Bonding Aragorn and Perdita

[mellykins]

Hi everyone! 

Last week I sent my 2 year old boy, Aragorn (Ari) with my friend to a nearby bunny rescue in hopes of picking out a bunny wife. I had picked out a couple from pictures for him to meet and I guess they felt like he clicked with a 1 year old bunny we’ve named Perdita (Perdi). The first night at my friend’s house, he was humping her so much they needed to be separated. The next day they weren’t doing so hot, but by nighttime they were snuggling and she was grooming him. Over the next two days they stayed at my friends house and they were grooming each other and snuggling all day and all night.

In the meantime I cleaned Ari’s x-pen, washed everything, vacuumed, and let my friend’s bunny for a couple days in hopes that his scent would wash off the pen. When I brought them home the first night, he was humping her like crazy, so I thought I would separate them for the night. The next night she was mounting him like crazy. He would let her for awhile and then eventually they would start to fight (like actually fight, with them like attacking each other and jumping around). This has repeated almost every day for the past five days. He seems content to let her mount him, but eventually he does something that annoys her and she starts attacking him and they go at it. Even when they’re separated, he’ll sometimes put his face up to her pen and she’ll sniff him for awhile then start trying to scratch him through the cage. 

I don’t know what to do. I have tried stress bonding them and the second the stressor is done they start fighting like crazy. 

Is this normal or is this a sign it’s not going to work? 

For some back story, I was Ari’s third home. The first family that tried to adopt him, the cat just kept attacking him. The second woman that tried to adopt him, already had a bonded pair and after awhile the male bunny just started attacking him. I’m worried that there’s something about him that makes other bunnies dislike him. As best I can tell, though, he doesn’t do anything to provoke her. He just tries to nuzzle her face and then eventually she attacks him. Even now that they were fighting so bad and I had to separate them, he’s at the edge of his cage trying to be close to her and she just has her butt to him. 

I appreciate any and all advice!! 

[Paradigm]

Have you tried the bunny smooth thing where you hold them together (I’ve seen a video with the bunnies placed between the owner’s legs) and stroke their heads.

I do this with my buns just after I chuck a towel over them (though I don’t think I’d do it after a fight where they hurt each other). Charlie has started to lick George during this, so maybe if you put banana (or a similarly smearable treat) on Ari’s head Perdi would groom him.

I think I would let the mounting happen for a bit (I’ve heard people bandy 10 seconds about), push her off and then do the stroking thing before a fight breaks out.

Since he’s still interested in her, I think their relationship ought to be salvageable. Maybe a different neutral space could help her settle a bit.

If she’s scarring him through the bars, maybe it would be best to make sure theirs a few inches between their cage bars and let them get to know each other at a distance for a could of weeks. You could serve their food near the boundary for them to get used to each other.

I doubt it is his fault, especially if he’s keen on her.

[mellykins]

Thank you for the advice! Sorry for some reason it never let me know anyone responded.

UPDATE: I have tried petting and smooshing them. I have also tried putting their food near the boundary of the cages. When I smoosh their faces together they leave them there, don’t groom, but don’t fight. But when I stop, they start fighting. When I put their food near the boundaries, they both refuse to eat.

I took them on a long road trip the other day and to a festival where I was volunteering with the bunny rescue and they were perfect. All day they snuggled and groomed each other. The second I brought them home, they were at each other’s throats. After a couple of days of fighting again, I decided to give up. I took them to them bunny rescue and tried Ari out with five of the bunnies there. He didn’t take to any of them. Either he started fighting with them or they both completely ignored each other.

So I took Ari and Perdi home again and the second I brought them home, they were snuggling and grooming each other, for about four hours. Then, right before bed, they started fighting so bad, something clear across the room fell over. I separated them, and then about half an hour later, they were sleeping at the boundary of the cages trying to be close to each other.

I’M SO CONFUSED.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I don’t have a lot of bonding experience but my suggestion is maybe you are moving things too fast. They are most likely still having some squabbles about who is dominant bunny.

Maybe start with shorter bonding sessions in a small area, neutral of course and work your way to longer and bigger sessions. This is a lengthy process but will definitely be worth it to gain a happy bind in the end. You could do stress bonding sessions if there is repeated aggression.

ps. Great bunny names

[vanessa]

I think you need to slow down. Let them get to know each other through the pens for a few weeks. Give enough distance – say at least 6 inches so they can’t hurt each other. Then start the bunny smoosh, 15 minutes, then put them back. Do this maybe 2 or 3 times a day, if you have the time. But at least once a day. Only for 15 minutes. Keep your hands on their heads. Once you can release your hands, extend the sessions SLOWLY. Like 20 minutes. Then 25 minutes. Then 30 minutes. Go slowly. Don’t let them move around too much int he beginning. Too much space can cause problems. After a week of bunny smoosh they should be ready for you to release your hands and allow them to move around. If they hump, allow this for a few seconds, then gently push the top bunny off. But it sounds like they first need to get to know each other. Bunnies communicate in ways that we may not understand.

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