Forum

OUR FORUM IS UP BUT WE ARE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF UPDATING AND FIXING THINGS.  SOME THINGS WILL LOOK WEIRD AND/OR NOT BE CORRECT. YOUR PATIENCE IS APPRECIATED.  We are not fully ready to answer questions in a timely manner as we are not officially open, but we will do our best. 

You may have received a 2-factor authentication (2FA) email from us on 4/21/2020. That was from us, but was premature as the login was not working at that time. 

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

What are we about?  Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum BONDING Today is the big day. Update 9/17

Viewing 16 reply threads
  • Author
    Messages

    • unknownphoenix
      Participant
      97 posts Send Private Message

        So today is the day that we can start the most likely long process of bonding Bleu and Kern. We have been doing some pre-bonding since Bleu was spayed last month. Mostly just switching poo and rubbing fur on cloth and placing it in the cages. We had a mishap last week. Kern jumped the couch and got into Bleu’s area while I was in the Kitchen. Poor Kern wasn’t even slightly interested in her, just wanted to explore. Bleu ran to him before we had a chance to intervene. She sniffed him then lunged on him. Kern ran around the dining table, Bleu chasing him, fiance spraying the crap out of her to try and distract her. I managed to shove her off of him on their next run through and distract her with a banana chip. She pulled out some of Kern’s hair in the process, grunting and smacking her front paws at him. I got her in her cage and my fiance managed to get an extremely freaked out Kern back into his area. We where so worried Kern would be tramatized from this. It took him an hour to get back to normal. The stupid brat even tried to jump over the couch again after he calmed down!

         

        I do have a couple questions though. First let me explain how our setup is. Kern is the living room, Bleu is in the dining room and we have the two areas seperated by the hutch that is still in its box. I was wondering if its ok to put Kern’s cage in Bleu’s area (in a safe distance so they cant fight between the bars). But what worries us and I don’t know if this is a dumb question, when we let Kern out to take him into the living room, will Bleu possibly get jelous and hold a grudge because he is out in her territory?

        We are doing bonding in the kitchen by the way, neither one of them has been in there cause they dont like the tile lol.

         

        Second question, if the first session isn’t going well and they are fighting really bad, do we want to keep pushing through and try doing a stress bond it or is it best just  to limit  the whole experience to like 10 minutes or so? And should we try to end it on a good note so they don’t remember the fights?


      • MoveDiagonally
        Participant
        2361 posts Send Private Message

          I would house them side by side unless it seems to be agitating either of them and/or making bonding harder. Unless you think they are going to seriously harm each other always try to end on good note. If you end the session because of a fight this can actually increase aggression later one. It can make them think that the way to get what they want, the other rabbit away from them, is to fight.

          If they are fighting really bad in the first session I would gently restrain them and pet them near each other until they calm down enough to end the session. I say this because if you’re new to bonding or haven’t seen a lot of bunny aggression it can be easy to feel a bit flustered by it. Which could possibly make it harder to navigate them into a stress bonding scenario. I would start with stress bonding on the second session. If they are getting along I think you can let the session go for as long as you want it to go. Just keep an eye on them and if one or both seem to be starting to get agitated end the session on a good note.

          Oh! And wear gloves and long sleeves. My husband thought I was being silly about this but the first time we introduced our trio bunnies they fought and when he intervened they went after his hands and arms. Best of luck! Keep us posted


        • unknownphoenix
          Participant
          97 posts Send Private Message

            Thank you for the reply. We put their cages next to each other, they don’t seem stressed so that is somewhat of a good sign I think. In fact as I write this they are munching on hay staring at each other occasionally turning their back to each other lol. We where able to make a spot so that their cages are next to each other and are able to block Kern’s cage door off from Bleu and he has access to the living room and she has access to the dining room. Just have to keep a close eye on Kern because his jumping skills are fantastic and he will jump over the cage once he figures out he can in fact do it. We blocked off the top of his cage as well to deter him from doing this. Used a futon pillow cause he is scared of it lol.
            When we let them out for playtime Bleu decided that anyone that goes into the dining room is hers and was chinning me and my friend and running around us in circles lol. I didn’t realize she could get her nose into the bars of Kern’s cage when she is out and she put her nose on his nose and he kinda nipped her. Not hard, just seemed to be a warning to get out of his home. I very quickly blocked her off from that spot though
            But we decided to wait a couple days to bring them into the bonding area. Just let them get used to being next to each other and take it from there.

