Flemish and Holland Lop

[CHARLENE10543]

Hello everyone!
I have a 3 years old neutered male flemish giant and a 6 months old spayed female holland lop. 

They both live free range in our apartment. She is in the bedroom and he has the rest of the apartment so they are free 24/7.

We would like to bond them and we started putting their cages side by side in the living room a week ago. We do not have ANY neutral territory for this… And he is really aggressive, staring at her, growling, while she ignores him. Still after 1 week…Now they both have free time (3-4 hours a day) in the bedroom (her territory). I was thinking of cleaning the living room very well and the floors with Vinegar to remove his smell and use it as a neutral bonding area. 

But to be honest, I am really scared to put them together even for a short date because he is twice her size (she is a big holland lop) and I am scared that he could kill her. 
Do you have any ideas or tips? I bit her by accident though her cage when she was a baby. I do not want to take the chance to have this happen again, but I just think that we could give a SAFE try at least

Thank you all for your help…I really need it (and I am about to give up!!)

[tobyluv]

Hi and welcome to Binky Bunny! I have had great success using an x-pen for bonding. Even if it is placed in a room that one or more of the rabbits has been in, the pen itself is something new and different that neither have ever been in or smelled. You can even place a clean blanket or sheet inside the pen, to cover up any scent that may be on the carpet or floor from one of the rabbits. My husband and I get in the pen with the bunnies, so that we are there to break up any fighting (some scuffling is normal) or excessive humping, or to comfort a rabbit that may feel a little intimidated.

[Mikey]

Youll want to keep their cages side by side for about a month or two. Since he seems aggressive towards her, it might help to try the toy swap tactic while their cages are close. Give them both a cheap dog stuffed dog toy and leave it in their cages for about two weeks. After those two weeks, swap the toys. Allow them to do whatever they want with the toy. The tactic is supposed to help because all aggression will be met with no response, allowing the rabbit to learn that the second rabbit is not a threat. Keep swapping the toys every other week until both bunnies ignore the toy completely (or cuddle with it if you are lucky!)

Before giving them the living room or entire apartment to share, you will have to try to find a purely neutral small area first. Many people use the bath tub or a box in the bathroom as most rabbits dont go in there. If possible, you should try it too. You would start with several (5+) short (2 to 5 minutes max) bonding sessions in the bath tub/box, and over the course of a few days/weeks, as they get more used to one another, increase the time of each bonding session and start to do bonding sessions a bit less. It might take a few weeks, or it could take several months. You will have to go at the pace your rabbits set. Whenever they are aggressive, stop them, push them together facing the same way (so their sides are touching), then pet them. After petting them for a few minutes, put them back in their respective cages. If at any time you do feel either of your rabbits will severely hurt or kill your other rabbit, stop bonding and give them another months break. If they constantly look like they want to hurt one another, or actually do severely harm one another, you will not be able to bond them together

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