feels like he should be the dominant bunny since he’s resisting? how long should I let Izzy go on before separating them? they seem to be comfortable around eachother before she tries to hump, grooming themselves in front of one another however they’ve never once groomed eachother.. their cages are next to eachother, and when one is out they go to sniff the other bun. I’m hesistant to put them together again today because they almost got into a fight after the humping yesterday.. sorry this is long, I just would love some advice as this is my first time bonding a pair, and I’d love for it to work out any advice is appreciated, thank you.

 

~Tatiana

[MoveDiagonally]

As long as their not hurting each other or humping “backwards” (on the head) then you shouldn’t separate them. It’s how they work out who’s boss.

If they start to fight separate them from fighting but don’t end the bonding session. You don’t want them to associate fighting with getting the other rabbit “away from them” it can encourage fighting.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Since you went through a rescue, I’m assuming they are both fixed.

The bunny that is doing the humping is the dominant bunny. The excessive humping will wear off (although many buns continue to hump occasionally) once dominant bunny feels he has won the position of head bunny. If there is aggression, you could always try some stress bonding.

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