Bonding/Housing Questions

[Susannah]

A month and a half ago, I “accidentally” acquired two lionhead rabbits. I was not looking to get bunnies. I had a four month old kitten, my first pet in years, and as a former bunny owner, I respect the commitment that it takes to genuinely care well for pet rabbits. But their living conditions were horrible, and I felt compelled to take them. So that is how I came to be the mommy to Leon, white and 1-3 years old, and his son, Hank, black and 6 weeks old at the time. They were literally dropped off at my house by a family acquaintance trying to pawn the babies off on people. We agreed to take Hank, but when I found out that Leon lived in a tiny cage and didn’t even have a name, I took him too. Panicked to find immediate housing for them, I took a large dog cage 28″ by 43″ and installed a second level in it using notched dowels and a flat piece of wood. Hank being so much smaller, got the second level which isn’t nearly as high. I set out to build them a classy, permanent home. I bought a large buffet that has two doors on either side. Every free moment I have, I’ve been working on converting it to a safe and functional bunny hutch, which is how I found Binky Bunny. It seemed every question I googled led me back here to the collective wisdom of you guys. Now the hutch is almost finished. It has slightly textured linoleum tile sealed with aquarium safe silicone on the floor and up the non cage wire side, an interior of bunny safe wood, and is painted with completely non toxic bird cage paint. There is a divider down the middle and each bunny has his own carpeted shelf. 

Now….Hank and Leon started fighting violently soon after I got them. I understood this was because they were two unfixed males. Leon got fixed about 2 weeks ago. I’m waiting one more week to get Hank fixed to make sure he’s at least 3 months old. I’ve gone to great lengths to make sure they stay separated. Leon comes out for two hours in the morning. Hank for two hours in the evening. But there have been slip ups, and they’ve fought a few times. When Hank is out, I have to completely barricade the cage because all they do is try to get at one another. I have a complex system involving towels, an ottoman, pillows and a sheet of cardboard. It was my plan to eventually house them in their own sides of the hutch but with an x pen attached to the front. Each side of the hutch is 33″ by 20″ which is not large enough for an all day home, even with the added space of the shelf. Obviously, I can’t do that right now. But Hank is rapidly outgrowing the short height of his portion of the dog pen. If I move him into the hutch first, will it become “his” and further complicate what is likely to be a complicated bonding process already? Do I try to configure the x pen so there are two separate areas? It is quite large, 16 feet long. I MIGHT be able to figure something out. Try to put a barricade in the x pen that will hopefully hold when I’m at work? I’m so nervous because we all know how stubborn a determined bunny can be. 

Also, will these guys EVER get along if this is how they started? I know to start with short sessions in a neutral area, etc. But I’m scared they’re never going to like each other. Can I expect the process to take months? Also, I’ll be honest, I’m selfishly looking forward to getting rid of the giant dog pen in my living room.

 I have been greatly enjoying the bunnies too. Hank was initially a terrified mess when he came to me. He now enjoys pets and kisses or at least tolerates them. Leon has always been sweet despite his awful life up until now. Like many rescued animals I’ve had, he seems to understand and be grateful for his new life. He revels in his new freedom and the organic veggies he gets twice a day.

Thanks for listening!

[RabbitPam]

Hi, the work you’ve done already sounds absolutely wonderful. It would be nice to see pix of your set up and construction.

I am optimistic about their eventual bond. Neutering makes such a big difference that until both are done you really don’t have a fair barometer of their potential compatibility. It needs about a month after the neuter for the hormones to completely die down, but Leon will be at that point by the time you get Hank done.

I would consider allowing Hank in the larger hutch, but possibly take him out for a while and let Leon in there to have his scent be there too. It might help Hank get used to having Leon’s scent around. You can also get a surrogate stuffed bunny with Leon’s scent on it (have Leon hang with it for a few days) that you leave in the hutch, so if Hank uses it, he already shares it with a Leon smelling toy.

I doubt it will take months to bond them once they are both neutered. If Leon is that agreeable, he will probably allow Hank to be dominant and they will agree about that. Follow the suggestions in our Bonding section for a slow and steady bonding, but the fights may stop once both are ready.

[Susannah]

Thank you so much for putting my mind at ease! Hank’s appointment is December 10th, which puts me at January 10th to even start the bonding process. I’m a terribly impatient person (sometimes it serves me well; I got that hutch built in pretty good time), but there’s no rushing these things. I’m hoping that at that point I will at least be able to house them side by side in the hutch without whipping them into a hormonal frenzy. I brought the x pen in and set it up so that when Hank is out he’s at least 3 feet away from Leon’s cage. He still just runs back and forth along the length of the fence furiously pooping, but it’s better than him trying to rip down the towels, pillows, and furniture I was using the barricade the cage before. 

I will post a picture of the hutch when I’m done. I hope people here approve of it. I’ve tried my best. 

Thanks again for the help!

[Susannah]

I meant to add…I was already considering the surrogate bunny idea. Good to know that it actually would be a helpful thing to do. Shouldn’t be too hard to find surrogates as Hank is all white and Leon all black. I used to give new pets and babies surrogates that looked like them to cuddle with.

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