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Forum BONDING Bonding a Hare and a Rabbit

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    • Jusma
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        Yes, you didn’t read that wrong. You may have seen my other thread in the Q & A sub forum (Link – Click Here). It turns out that my bunny is most likely a Hare and I got it from looking like this…

        …to the Binky Bunny in this video (link), thank god.

        Although, there was always a chance that this was a rabbit that looks like a Hare, so I decided to get it a friend, they are both girls.

        After the go ahead from my Vet regarding the above’s health, I went to find it a friend. I could not find another similar one at the store. The bunnies cuddled on the way home. I put the new one in a box and in the entrance to the other’s play area, which is a balcony. Towards the evening though, the older one jumped over the box and entered the room, while I was tending to the new. I had used the older’s litter box and water bowl for the new. After a few seconds of sniffing around and an eskimo nose kiss with the new bunny, it pounced to bite the new one. I immediately pushed it away and put it in its cage as punishment. Will strictly keep them apart for the next two weeks.

        The old one was docile while it was hovering around the box, but the moment it entered the new one’s box, I guess it triggered the territory control factor. I am not even sure, what will happen, if they are of two different species. The new one is a pretty spritey and curios girl. She jumps around her small box and came out to me within an hour or two. She does look like a miniature version of the old a bit, so will know when she grows up.

        I will post updates on how the bonding fares in here. Appreciate any thoughts and suggestions. My new bunny…


      • tobyluv
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          They are both very lovely!

          Since the first step in bonding rabbits is to have them spayed and/or neutered before bonding can be attempted, you unfortunately may not be successful until that has been done and they have recuperated from their surgery. Rabbits can fight and can severely injure each other. The fighting instinct will be greatly reduced, if not eliminated, by spaying and neutering.

          Here are 2 good articles on bonding: http://rabbit.org/faq-bonding-multiple-rabbits/ and
          https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/tabid/53/CategoryID/9/PID/940/Default.aspx.


        • Bam
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            You can try and pre-bond two young females before having them spayed, since there’s no risk of pregnancy, but if it doesn’t work out and they start to fight, you’ll want to separate them until they are spayed and healed. They can still be kept in the same room so they can hear and smell and perhaps see each other. You don’t want any bad fighting to happen, because that can result in bonding becoming very difficult, they can “hold a grudge” quite stubbornly.

            Your new little girl is just adorable too!


          • Jusma
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              Is spaying compulsory or recommended? During one of my visits to the vet, I asked about spaying and the doctor gave me a dumbfounded look. Not only do Rabbits make up less than 5% of pets here, but pretty much everyone looks to let their rabbits breed. Hence, based on her reply, I’d rather not attempt to get them spayed. They are still bunnies anyway.


            • Bam
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                Spaying is more or less compulsory for a long life, since girl rabbits have a very high risk of uterine cancer at age 3-4. http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/resources/content/info-sheets/uterine.htm

                This is why we always recommend spaying female rabbits.

                Bonding two rabbits will be much smoother if both are spayed. Rabbits are territorial. That said, in my country spaying girl rabbits is also a pretty new thing and I know there are people who have unspayed girls living together. We don’t recommend it here, but your case is of course unique so normal “rules” might not apply. I have never heard of a hare being spayed. Reproduction-wise they are different from rabbits (the leverets are born ready to run) so I would assume their internal reproductive organs are different too.


              • Vienna Blue in France
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                  Yay Jusma, who wasn’t sure if she was keeping hare and now she’s got her a friend !! LOL
                  I hope you are sure about the sexes of both…
                  You’re new one is very cute too….. the old rabbit has been used to her palace to herself for a while now….

                  Plenty of bonding info on BB, but do you have an area in your house that your old bun doesn’t know yet to bond them gently on neutral territory?


                • Jusma
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                    Both are female for sure. Since the older one had free reign in my house, I will need to take them some place outside my house. Although in some websites, I read that you can even start with a laundry basket as a neutral territory. I could just buy another cardboard box and put it in the room least visited, before putting the bunnies in for the bonding. Also have a car.


                  • Vienna Blue in France
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                      Yes well there have been photos of baths on this site recently….. Daddy Buuny has just bonded and NBO too, but no news recently….
                      Err, a car? Not sure about that…lol…. they might chew a wire or something…..


                    • Jusma
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                        No No, I meant taking them on a ride together. I believe the stress will make them cuddle together.


                      • Mimsy
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                          It may be a bit rough. I think hares are solitary, so not sure how much he will enjoy company. That said, us humans live with solitary creatures who do enjoy company when living in a house, just as group living animals will enjoy treating us humans as companions.

