Bonded inside their shared cage, aggression during free roam

[Nishi]

Hi everyone. This is my second post on bonding my two neutered males. My previous incessant humping issue went away after following BB’s advice to give it a rest for a couple of weeks until hormones settled down. I had success with bonding Plue and Kyuubey inside their cage. They groom each other and cuddle. I thought they were fully bonded until I let them out to have a free run. Instantly fights broke out and Plue’s dominance mounting happened again. I decided to give them more days inside the cage to let them settle down but it just keeps happening. 

My method during bonding was to gradually increase the space until they got along, but it’s just not practical to section my bedroom just so they can gradually get used to each other in this space. I really need some new ideas.

Is it common for bonded rabbits to fight in a new space? I’m getting increasingly frustrated because my goal was to bond them before moving to a new state, and I’m wondering if they will fight all over again even after they’re bonded in this room. I have the most time off right now since I’m on vacation but will be starting grad school soon in September. 

[Mikey]

Yes, its common for bonded buns to fight in new territories. Youll have to slow bond them in all areas they will be sharing

[Nishi]

Oh no, feared as much ><

How do you slow bond them in a larger space?

[Mikey]

Can you keep one in the cage/pen and one free roaming your room for a little while, then swap them after a few hours? Itll allow both of them to get their smells around your room so it smells more like a shared territory than a completely neutral territory. You might have to do this a few times a day for a few days before you start to notice any differences. If that doesnt work after about 2 weeks, you can try stress bonding them inside of the room using a box or cat carrier

[Love4Bunny]

I’m not familiar with what you did in the beginning, but if I had this issue, I would try bathtub bonding, or whatever close proximity bonding you initially chose for the meantime. I’d wait to properly bond them till I’d moved into the permanent space. The good thing about that is it’s neutral territory. If you’re not planning on moving for a while, I would keep them in a smaller space till they make nice. I had a similar experience to you, and I had to go back to square one each time someone would try to hump and chase. Maybe free run time should also be reduced till they get along better. Mine got jealous if one had access to space that the other didn’t, because one would claim it and then the other would claim it also. You may run into that issue, but if you don’t, that’s a good sign. Mine still have the odd hump-and-groom tug of war every now and then.

[Nishi]

Thanks Mikey and Love4Bunny for the suggestions! It’s reassuring to hear this is not just my buns being weird. I felt bad about keeping them inside so long but I think I will keep trying now that I have in mind to expect to be fully alert and in bonding session mode. I’m moving next week, so maybe there is hope the move will be so scary they will be extra stress bonded by the time they arrive at the new place.

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