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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 One aggressive bun and one happy-go-lucky bun

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    • Kelsie
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        I have two buns that I’m trying to bond:  

        Buck is the “man of the house” – he is territorial and not afraid to nip/grunt if you are bugging him.  He is truly a big sweetheart, I think he mostly reacts with aggression when he is scared or surprised. 

        Wrigley is the “new guy”.  He wants to be everyone’s best friend, and his idea of a good time is licking for you for hours and running laps around the couch.  He is never aggressive to the point that he won’t even move out of the way if Buck is biting his face through his cage’s wires/x-pen.  

        As I’ve tried to bond the two, I run into a typical issue.  Wrigley is only interested in grooming and snuggling with Buck, which is awesome.  Unfortunately, Buck’s main goal is to try to lunge at Wrigley to bite his face or butt.  If I am petting Buck, he doesn’t mind Wrigley being in his space, but if I move my hand away from his face, he immediately lunges.  I’ve read that I should let them nip each other to establish dominance, but I am concerned that Buck would really do damage.  Does anyone have suggestions? 


        Other Info: Both boys are neutered.  Their bonding sessions take place on our kitchen island (a neutral space).        


      • LittlePuffyTail
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          I can’t offer any advice as I’m dealing with the same situation. I have two separate bunnies because my female is super territorial and aggressive. And my male is a total sweetheart who just wants to be friends. I will have to keep up with this thread when you get some responses.


        • Sindri
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            I am currently trying to bond my rabbits. This has been on and off for a good while now. I have a thread going on right now about bonding my 2 again.
            I have an aggressive male Usagi who would always attack my other rabbit. I didn’t start with stress bonding and I wish I had.
            You mentioned that you are bonding on the kitchen island. Are they in a box or something? I would start out in a small box where they have no room to really fight. There are many ways to stress bond. One that I think works well when you can do it is take them for a car ride. Sometimes setting them on top of a dryer that is running also works. For me it didn’t work for long. Its good to have them in a small container or one you can pick up and move when the fighting begins. That’s what I do. I have dragged the box on the floor and walked them around. Since I had some cool late afternoon early evenings I have taken them outside that was also stress bonding for them being they don’t go outside. I would try something like that.
            I am no bonding expert since I am still trying to bond my 2 but those are some ideas you can try. I hope it gets better. You will have to keep us update!
            Best of luck!


          • Katscarpena
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              I have the SAME situation – except Chipper is my sweetie grump and Licorice is my happy guy. Then we added Luna hoping to break the stress, and it’s only seemed to add to it!

              Chipper is my lunge/biter. There is video of it. Praying at some point these tiny fools chill and love on each other. How cute would 3 snuggling hairy buns be?!


            • nutlilly
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                I’m having trouble too. My 3 year old female is mean and grunts and lounges at the new bunny (6 weeks old).

                They are fine when I put them in the laundry basket, but when you take them out she starts running away from him and then lounges and grunts at him.


              • vtsats
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                  Ditto. I’m dealing with the same issue. I have my buns in a laundry basket right now, and they still fight however I’m able to break it up better. My advice is keep them in a small space and be prepared for it to take a long time. We’re a week in and even with stress bonding my Flemish is still so tense that he starts fights once I stop petting him.

                  Once you’ve got them in a small space, try to end on a good note. Give them
                  A treat together. Some sessions will only be minutes long, but it’s better to be quick and end on a good note then longer and end in catastrophe.

                  *sigh* it seems like we’re not the lucky ones that have buns who fall immediately in love. But keep going! Small steps are still steps!


                • Kelsie
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                    Thank you for all of your responses. I wish there was some magic way to make the bonding process easier!

                    People who suggest stress bonding in small areas: Should I put the bunnies in a box with their faces going the same way? I am really terrified that Buck will bite Wrigley’s face and cause serious damage. Should I stress Buck first and then add Wrigley to the mix? Buck mostly lashes out at Wrigley when he’s stressed out- will this just make it worse? Should I keep my hand nearby to breakup fights, or should I give them some space?


                  • Sindri
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                      I would put them in a small box where they can sit side by side but without much room to move around. This makes them be close to each other and there is not much room for fighting. I would just place them side by side not face to face. Move the box around if fighting starts it will usually break it up. I would suggest a car ride if you can. A lot of people told me the same it works pretty good. Rabbits don’t usually like car rides so they can seek each other out for comfort during the ride. It doesn’t have to be long. My boy rabbit use to be extremely aggressive but now through stress bonding he is the one grooming and seeking comfort from my female rabbit during stress bonding. Now if you cant go for a car ride place the box on top of a moving dryer or drag it on the ground or carry it. The point of stress bonding is stressing them . I would stop from time to time and pet them if they are doing good and tell them that. if they start fighting pick the box up. Or move it around. You can also try turning on a vaccum cleaner if they start fighting.
                      I have been trying to bond mine for quite sometime. I had really bad fighting with mine. Take things slow I would try short bonding sessions and I hope these suggestions help you out. They really have helped me. When they seem to not be fighting in the smaller box move up to a bigger box but not too big you might get set backs and I have had plenty of those. hehe If the fighting doesn’t stop I would suggest taking some time off without letting your rabbits see each other. my last break was several months and I think its what I needed. Best of luck to you!


                    • Kelsie
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                        I tried stress bonding last night, and it was okay. I put the boys in a Rubbermaid box and tilted it from side to side. My husband was on bunny duty and made sure that they stayed in the box and behaved. Despite being incredibly stressed, Buck still tried to bite Wrigley about 3 times in 5 minutes. My husband was able to break it up easily without any damage, but it seemed like the stress just made Buck more crabby.

                        We also put the boys on the kitchen island again for more bonding fun. They do okay ignoring each other there, but I think that’s because we give them pets while they’re up there. We always end on a good note with a papaya tablet, and they seemed happy to be done. We switched their houses last night again, and it’s funny to see their reaction. They are both so excited to get to be in the other’s space, they have a great time.

                        One small improvement was that Buck didn’t try to bite Wrigley through the X-pen bars last night after bonding. He just sniffed and watched him. Let’s hope for more improvement, and please continue to send tips my way. I really appreciate all of the advice!


                      • khrisangel
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                          I now have 3 buns that I adopted all this year at different times. 3 different litters and 3 different ages and all now bonded! I was told told not to get all girls etc etc. What I know about buns came from the internet and this site and constantly doing my research. Im far from knowing even alot about buns, but I hope this gives you hope as it can be done. Patience Good luck!

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                      Forum BONDING One aggressive bun and one happy-go-lucky bun