Hmmm, well we haven’t tried any more face to face introductions.

Pellet has been quite energetic since their first meeting. He seems to be digging more, running around and in general just being more ‘busy’. The good news is that I gave him the stunt double and he sniffed it curiously and then let it be. Also they seem to be ignoring eachother more through the baby gate. Tonight we are going to switch cages. I know Pellet will probably be pretty upset about this.

corrie

So its been quite a while and we gave up for several months. Every time there was a date they would have a huge fight. Betty even almost needed stitches once.

The good news is we recently moved which means all new territory! We have been switching territories every day, putting the buns in their cages next to each other every night, and doing daily dates where we bring both bunnies out in to the hallway and give them a plate of greens. They are both very good at just eating and ignoring each other which I take as a good sign. We generally keep them about 1 ft apart. As soon as they both are done we scoot them back into their rooms. We want to end on a good note and considering how bad it was this is really good to see. This has been going on for about a week

Yesterday the bunnies briefly sniffed each other nose to nose, but we quickly separated them because Pellet started grunting a little. Its hard to tell when he is going to be aggressive as he is a lop and we can’t read his ears. Betty seems curious at times and wanting to be aggressive at other times. Also Pellet keeps pooping everywhere during the dates.

We are wondering what we should do next? …Continue with the mutual feedings to build trust?..slowly bring the plates closer together? Take them on a car ride (Pellet doesn’t seem scared of the car)? Let them actually meet fully in the hallway (I have a feeling they will fight, but I could just be scared)? Wait until they are ignoring each other without the food distraction? Things are going well and I am hesitant to try too much too soon.

Thanks for any advice!

Corrie & the buns
I am wondering what hte next step should be?

Hmmm, okay. I guess I will try the box technique, but they are both so squirmy. I think it will be very hard keep them still. I may try it in the car first.

Last night they their usual date in the hallway, except neither were very hungry. At one point Betty sniffed Pellet’s bum. Pellet quickly turned around and we pushed them apart. Then Pellet decided to go back to the spot where Betty had sniffed him and pee there. We probably should have stopped the date them, but we decided to try and end it on a good note.

I started scratching Pellets bum as it makes him groom himself instantly and I thought this might show Betty that he trusts her and make both feel more comfortable. Betty was about a foot and a half away and moved about an inch forward and all of a sudden Pellet stopped grooming himself and attacked her. The fur flew, but we were able to separate them quickly. I am wondering if Pellet felt vulnerable and when he saw her move he decided to attack?

Its disappointing since things have been going so well.

Also, I am wondering if we should give Pellet less affection. Sounds strange, but he gets pets and love constantly and I wonder if we ignore him a bit he might be more apt to want Betty’s affection.

Thanks for any advice!

We’ve been a bit too busy to do the box in the car, but we’ve continued with nightly dates. We moved to the front foyer (totally new to the both of them) and about two nights ago had both bunnies lying about 4 inches apart, back to front and petting them. They were both being very good, but when my boyfriend loosened his grip for a second to adjust, Pellet lunged and took a bit on Betty’s bum. He got some fur, but not real injury. Betty seemed slightly offended, but did not try to nip back. Since then, we’ve done two eating dates and they have both been good about that. Hopefully we will get to the car ride soon.

I go to Cuba though in two weeks and while I have a bunny-sitter coming to stay at my house. I know she will take great care of them, but I don’t trust her to do the bunny dates alone. I hope this doesn’t set things back too much.

Thanks for all the help!
Corrie

Good idea! That will have to be on a weekend.

We did a date last night and Pellet was full of beans. It really seemed like he wanted to start a fight. I would give him a carrot and he would grab it and toss it away. I gave hims some parsley and he munched it angrily for a second and then stopped. He kept digging at me and trying to run towards Betty. We decided to end it before things got bad. Therefore the date lasted only about 3 min. I guess that is better than nothing.

