So many Questions that I can’t find the answer to!

[Pottykates]

Hi everyone. So I’m completely new to this forum but I can’t find answers to my questions on google so I thought I would ask you experts

The Bunnies

We have Oscar who is a white and tan lop (mixed breed) I think and Bert who is a black, pebble and white lop (again mixed). They are both about 9/10 months old now. Oscar is the more confident of the 2. Nothing seems to phase him at all. He gets bored easily and is always trying to get in small places that he shouldn’t no matter how many toys, boxes, treats etc we give him. He can be very loving though and is sooo cute although he has a grumpy side when it comes to picking him up. Bert is very sweet and much calmer. He is the ‘good’ bunny. He will happily play in his box for hours but he isn’t as loving and a bit more timid. If you give him your food he will always snatch it and run off. When I get some photos I will add them on here because they are gorgeous!

Background

In September last year, we went to the pet shop and bought 2 male baby bunnies, Oscar and Patch. (They would only sell them in same sex pairs) They were about 10 weeks when we bought them but the shop wasnt sure. I thought I had done all of my research so bought them thinking they would be fine as they were already living together. My research wasn’t as good as I thought! But maybe the pet shop should have warned me about neutering though as well. Anyway they were outdoor rabbits with a nice space to run around and they shared the same hutch. Anyway 3 weeks after getting the rabbits, someone came into our back garden at night and pinched poor Patch and left Oscar running around in the rain because his hutch had closed again. 

We went out and bought another boy rabbit because that is what we had previously. Similar age and breed and he is called Bert. We also decided to bring the hutch inside as there was no way of securing it and with them being young and the weather getting much colder it wouldnt have been right. So now i have house bunnies! They were sharing the same hutch within a week of bringing him home and were fine for another 2/3 weeks before the fighting started. This is where I did my proper research and realised they needed neutering so we booked them in and kept them separate. All went well and around Christmas time we decided to start the bonding process after doing tonnes of reading on the internet. After a few fights the bunnies were getting along well in the bathroom and then Oscar tried to take food from Bert and another fight ensued. I was going back to work after the Christmas holidays (I’m a teacher) so me and my partner decided to put the bonding on hold for a while. Which is where we are up to now.

Current Situation

I decided last Monday to start bonding the rabbits again because they need to have company while I’m out at work all day and I’m also sick of poo all over my living room carpet! My house is only very small (which is why I wanted them outdoors originally) so the mess is literally everywhere. It would also mean they can spend more time out of the hutch instead of having to alternate for each bunny.  Prior to this i have been swapping the bunnies over in their hutches everyday so they can get used to the smell of each other. Anyway the first day went fine. They pretty much ignored each other except for the odd sniff. The next day Bert was attempting to hump Oscar so I thought maybe he will be the dominant one but then he also was grooming Oscar so I’m a bit confused there. Since then we have had a bit of fighting mostly started by Bert attempting to stick his head up Oscars bum and Oscar not liking it, and a lot of grooming from Bert but absolutely none from Oscar. Yesterday we even had a bit of teeth chattering (I’m guessing the good kind because they were both snuggled up together) and I left them for 10/15mins at a time in the bathroom and they were fine.  However today the bunnies were back in the bathroom and within 2 minutes they were fighting. I separated them to calm them down and they did it again so they went away again. Anyway my questions are as follows:

1. How can I tell who is the dominant bun and submissive bun? It seems to me from what I have watched that Bert tries to be dominant when they are first together until he accepts he is submissive then the rest of the session is fine. But it is every time that Bert seems to forget or change his mind. Which leads me onto my next question.
2. How long can it take for bunnies to establish their dominant/submissive roles? I feel like that is the only thing that is holding them back!
3. When we first go into the bathroom, Oscar will usually have a huge smelly wee and Bert will poo everywhere. I understand this to be them trying to establish their territory. Should I be following them around picking it up and tidying it up as the bathroom is supposed to be a neutral space or do I leave it for the bunnies to sort out themselves? I have no other places to do the bonding which is annoying. 
4. Oscar refuses to groom Bert but when I am sat there he will keep coming up to me and grooming. Is he bonded to me in any way? Is that causing a problem?
5. Why does Bert keep sticking his head under Oscars bum?
6. On a different note: How do I get sticky apple juice off Bert’s head? I put it on to encourage Oscar to groom him but he wasn’t interested and now Bert has permanently spikey hair. I don’t think they are big fans of water are they? 

Even though this bunny ownership was nothing like i expected i refuse to give up on them and i love my bunnies to bits so i want to get them as happy as they can possibly be! 

Thank you in advance for any advice or comments. Katie

[Pottykates]

Hey guys, 

Just a quick update about the bunny bonding. Tried again today and they both went up to each other tails raised followed seconds later by a fight. Oscar seems to initiate it now as soon as he sees Bert. Bert is still pooing all over the floor and both are having huge smelly wees. I don’t know what to do! How can they go from cuddly happy bunnies to this over night?  Bunnies are complex characters! 

Katie.

[Pottykates]

Another update! I haven’t given up!

Currently sat in the middle of the bathroom with Bert on my left munching amd Oscar on my right chilling out which I’m guessing is a good sign! There has been one wee which i swiftly cleaned up and a few poos to start but after picking them up we haven’t had many more! They have wanted to fight (tails up a few times) but with me in the middle i just separated them before they could which i think has helped. Also when they get close, i just do lots of stroking to try and distract them which has also helped. Another tail up situation just occured. Now Oscar is munching kale and Bert is chilling lol. Exciting session! Haha!

On the up fingers crossed!

Katie.

[Lexy]

Hi Katie

As you are learning, bunny bonding can be a long winded and complicated process! Sometimes they take to each other straight away, other times it can take weeks or months. I would stick at it, if possible try them together for a short time (20 minutes or so) every day when you have the time. You could try them in the bath/shower cubicle (empty of course ) as the smaller space means they are less likely to fight (not as much room to chase etc), also they won’t be able to move around as easily on the slippery surface. I’d also try getting out of the way so they can focus on each other completely.

How aggressive is the fighting? A certain amount of nipping/humping etc is part of the bonding ritual. I know it’s hard but unless they are really going for it, biting hard enough to break the skin etc, I would let them scuffle a bit as this will help them decide who’s the boss, which can take a while to establish (and can also change over time). If the fighting gets bad you could bang 2 pans together or start the hoover, bang on the side of the bath, any loud noise should distract them from their fighting and get them to stop.

You can just leave the poos and wees until the end of the bonding session, I think the less involved you are the better really. It can be trickier bonding 2 males, having said that I have 2 boys that chose each other and bonded straight away. Sounds like it’s going well so far and I’m sure they’ll be best buddies in no time

With the apple juice, I’d just get a damp cloth and wipe as much what you can, my bunnies are fine with this.

Good luck with the rest of the bonding, post some pictures of your gorgeous bunnies if you can xx

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