                          There is still the possibility it’s not a hare, could be like a Belgian hare or part? (it looks more like a hare though)

                          If it were me I would treat it like bonding a dog or cat to a bunny to an extent. I’d be careful and very watchful. Depending on well they did would depend if I would ever leave them without supervision together. I would hope for at least get along while their human is around as my first hopeful expectation. From there I’d see about ever living together when there is no watchful eye.


                        • Jusma
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                            Yep yep, that’s what I read too. Anyway, I moved the bunny’s box into the older one’s play area and cut bigger holes and lines for visibility. The older one is not bothered about the new one so far, and goes about her usual routine. When the older is hidden in her hiding box, I usually the new one out for some play time.

                            She is so fearless, she constantly keeps trying to get into the older’s cage and litter box, and succeeded on one occasion and promptly urinated in there. Coincidentally, the older one came out running and I shut the cage door. She then proceeded inside the new one’s box and urinated in there too.

                            Not sure whether it is tit for tat, but they had a chance to get into each other’s living area today. I know it is too fast for all this, but will try to keep them separate until another 10 days or so.


                          • Bam
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                              Vienna, stress-bonding two buns in a car is a much-used bonding-method, but the buns are in a crate or a box, not let loose in the car =D =D =D
                              Car-bonding is good for difficult bondings. As Jusma says, the idea is that the buns will be more afraid of the car-ride than of each other so that they’ll seek comfort in each other’s company. It doesn’t always work though, I tried it with my buns dozens of times back when I hoped to bond them. They just hated each other more and more for each car-ride. They did become quite relaxed about car-rides though, as long as they get to travel in separate carriers.

                              We were always two people in the car, so one could separate the buns when if they got into a fight as in the end they did. Wear gloves!!!! Bunny bites can be bad. Bunnies have lots of protective fur so they often just get a mouthful of fur when they bite each other, but us humans are much less well protected and even if a bun doesn’t mean to bite the human, the human can get in the way.

                              You can use a metal sieve to put between the buns to prevent them from biting each other.

                              (I refer to them both as buns now for simplicity’s sake.)

                              Have you given them names?


                            • Jusma
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                                Nope. Normally, my daughter names everything. She doesn’t yet know that I have bunnies. She’s currently visiting my in-laws with the wife. They should be coming back in a couple of weeks or so.


                              • Bam
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                                  That’s so sweet, what a lovely surprise for your daughter to come home to, she’ll love naming them =) I was just thinking if they had names, it’d be easier to refer to them by their names on the forums, but we’ll just call them the buns or the hare and the bun, then =)


                                • Jusma
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                                    Brown and Grey


                                  • Bam
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                                      Ok, Brown and Grey they are for now =)


                                    • Vienna Blue in France
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                                        bam – a metal sieve ? What like a round metal bowl with holes in it….? (or a hairdressers aid for making highlights !!!!!!! LOL !!!!)
                                        Well I wouldn’t have throught of that…. lol
                                        Daughter WILL be excited !! How on earth have you kept it a secret till now? Or maybe you didn’t want to say anything in case “Brown” didn’t stay….?
                                        Anyhow, fingers crossed all goes to plan;


                                      • Jusma
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                                          More like “die” not “stay” really. Unlike, my current home and home state, a couple of years back we were in a rented apartment in another state. We made a rushed decision in getting a bunny couple, but couldn’t provide them good location or proper food. Unfortunately, on one occasion the wife fed them ladies’ fingers. One of the buns had severe diarrhea and was given a bath by our maid, while we were away. It survived the ordeal, but didn’t make a full recovery. We gave back the other bun to the breeder.

                                          Since I knew my family would be away for a long time, I planned out things this time. Unfortunately, the brown is bunny #3 as well. The first escaped the cage. I found it in shock, perhaps attacked by a stray cat, and hence put a mesh around the cage, and got a big bun in brown. The second one had been lethargic since I bought it and I thought he was just adjusting. However, I found it sneezing one night and decided to take it to the vet, the next day. Unfortunately, I found it very weak the next morning and also some sputum in the cage. When we returned from the vet, I put it in my room to disinfect the cage. When I returned, I found it disappeared from the box I used to carry it, again taken away by a cat.

                                          After several visits to the pet store, the grey was my only option, but I did find her very active and healthy, albeit very small. Hence she is kept in her box almost all the time and I only let it run around supervised.

                                          The only thing is that it keeps running into the Brown’s cage fearlessly. Today, while I was letting it run around supervised, it made for a quick dash into the tunnel where Brown usually relaxes, only to be promptly chased into its own box, where it now lies scared. I gave it a couple of pellets and will keep her there until night when I lock Brown in its cage.


                                        • Bam
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                                            It sounds like Grey has some bunnitude! It’s of course very normal for Brown to defend her territory. When you bond bunnies you want to do that on neutral territory, one that neither bun feels it has ownership of.