            Oh and I actually forgot to get gloves so I will definitely have to pick those up before we start bring them together. What kind of gloves do you think we should get? The thick winter ones or do you think rubber would be ok?


          • MoveDiagonally
            Participant
            2361 posts Send Private Message

              We used work and gardening gloves and they seemed to work out okay. You can kind of test them by putting one and pinching your gloved hand with your non-gloved hand.

              I’m going to start bonding my trio to my two singles soon. It’s exciting


            • unknownphoenix
              Participant
              97 posts Send Private Message

                Ok so we finally got the time to introduce Kern and Bleu. My fiance has been working non stop 7 days a week so he was exhausted. He took a 3 day vacation so we decided today was the day. We took them in the kitchen, an area where neither have ever been into. For the first 5 minutes they where not interested in each other. Finally Kern decided to sniff her, they did a lot of sniffing and then all of a sudden Kern bit her. We pushed him away and said “No” Very loud. This continued for a few minutes. Poor Bleu was in love, she was trying to groom him and lay next to him but he wasn’t having it. I spent a good majority of the time petting the both of them while Bleu was laying her head on his back. Don’t know if what I did was correct though. Kern even refused craisens, which are his favorite, the entire time she was near him… We decided to end it cause it was going no where unless I was petting the both of them. I did end it on a good note though, so hopefully things go better for the next time :/


              • unknownphoenix
                Participant
                97 posts Send Private Message

                  We tried again and decided to give up on bonding them. Kern bit her pretty bad on the corner of her nose. She squeaked and there was a little blood. She seems fine. Gonna keep an eye on the cut make sure no infection. We built the hutch for Kern and he seems really happy. Gonna work on eventually getting Bleu one. Till then we combined her cage with Kerns old cage. I am pretty bummed, was really looking forward to being able to have them both running around the living room. We figure there is no point in continuing if, he can do a lot of damage to her and its just not worth her suffering and a vet bill.


                • LittlePuffyTail
                  Moderator
                  18092 posts Send Private Message

                    Are you near any rabbit rescues that could maybe help you with bonding?


                  • MoveDiagonally
                    Participant
                    2361 posts Send Private Message

                      If you do decide to try again I would recommend trying some stress bonding. You can also use a metal strainer as a barrier, it keeps them from being able to actually bite each other but they can still interact.

                      LPT’s suggestion is a really good one.


                    • Baxter n Boos Mom
                      Participant
                      394 posts Send Private Message

                        For stress bonding – you may also try turning on a vacuum while they’re in a smaller space. The sound causes stress, and when confined to a small area – they will hopefully seek comfort from the other rabbit.

                        Sending you positive thougts….I know bonding can be stressful.


                      • unknownphoenix
                        Participant
                        97 posts Send Private Message

                          When we got them at the humane society they kept saying “dont try and put them together. It will end in one dying” of course we knew what we read on here so we ignored it. They have a rabbit specialist that works there that will come out and bond rabbits for a price. We really dont even want to take the chance with a specialist. I really do think its for the best that we keep them separated. Plus I am a little freaked out by what happened. Her little squeal she made was heartbreaking. And upon further inspection I noticed the fur under her eye looked strange and there is a bite there too. He opened his mouth so far when he bit her that he bit her nose and under her eye. If she would have lost her eye..oh my god. I feel absolutely awful that I put her in that danger. Maybe one day I will consider it, but I am thinking its possible Kern is one of those rare un-bondable rabbits I plan on getting her a stuffed animal to love on. She was so in love with Kern she was grooming him and trying to cuddle. So I will get her a stuffed animal, maybe even the plushie from this site’s store and rub Kerns fur on it all the time so she has something to cuddle with and clean.   

                          On a positive note though, Bleu seems really happy since we moved their cages. She keeps doing lots of binkys which she usually never does. We cant tell if its cause she has somewhat more space in the dining room or if its cause she didn’t like Kern’s cage next to hers. Kern is super relaxed and seems very happy. He loves his new bunny mansion. 

