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Forum BONDING Mission to Bond: Peppercorn & Ginger

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    • Peppercorn & Ginger
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        Here goes, my first post on Binky Bunny! I’ve read up on a few things on this website and found it helpful. I’m trying to bond two rabbits, and figure I can post my progress here and if you’ve got advice or suggestions at any point please reply! I would love to know what has worked for you and what hasn’t. 

        I’ll try to keep it short…

        My boyfriend Andrew and I adopted Peppercorn from the shelter back in February, he was about 1 year old and already neutered. He’s a handsome 6 pound Standard Chinchilla who was very shy when we adopted him, but around June he started to be more outgoing and curious. We bring him to hoppy hours and he got along with the other rabbits. We read about how bunnies are social animals and that they really prefer not to be alone, and since Andrew and I work normal 8-4 jobs, we wanted to get Peppercorn a friend to keep him company!

        August 22: we brought Peppercorn on a few bunny dates with a local rabbit rescue society. A few rabbits were a clear “no”, but Ginger and Peppercorn did alright together. Ginger is a sassy, 3 pound Lionhead. Ginger mounted Peppercorn a few times but when separated she didn’t chase or bite. Pep basically ignored her. The rabbit society said this was a pretty good match so we adopted Ginger and brought her home.

        First date at home: end of August – We circled up an x-pen on the other side of the living room (where Pep normally isn’t) and dropped them both in the pen. Pep started chasing and biting right away and poor Ginger was running trying to get away. Andrew wasn’t quite ready but as he stuck his hands in to separate them he got a pretty nasty bite from Pep. It’s all healed now though.

        Next 3 dates: Moved into the bathroom. They spent the entire time avoiding each other. When Pep would get curious and try to sniff Ginger, she would run away. It seems as though she’s lost her will to be dominant because of how rude and mean Pep was during the first date at home.

        Next 10 dates: Made the space smaller – blocked off a 3 feet by 2 feet space in the bathroom to try to get them to interact more. Same story, they’d ignore each other until Pep gets curious and then he’d go sniff/nip Ginger, and she would run away. They would take turns flopping and grooming though. Mixed messages! Dates at this point are about 45 minutes to an hour long, but mostly they would just sit in opposite corners and ignore each other. Peppercorn sticks his head under Ginger all the time to try to get her to groom him but she just won’t!

        Fast forward – moved into the bedroom, still with a very small space of about 3 feet by 2 feet. Yesterday Pep nipped a little bit but not too bad. They cuddled for about 10 seconds. Today, I tried smooshing them together while petting them. Sort of worked, Peppercorn actually started grooming Ginger! But only INSIDE HER EAR. Is that normal? Anyway, then he tried to get her to groom him again by sticking his head under her but she ignored him again. When I smoosh them together they don’t immediately move apart. That’s a good sign, right?

        **We did try to “stress bond” them once by putting them in a box and shaking/moving it. Ginger spent the whole time trying to jump out and Peppercorn didn’t even stress out, he just kept nipping Ginger. We want to try the car ride method sometime but haven’t gotten the chance to yet. We also have not tried to feed them during their bonding sessions. Dates now are still about an hour long.

        We would love any advice or suggestions. We are going to Rome over Thanksgiving for a week and while we will board them both, the idea was that they would be completely bonded by then so they wouldn’t freak out as much at the bunny hotel.


      • Peppercorn & Ginger
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          9/22: Put them on their date and gave them each a half of one baby carrot. They ate them in separate corners of their date space. Peppercorn then nipped/tried to nip Ginger for the first 10-15 minutes… but then they calmed down and Peppercorn started grooming Ginger again. He’s apparently a very aggressive groomer. Ginger’s mane is all messed up after he grooms her, but at least this time he groomed all parts of her head versus just her ears. We love that they’re making progress and don’t know if we should try to expand their space first or if we should try feeding them together in the same space first. Thoughts?


        • vanessa
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            Sounds great. They look very relaxed and comfortable with each other’s presence. I woudl increase the amount of time they spend together. Try half a day. See how it goes. You might be close to an overnight stay.