                                            I don’t know if you’ve seen them, but there are several links to bonding-info on our resorces-page, scroll down to bonding: https://binkybunny.com/RESOURCES/tabid/67/Default.aspx

                                            The last link just gets you to Bunnychicks website, here’s the direct link to her bonding blog: https://www.thebunnychick.com/category/bonding/


                                          • Jusma
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                                              It’s been about 10 days since I got the Grey, and while I have its box next to the Brown, the latter does not acknowledge Grey’s presence and completely ignores her, except when she chased Grey when I let her enter Brown’s hiding spot by mistake.

                                              In terms of weight, Brown weighs more than twice that of grey and the latter is really really small. I was thinking of having the first bonding session this weekend, but having second thoughts now.

                                              What do you think? Should I wait longer? What if Brown continues to ignore.


                                            • Bam
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                                                When you’re trying to bond two rabbits, ignoring is a good sign. Rabbits only look like they are ignoring their surroundings, they very seldom do during their awake-time (doesn’t pay off if you are a prey species). With bunnies you often get aggression from one or both bunnies at some point or other. That’s why ignoring is a good sign, it’s non-aggressive. It’s about checking each other out.
                                                Can you feed them when they are in each other’s presence? Eating at the same time, within view of each other is good. It is a sign of appeasement/non-aggression. That goes for dogs eating in each other’s presence too, so that’s not just bunnies.

                                                With a hare – a young hare would have had siblings so she should have been interacting with other hares of her own age at some point in her life, but I don’t know at what age they become solitary or how strictly solitary they actually become.


                                              • Vienna Blue in France
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                                                  Jusma- I AM impressed – that certainly is a very well planned surprise !!
                                                  I have all fingers toes, legs and eyes crossed that your 2 can bond – all BB community is watching and waiting from in front of our computers !!


                                                • Jusma
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                                                    I have their cages next to each other and confine them in there every night with some food. Mostly a carrot. I scouted a couple places for the bonding. Will try it over the weekend. However, I do notice the grey get scared of the brown. When the brown is close to her box, she jumps further inside.

                                                    Perhaps this is due to the first two accidental altercation. On the second one, the brown had a lump of grey’s fur in her mouth. I have been extra cautious since then. This happened about a week ago.


                                                  • Bam
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                                                      It’s common for buns to pull out each other’s fur during bonding. The grey is probably a bit scared. You’ll have to be very prepared for fighting, use gloves (I know I’ve said that already) but also shoes or boots so they can’t (accidentally) hurt your feet or ankles if you have to intervene.


                                                    • Jusma
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                                                        During the first session, I was thinking of keeping two cups and have them eat some pellets together in a neutral place. The place I have picked is similar to a square closet, about two feet per side.

                                                        Is food a good idea to begin or better without food?


                                                      • Bam
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                                                          If they are capable of concentrating on the food first and not each other, I think that’d be great. A bunny (or dog) that’s eating is not angry or scared.


                                                        • Jusma
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                                                            Today, I found the make shift mesh windows I stitched on to my cardboard box bitten and torn, not sure who the culprit is, but I decided to start the bonding today itself, to avoid possible escape and fighting between the two.

                                                            I said my prayers, placed two cups with pellets in a 4×3 feet area, and took the two bunnies there, armed with a utensil and a big spoon. By the will of god, everything went smoothly.

                                                            I had rationed the pellets such that Grey finished hers just before Brown. Then the former reclined to one of the corners, scared. When Brown was done a few seconds later, she just search around for more and then proceeded to just sit next to Grey, without doing anything, like so…

                                                            I played Freecell on my phone for about 30 min and they ended up like this.

                                                            In reality though, in the past few days, I had noticed Brown take food that I place next to her litter box in her mouth, move closer to Grey’s cage (while within her’s) and then eat her food. I wonder whether I could have done this sooner, but all’s well that ends well.

                                                            Will do a couple of more 30 min sessions on a neutral territory tomorrow, day after, and will then let Grey out and into the play area, supervised.


                                                          • Bam
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                                                              This sounds like a really great start!!!

                                                              Brown is looking more like a rabbit now when she’s filled out some.


                                                            • Jusma
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                                                                Brown is really rushing the bonding process. During yesterday’s bonding session, the two were cuddled right from the beginning. Today, Brown entered Grey’s cage through a small hole in the top of the card box, on two occasions, right in front of me.

                                                                Grey was scared, but Brown didn’t do anything. She just sat in there. I will try bonding sessions in a semi-neutral area today.


                                                              • Jusma
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                                                                  I guess I am almost done with the bonding now. Today I opened up the doors to Grey’s box to let her have a free run of the play area. Her litter habits are my main concern now, so I folded away the rug until she proves good.