Also, my boyfriend and I have noticed that Pellet hasn’t been quite the same bun since we moved. He seems generally less affectionate and interested in us. He is also not that interested in hopping around the new place. There is one section of the house that he has trouble with. The hallway has tile and the dining room is carpeted. He doesn’t go into the dining room (which leads to the living room) unless we literally grab him and push him out into the dining room. Then he is fine. I think it might be the change in texture from tiles to carpet. Its so strange. But he is also not going into the kitchen which is also tiled and directly connected to the hallway. He has always been a VERY confident (almost over-confident) bunny until late.

Betty loves the new place and has been more confident and friendly than ever.

Could their change in personalty be related to the bonding? I think Pellet might be humbled (and feels less secure) by having to share territory with Betty. He is no longer ‘king of the castle’.

Hmmm, some news to report:

First, we have been able to get the buns side by side petting their heads a couple of times. We keep two gloved fingers in between their faces and have their bums and sides touch. Its so nice to see them touching (and not with teeth!). Sometimes Pellet is being too frisky and we can’t calm him down enough to get them next to each other for long. He will bite at our gloves, squirms and hops around. We let them eat near each other and just keep the date at that when he is on one of those moods. I am wondering if we are being too cautious now and should just let the buns really see each other without us handling them now? What should the next step be?

Also, for the past couple of days, Pellet has taken to running in circles in his original cage in the mornings. I say ‘original’ because we have been switching cages every day. Each cage is in a big room and during the day they have free range in the room they are in. So in other words, I don’t think his circling is because of frustration from lack of space. At night we put them in their cages (switching everyday) and put them next to each other. I am guessing his little running move is a territorial thing? He only seems to do it in the morning when we take Betty out of the room and let him out of his cage. He will run back into his original cage and start circling. He does not do the circling when we change rooms and he is in Betty’s original cage.

Corrie

Good news! We did our first car ride date in a box and it went great. They were both so stressed out that they forgot about fighting and were falling all over each other. We think Pellet may have lunged at Betty once or twice, but it was hard to tell exactly what his intentions were with all the commotion (we told the driver to drive erratically which he did!).

At one point Pellet gave up on trying to get out of the box and just lied down on top of Betty. She didn’t mind. She was definitely trying to go to him for comfort. He just seemed like “what the hell is going on” and gave up. Next one we will drive a little smoother and do a normal date right after. It’s so reassuring to make this little bit of progress!

Yay…great news!

We’ve done more stress dates and things are going so well. We’ve just been putting them in a box and gently ‘shaking’ it up a bit. Then we’ve been doing regular dates right after. The first time the buns lied down beside each other and just rested from the stress. Today, after they both rested for a couple of minutes from the stress date Pellet went up to Betty and she lowered her head and he started sniffing her face. No fighting! So cute!

Then he started to trying to mount her which I know is normal. She sort of ran away from him, but I can tell that she doesn’t mind being the submissive one. I’ve read on a blog that I should try petting her head and let him mount her briefly (for 10 sec or so) so that he can establish dominance. I never thought that bunny humping would be the best thing I got for Christmas but it is! We are so encouraged. Thanks for all your help!

Tomorrow my we will do another date in the car to change things up and a regular date right after. I tried to post a photo of the two of them face to face…this time with no bars in between, but the file was too big. Happy X-mas!

Pellet did the strangest thing yesterday during his ‘date’ with Betty. He was sniffing her bum which is usually a sign that he will start humping her, but instead he did a bunny flop! He did this twice. Perhaps he was trying to get a better angle to sniff her, but it seemed like a true flop. It was very cute even though his intentions were not. Any idea what this is about?

Thanks,

Corrie

Good news! We sped through the last stages of the bonding process.

Pellet started getting over the humping and then we put both of them in both cage areas. They weren’t upset about it at all. That same night we caught Pellet grooming Betty. The next day they started playing with each other.

We still can’t get Betty to groom Pellet though.

They have been living together for over a week now and seem so happy! No fights or nipping at all. I am not sure there is much else in the world that makes me happier than seeing them together and in love!