          • BB & Tiny
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              We started out with bathroom dates also. Though I think they weren’t quite as extensive in number. They were in two separate pens in the living room, which I kept switching them so no one could lay claim to one specific pen. After the bathroom dates we moved to one of the pens using a piece of cardboard for a barrier when chasing/nipping ensued we continued our dates in both pens.

              Washing inside the ears was part of these two also and her obsession with washing his eyes..and now his and my eyes, weird little girl, lol. Eventually that stopped and they would lay by each other. That being said about 3 weeks after ” moving in ” together fur flew. Still don’t know why, but I separated them while not home but continued to let them both loose in the living room together. Whenever he chased her I sprayed him with a spray bottle. Didn’t take long for him to learn that wasn’t appropriate behavior. She even went to offer her services of drying him off..

              Thankfully they get along great now.


            • BB & Tiny
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                P.s. If you are going to board them, perhaps they will bond while there. I know mine were terrified even coming home from the rescue and huddled together in the carrier. Do they plan to put them together ?


              • Peppercorn & Ginger
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                  Thanks for the input

                  9/23: Doubled the size of their date space but stuck both litter boxes in there along with a bowl of water. I don’t know how to increase the time they date without litterboxes because they’re going to need to pee! They were getting along fine while in separate litter boxes, but Pep didn’t want Ginger in whatever litter box he was in (it didn’t look like they were attached to the litter box in “their” pen.

                  9/24: Went back to the tiny date space without water/litter boxes. Pep nipped Ginger in the beginning but then it went well after that. Some cuddling but Pep really wants Ginger to groom him, and she won’t

                  They are in two separate pens in the living room, and I’ve been switching them back and forth every night after their date so they spend about 24 hours in one pen and then the next 24 hours in the other pen and so forth. Spraying Pep with water when he’s aggressive doesn’t seem to help, he hasn’t really learned that nipping her is not OK. I would love for them to live together but know that it is still too soon.

                  We will be gone for the weekend in 3 weeks and will be boarding them. The place we board has one room for guest bunnies, so they would both be in the same room. Now I’m debating if I should set up a pen as a divider between the two halves of the room, or let them live with each other in the same room without a divider. It’s a big enough room (maybe 10′ by 7′) that they could live together and ignore each other the whole time. What do you guys think? Ideally they would be completely bonded by end of November when we go to Rome so they can cuddle and keep each other company during that week.

                  It’s hard to do half day dates when we’re working 8-4, but this weekend we can give it a try! We’d obviously have to put litter boxes in their date area. Anything else we should do that might help?


                • Peppercorn & Ginger
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                    9/25: Had a 3 hour date in a small space with their litter boxes. It went well 85% of the time, so when we returned them to their pens we thought oh what the heck, lets see how they do together. We took apart both their xpens and connected them together into a huge space. They LOVED it! Peppercorn only nipped Ginger once or twice while mutually occupying a large space. I consider this a successful step.

                    9/26: Thought we would give it another shot by combining their xpens together into a HUGE space again. This time Peppercorn was not so nice – nipped Ginger every chance he got. Even took an endive leaf out of her mouth. It got to the point where when they’re apart they’re fine, but when Peppercorn would get close to Ginger she would just run away.

                    Spraying water at Peppercorn whenever he lunges and nips at Ginger is not working. Is there any other method of discipline? He doesn’t understand that he can’t be mean to her!


                  • BB & Tiny
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                      I used to have a date in a pen using the cardboard and stick it in between them when a scuffle broke out.

                      In regards to the weekend away. I think it would depend on how terrified they were being away from home, whether they huddle together or the aggressive behavior persists. Whoever is watching them would need to be able to separate them if trouble ensued. I get the impression you already are aware that emotional damage can make bonding difficult if not impossible altogether. So putting them together would depend on the level of responsibility this place is willing to extend to the bunnies ?


