awww   (((jackie)))

while you wait for some one with bonding experience to offer some guidance i just wanted to say… sorry you had such a rough time!  hope the bite marks (and hurt feelings) are better today.

I second that…I don’t really have any advice for you, but I hope you are feeling better today! bunny bites can seriously hurt!

Ouch – I hope you are feeling better today.

I say don’t give up. Restart the process with short bonding periods with you totally supervising (like inside a pen). Just do 15 to 30 minute sessions every day for awhile. I think you are going to have to persevere and not give up. Your still doing a great job of bonding them so don’t let this one incident keep you from continuing on. I can totally understand where you might need the break after this but I don’t think I would do that.

I know they didn’t mean to bite you – your hand just got in the way.

Hey someone was on here, and they are taking their bunny on bunny dates and they mentioned something I thought was a good idea…not sure if you want to try;

They put the two bunnies together and gave them pretty hard nose rubs so that they both lowered their heads…maybe this could help??

OMG. This is why Sophie is staying an only bunny. i am so scared of bonding!

Bonding is a scarey issue. I am the one who has been speed-dating my bunny. If all goes well, the potential suiter will be going home with me within the next week or so. When things go terribly wrong, you should pull back on the time. Bonding is often the old case of “one step forward, two steps back”.

The way the bonder works with my bun is that she first puts my bun into the bonding box, then puts in the new one and immediately starts petting their heads together fast and firm – sort of like what you do to brush off a couch or smooth out a bedspread – she uses both hands and goes at it for a good 30-60 seconds continuously. If either of them begin to show any sort of bad attitude, it is time to pet them like that again, immediately. It works for my bun – but not all buns are the same.

DMH – if you can find a shelter that will let you take your bunny on some ‘dates’, it wouldn’t hurt. First off, it will be a nice trip out with you and your bun and second, she might find someone who would be ‘love at first sight’ and the bonding would be really easy. But there is nothing wrong with a single bun – i still am contemplating not going through with this as for some reason, Maryann has become really affectionate to me lately – she has groomed/kissed me more in the last two weeks than she has in the last five years. Now I don’t wanna share her.

jesus you poor thing!!! I would slow down for a while and almost start over again. Keep the new one in the cage, but pop the cage just on the outskirts of the other’s territory (if there is one), let them sniff each other for a little bit each day, whatever you do don’t give up!!! I VERY nearly did as it just seemed a thankless task, and never ending hell, but i really do think that your patience will reward greatly (think of it as being caught in the middle of a power struggle, it all balances out eventually), hope it helps, and good luck!!