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Forum BONDING How to bond when we only have one cage?

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    • Candle
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        I’m trying to bond my 1.5(ish) year lionheadX neutered bun with our 7 month old spayed flemish giant. 

        We’ve had them meet and eat together multiple times and they sometimes put their faces together while we pet their heads and seem to almost cuddle. But it’s not going any further than that. I know a good idea is to put their cages near each other so they’re around each other more but we only have one cage. They’re simply kept loose in separate rooms with little hideouts and stuff. Should I put the female in the cage in his room and have the other rabbit loose for a couple hours and bring her back to hers afterwards? Or have him in the cage and let her loose in the rest of his room?

        We feel like this process is taking forever and it’s not looking like things are getting any better… But they aren’t bad either as long as they’re on neutral ground.


      • Paradigm
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          I would have them swap rooms each night so that they’re around each others scent. I did put my rabbits near each other at first but eventually just did cage swaps from other sides of the room.

          I would give the cage to neither of them and then put both in together, or, ideally, a small box and keep them there for as long as they will stand. The box should be small enough that they have no choice but to touch. Gradually you can then move them into larger spaces, though I wouldn’t launch straight into the cage.

          Try to ensure they cannot see you and scare them when they fight – for example shaking the box or running a vacuum cleaner. This is so they don’t learn fighting is a way to get out of seeing each other. Ignore minor rough an tumbling such as a bit of fur being pulled off, but don’t tolerate circling.

          Using shorter sessions can take longer to bond rabbits together, so if you’re up for it, I’d start the week with sessions of 30-40 minutes (preferably multiple times a day) and then work up to several hours a night. I’d set aside the weekend to do 12+ hour days. (Or match to your work schedule.) 

          My trio were bonded in approximately two weeks (including 3 days where I didn’t have time for any bonding) and Albus and Charlie were NOT rabbits that got along at first sight. Although I was definitely doing 16 or so hour days within the week, so the plan above may take longer (I set aside a whole week). Though for some rabbits it does take longer.

          It was not for the faint hearted, though. Utterly emotionally draining and at one point we were wondering if we’d have to return Albus. Otherwise, it seems many people do have luck with going at it slowly and steadily.


        • Candle
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            Thanks. Yeah, Unibunny (the male) is seeming if anything to be more nervous of her now. I tried neutral ground, the living room because in the evening I let each of them out for a few hours to actually get a lot of exercise while the other is locked in their room. I figured they would smell the other rabbit in that area and be used to it. But Bunita just chased him as soon as she saw him on the rug. I assumed she just thought it was her spot instead of shared. Which is why I’m nervous of switching their rooms up too. What if she just gets territorial of both rooms then? 


          • tobyluv
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              I have found that a good way to bond is to put both bunnies in an x-pen, and you get in with them too. My husband and I both get in. This forces the rabbits to be in fairly close contact, and you are there to separate them if they start fighting, or if the humping gets too intense. They have room to do a little chasing, in case they need to get it out of their system. Even if the x-pen is set up in a room that isn’t neutral, the pen itself is neutral.


            • Candle
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                So I decided to try a small area. I put them both in our laundry basket and tried to leave them alone. We heard a weird noise and checked on them and Bunita was humping unibunny. He just took it without any issue but it made me nervous so I separated them. Is that ok since one has to be the dominant one anyway or what? Thanks


              • Paradigm
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                  Humping is normal during bonding. Would only stop it if it goes on excessively or the other bun shows signs of being distressed. Usually the other bun will let them know if they’ve had enough.


                • Candle
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                    So last night we decided to try the car ride technique. I think it went really well! When we brought them back in the house we left them in the container and they actually spent a whole hour together! The longest we’ve had them together before was about 15 minutes. So this afternoon we did the same thing and are just leaving them for now. There was no struggling or bickering. I did notice in the car ride this time that Bunita liked to have her head over his back sometimes. I wasn’t sure if that’s because she’s a flemish giant and just larger or if it was a dominance thing but Unibunny just stayed there. At one point it looked like she nestled her face in his neck for a second. Not biting though.


                  • Love4Bunny
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                      Posted By Candle on 8/26/2016 8:21 PM
                      But Bunita just chased him as soon as she saw him on the rug. I assumed she just thought it was her spot instead of shared. Which is why I’m nervous of switching their rooms up too. What if she just gets territorial of both rooms then?

                      Swapping rooms can work, but I think neutral territory and items are best. I think bunnies do want to claim stuff during this stage, so you can run into probs if you start prematurely introducing used stuff and rooms before they begin to accept each other. You just have to watch their behaviour really closely to see if they get agitated/ annoyed. That will kinda tell you if you are moving faster than the bunnies are ready. If that is the case, I would go back to completely neutral territory. There is no shame in moving slower than everybody else, although we often just want it over and done with. You take calculated risks when you feel like you’ve seen positive and CONSISTENT patterns of behaviour with the bunnies, because they all give off different body signals. I have only bonded one pair, so I don’t have varied experience, but I believe observing them a lot helped. I still observe to this day. As they grow confident with each other, the dynamic may morph a bit, and they may try to re-assert themselves in another area. Let them work it out. I keep a spray bottle with water handy for rogue chasing, but I will redirect first or groom the bossy bunny myself. Sometimes, bunny handling is just about damage control


                    • Vienna Blue in France
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                        Make sure you label the spray bottle if you’ve got a few !!!! Eh LuvFurB!??? There’s a spray bottle somewhere with WALKER on it !!!! LOL


                      • Love4Bunny
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                          Yes, you’d want to know what is what. I keep all my rabbit stuff together in the rabbit room and I don’t have other unlabelled spray bottles so it’s pretty easy for me. My bunny water bottle is bright blue opaque. My vinegar solution bottle is clear with black hairdresser items printed on it.

                          Edit: Did you mean “Water” Vienna? Or did you mean “Walker”, as in, “I keep a bottle of Texas Ranger on hand to show those bunnies who’s boss!”?


                        • Candle
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                            Good news! So we did the car drive thing. We tried again the next day and let them stay in the laundry basket for a while after and let them on a neutral blanket in the kitchen and they laid down together!!! then today I tried to have them on the blanket again but Unibunny decided he didn’t like being the under-dog so he started trying to hump her. Then she tried and it was kind of a hump-fest. Anyway I separated them and we took them for a drive again a few hours later. Now they’re laying down again on the blanket together So much progress!!!

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                        Forum BONDING How to bond when we only have one cage?