                    • vanessa
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                        Please be prepared for the chance that they are not bonded by the time you would like them to be. You can’t rush these things. It’s up to them if they like and trust each other or not. Nipping is tricky. Some nipping is ok – it’s part of their communication. But extended nippy-communicating can become trying for the receiver. Mine got to the nipping stage – everytime Lancelot moved, Guin nipped him. I couldn’t push it – so I had to give them a break. The constant nipping was causing too much stress for Lancelot. See how it goes. Much can happen in 3 weeks. You might be able to board them together, or maybe you would want to use that weekend as a break for them. I wish I could advise something to work for the nipping, but I haven’t figured that out for my own buns. They do best in a small space, and I need to make the space larger very slowly. But I get impatient.
                        There are many things that could work – but I haven’t figured it out yet. Saying NO in a gentle but firm voice, spraying water, banging (making a loud noise), and petting to calm them down if they indicate they are getting stressed. But my nipper behaves better when I’m there. She misbehaves when I’m not there.
                        Perhaps look at why he doesn’t like her yet. Maybe he is annoyed because she won’t groom him? If so – try banana or something yummy on his head, after bringing them together for a bunny smoosh. Maybe he will be nicer to her once she starts grooming him.


                      • Peppercorn & Ginger
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                          The couple we board our bunnies with have 7 bunnies of their own (3 bonded pairs, one solo) so they are very aware of how the bonding process goes and how it’s different for every bunny pair. I will see if we can bring a pet gate and split the room in half, and ask if they can date Peppercorn and Ginger every day. If not, it’ll be a nice 3 day break for them. I don’t want to force it too quick.

                          9/27 morning: Took them on their first car ride together. They huddled together for 20 minutes and didn’t fight or nip at all in the car! We put them together when they got back in their large space and they got along for about an hour, then Pep returned to nipping Ginger. He doesn’t chase her, he just nips her if she’s in his way or if she’s where he wants to be. I agree, they do do better in a smaller space.

                          I tried the banana on Pep’s head trick, Ginger licked it off and never groomed him again. I do think it will get better if Ginger grooms Peppercorn, but I can’t figure out how to get her to groom him! I want to try to discipline Peppercorn by making a large noise when he nips her (like by banging a spoon on a pot) but do you think it would have a negative effect on Ginger? I don’t want to make Ginger more stressed/frustrated than she already is.


                        • vanessa
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                            Yeah – it might be negative for ginger. I would keep at the banana. The more she grooms him, the happier he will be with her. The sort of nipping you describe is really not too bad. I wouldn’t do anything about it. I would work on getting her to groom him. That might also convince him that she has accepted his dominant behavior, and he might then ease up on the nipping.


                          • Peppercorn & Ginger
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                              For a few days we would take them on a car ride and then try a date. They would do OK. Not great, Pep hasn’t groomed her lately.

                              Yesterday we went to hoppy hour and had an abbreviated date.

                              Today we tried dating them in a 3 feet by 4 feet space, with litter boxes. Peppercorn was nipping Ginger, to the point where Ginger would move whenever Pep got close to her. She spends a lot of time avoiding him. We thought maybe they needed to go back to a tiny space and interact, so we cut the space in half. That made it worse… Ginger was running in circles around the perimeter while Pep sat in the middle and turned his body in a circle to nip at her the whole time. He never bites her, just nips. I don’t know how to get him to stop, he was a soaked bunny by the time we pulled them apart (from trying to spray him with a water bottle). I don’t think they’re trying to hash out who’s dominant and who’s not, as Ginger already knows Pep is dominant. It’s almost like Pep is bullying Ginger for fun. Help

                              Side note: when you are bonding rabbits, do you take a long break from hoppy hour? Or do you still bring your buns to hoppy hour?


                            • vanessa
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                                I would take a few steps back. Bear in mind that my Guin – is still nipping Lancelot. So I can’t say I’v yet had success at the nipping stage. They are on a 4-week break, and I’ll try again on work travel. She is very territorial and bossy. So the “new” bonding areas become “her” territory very quickly. Perhaps Ginger needs a break, and they need to live on opposite sides of a fence for a few weeks, to get to know eachother. Otherwise it’s an arranged marriage without a courting period.


                              • vanessa
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                                  What exactly is hoppy hour?


                                • BB & Tiny
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                                    What is hoppy hour ?

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                                Forum BONDING Mission to Bond: Peppercorn & Ginger