                          Kern sleeping in his little bed. He never sleeps on this on the floor and and we where afraid he wasn’t gonna be able to figure out how to get to the hole on the second floor so we put the bed in his cage. We even had to put a box to make the ramp less steep. It was a lot of work. It took 2 days to get the house back in order. Last night we had to buld a gate to block off Kerns area and Bleus. The house is still a mess


                        • LittlePuffyTail
                          Moderator
                          18092 posts Send Private Message

                            Kern is so cute. The decision is yours, of course. If you are willing to house them separately, then maybe that is the best thing to do. I know it is very stressful. No one wants to see their bunny get hurt. Isn’t it frustrating how rabbits are? They are the only pet I know that you have to “bond”.


                          • MegaPixel
                            Participant
                            43 posts Send Private Message

                              I have read a lot lately on bonding because i plan to bond my two bunnies.

                               

                              here is some info i found that might help you. (i'm pretty sure it's someone from this forum.)

                               

                              Best of Luck to you!

                               

                              http://www.wheekwheekthump.com/2013/08/25/complete-beginners-guide-rabbit-bonding-everything-need-know/

                               

                              http://www.wheekwheekthump.com/2013/08/04/3-most-important-aspects-of-bonding-that-people-always-seem-to-forget/


                            • Kayota
                              Participant
                              114 posts Send Private Message

                                Rats can be the same way, especially with males.


                              • Bam
                                Moderator
                                16834 posts Send Private Message

                                  I’m keeping my bunnies separate after many fruitless efforts to bond them. They re free-roam in the apt and I’ve divided it with a gate that has a double layer of netting. They can see each other and quite often they lie on either side of the gate, like they are communicating in some rabbitish way. But they fought so bad, even during car-bonding, that I didn’t think it was worth it to keep up the bonding-efforts. If they’d have hurt each other in some irreparable way I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself.

                                  I’ll probably give it another try some time in the future. But they seem rather happy as it is, actually.


                                • unknownphoenix
                                  Participant
                                  97 posts Send Private Message

                                    Kayota- Yeah my brother in law and his girlfriend that live with us have rats that they weren’t able to bond. They originally had 2 rats then got another 2 but their first (Damien is his name) would not get along with the new ones.

                                    Bam- I think my rabbits would kill each other if I had only netting separating them, that’s how bad he hates her. My fiance was thinking it might be possible he is holding a grudge from the day she attacked him when he jumped over the couch and got in her area. We currently have a wood gate separating them and they fight through the little crack where it doesn’t touch the floor. Oh my goodness is that awful. Everyday they are out its a constant worry that Kern will decide its time to mess with Bleu. She even attacked me when I tried to push her away so they would stop fighting. Like, she actually ran at me grunting and tried to bite my leg. I had to put them both in their cages. It was scary. So now we have to pay close attention when they are running around playing everyday. I need to get some cardboard and screw it into the gate so they cant see each other through the bottom. They are both just the sweetest bunnies though until they see each other. Its hard to believe how aggressive they can get. And it also makes me worry I may never be able to get a cat with how Kern is.


                                  • Bam
                                    Moderator
                                    16834 posts Send Private Message

                                      unknownphoenix, I have a gate with netting on both sides, there is a distance of about an inch between the two netted sides, so to speak. If mine could reach each other I’m sure they’d hurt each other. The fervour of their hatred really is quite remarkable =( But mine only attack the gate now and then, not all the time. From time to time they relax on either side. Here is a picture:

                                      But I also have a dog and neither rabbit has ever tried any sort of aggression towards her, so the hatred is possibly only towards members of their own species. Your Kern may not look at a cat as an intruder at all.


                                    • Bam
                                      Moderator
                                      16834 posts Send Private Message

                                         

                                         Finally, the picture of the gate:

                                         The netting is welded and attached to both sides of the gate. In the evenings Yohio (yellow bun) often tries to get into the living-room, but that could be because he’d like to be with the rest of us, not that he’s looking to pick fights with Bam (black bun). He can’t be trusted alone in the living-room because of a recent incident involving cords and cables, so Bam has that room and Y the rest of the apt.

                                         

                                    Viewing 16 reply threads
                                    • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

                                    Forum BONDING Today is the big day. Update 9/17