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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.

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Forum BONDING Bonding two females not going well

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    • RosieSatellite
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        I have two girl rabbits who I’ve been trying to bond for months now and little has changed. They have extremely confusing body language that I just can’t seem to understand. When they are in their cages they are like sisters. They usually eat sleep and groom together, I’m even pretty sure I caught them grooming each other between the bars once or twice. They even survived a 10 hour car trip to New York together for Christmas!

        However once they’re out of their cages all bets are off. I started bonding in the bath tub and they had a few fights and never really seemed to get along. After a few weeks of on off bathtub sessions and no progress I tried a different area, the kitchen. I would consider this the most successful because few fights happened and they seemed to cuddle once and a while. There was no further progress from that though, they seemed to get bored in the kitchen very easily and when they get bored they fight.

        And now for a little info on how the fights go..
        Rosie whose a big white bunny usually pushes satellites, who is a dwarf rabbit, buttons. She likes to get right under satellites butt, almost like she’s trying to hide. Then when satellite has had enough she’ll nip a little and try to get away which really makes Rosie mad. When they fight its bad, usually both end up on their sides pretty quickly with heavy kicking and biting. I’m using gloves to break up the fights because I’ve learned that if I don’t pull one out of the situation, then they will not stop.

        I’ll admit that I’m not nearly as persistent with bonding sessions as I should be, but it’s hard for me to keep having such huge failures and I’m scared they really are gonna hurt each other.

        I could really use any advice I can get.


      • Love4Bunny
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        878 posts Send Private Message

          I’m so sorry it is so stressful for you. I read this blog when I was bonding my kids, and I hope it’s helpful. The blog title sounds mean, but the article is insightful:

          http://www.thebunnychick.com/2013/11/19/7-ways-hurting-rabbits-chances-bonding/

          I’ve read that some people have had to take breaks from bonding (to keep their own sanity), but that they returned to it after a short hiatus. I think your little ones have not figured out their heirarchy yet. It sounds like Rosie wants to be dominant, with the whole trying to get under Satellites butt move, but that Satellite is not willing to submit yet. My rabbits did something similar to this and I had some chasing in the space next to their cages, even though they were grooming buddies inside the pen. I incorporated additional litter boxes with both rabbits poop in the communal space, and this helped reduce chasing. I also made loud sounds with metal pans or used a spray bottle BEFORE any chasing happened, but the blog does suggest to let the rabbits figure this out, themselves. You will have to use your best judgement with this. Sometimes, rabbits will move their tails or ears or lean forward in a certain way, and this will signal protective behaviour before a chase or fight.

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      Forum BONDING Bonding two females not going well