                                                                  She mostly kept to one half of the play area and did not blindly run into Brown’s hiding spot. I added a hiding spot for Grey as well, only she can get in.

                                                                  Although, now I have another problem with Brown constantly getting inside Grey’s box, eating her food and pooping in her litter box.


                                                                • Bam
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                                                                    It sounds really good. I would guess though that Brown getting into Grey’s box means she’s “top bunny” and claiming the space for herself. Grey can be there too – if Brown didn’t think that, she would not have been friendly to Grey – but Brown “must” mark her box with the scent of Brown.

                                                                    Could you feed Grey at a time/place when Brown can’t get to her food? Just the pellets/vegs, they should always have unlimited hay/grass. It’s not unheard of that the top bun steals the other bun’s food. My dog steals my buns’ food so I have to feed them either when she’s not there or only give them small portions that they finish at once. My dog wouldn’t eat the vegs if I served them to her, it’s about the element of competition. A smaller animal has food, dog is bigger, dog takes the food from the bunny. That can be sort of what’s going on between Grey and Brown too I suspect.


                                                                  • Jusma
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                                                                      Luckily Grey really likes her hay, but Brown tends to choose only without any other alternatives. So she gets that. I had fed them fruits today and have a really big piece of beetroot in either place. So there is leftovers.

                                                                      While she doesn’t attack to a undesirable level, Brown does chase Grey a bit and nips her in the back occasionally. Most of the time, I find Grey cowered in a cozy corner of the box.


                                                                    • LittlePuffyTail
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                                                                        They look so adorable together


                                                                      • Vienna Blue in France
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                                                                          Sounds all good Jusma, just make sure Grey’s is happy and not being bullied….
                                                                          Others here will know more about an under-rabbit’s behaviour, but cowering doesn’t sound too much fun… but you’re there, you can tell if happy or not.
                                                                          Keep going – daughter is going to be SO excited, though i suspect dad is having fun too !!!


                                                                        • Bam
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                                                                            As Vienna says, keep an eye on Grey so she doesn’t get too bullied and/or loose weight because Brown is eating her food. Some buns can’t be fed at the same time because the dominant one claims all the food.


                                                                          • Jusma
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                                                                              Makes sense, will keep an eye out.


                                                                            • Jusma
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                                                                                Both the bunnies seem to become good friends now. I haven’t noticed any aggression from Brown in a while and Grey follows Brown everywhere, including the hiding spots on the other side of the play area, from her box. Grey also relaxes in Brown’s cage occasionally.

                                                                                Is this a good time to remove the box and let Grey move in with Brown?

                                                                                Initially though, Grey was good natured and pooped only in litter box. However, in the last 3-4 days, I see Brown make a mess as well. They still urinate in the little box, but poop all over. It doesn’t seem to be marking poops, rather, they eat from outside the litter box, one too many accidents, etc.


                                                                              • Jusma
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                                                                                  Today, I found the play area a lot more littered with poop. I had not caged the buns in the last couple of nights. I caged them today and hope they behave again.


                                                                                • Bam
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                                                                                    It does seem like they are getting along fine, and that is so great!!! Good job!!!

                                                                                    The poop business could still be about establishing their “pecking-order” – in any case it isn’t easy to litter-train intact bunnies because they will have an urge to mark their ground. Hopefully their litter-habits will get a lot better with time and practice though, since you don’t really have the option to have them spayed. It does seem to me like Grey clearly is the subserviant bun and Brown the unchallenged top bun, which of course helps – they don’t need to have “poop-wars” like many newly aquainted buns have.


                                                                                  • Jusma
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                                                                                      Yep, there is clear demarcation between Brown (Top) and Grey, but I just don’t know who the culprit is for now. Should I remove Grey’s box?


                                                                                    • Bam
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                                                                                        I really don’t know if you should remove it. She might need a safe spot to retract to if she feels threatened.


                                                                                      • Jusma
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                                                                                          I have put 3-4 hiding spots in the play area, including one where only Grey is small enough to enter.


                                                                                        • Bam
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                                                                                            Good thinking!!!
                                                                                            You could still have two litter-boxes though (unless you already have that) since the room is really big and they like to have their toilet pretty near them.


                                                                                          • Jusma
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                                                                                              Got one in the cage and one in the corner.


                                                                                            • Vienna Blue in France
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                                                                                                bam – “poop-wars” !! LOL
                                                                                                What an image I’ve created !! Bunny’s head down, bum up in the air – take aim and FIRE !!!!
                                                                                                Tiny mini cannon balls flying across the room !!

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                                                                                            Forum BONDING Bonding a Hare and a Rabbit