Woke up to two bunnies in one pen!!

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 6sd replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 11 months ago by Sarita.

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- 05/29/2010 at 6:58 AM
  Minty
  Participant
  338 posts
  So this morning I woke up to the scare of my life… I have both my bunnies in my bedroom. Their setup is dog crates attached to Xpens which I leave open all the time. Well, I couldn’t believe it when I woke up this morning and found Sully and Frankie in Sully’s side of the Xpen. I am a very deep sleeper so I have no idea how Frankie escaped. I inspected his pen and there doesn’t seem to be any obvious way he got in/out.
  
  I know I am very lucky that these two did not hurt each other but the funny thing is, is that they were just sitting there together. There was no sign of aggression or dominance as far as I could tell, but I separated them immediately. Poor Sully, he was staring at me as if to say ‘What is he doing in MY pen?!’ I am glad Sully is such an easy going guy and is not territorial at all… and glad I woke up when I did too! I think it was more me that was freaked out, since I jumped into the pen and separated them with a hidey house… I was waiting for a fight to ensue, but Sully was hopping around perfectly happy and Frankie let me scoop him up… Well, I guess my boys were trying to get a head start on bonding.
  
  From now on I will be locking Frankie up at night and he will have to be out when supervised. I thought I had secured his pen enough by clipping both sides and adding height to the Xpen but I guess not. He is such a trouble maker and stresses me out!! it is funny to see Sully and Frankie’s pens side by side… Sully’s is neat and tidy with nothing out of place, Frankie’s is a wreck with newspaper strewn everywhere and hay all over his cage. Well, just thought I would share my stressful morning with everyone, I almost had a heart attack!
- 05/29/2010 at 7:09 AM
  Karla
  Participant
  1624 posts
  Phew, what a morning. I guess they thought you were being a bit slow on the bonding sessions. Did he jump over then?
  
  I like the description of the pens…you are aware that Frankie is the room mate from hell and that he will drive Sully crazy?
  
  I’m going through the same. I have Freddie in one room, and the others in the rest of the apartment. But the door to the bedroom doesn’t close properly, so quite a few times they have begun their own bonding sessions without me. So far, no fights, only humping, but still…
  
  One time I was sitting in the dinning room and working when I heard someone zoom through the living room. It went on for a long time and at one point, I spotted something black at the corner of my eye and just began talking to Karl, as I thought it was him. Then some strange noises began sounding like Molly in panic and I found her completely freaked out by the sight of Freddie who was enjoying himself. Yesterday, I was in the bedroom lying in bed with my laptop…suddenly the door slowly opened without a sound. It was so weird. I thought it would either be a ghost (hehe, my imagination is quite good) or my boyfriend pulling a prank. I looked out and nothing there, so I closed the door and went back to bed. And then, I could hear two bunnies chasing each other under the bed. It was Karl who wanted to visit Freddie, and both wanted to hump each other. Still no fur pulling or fighting, but I was freaking out.
  
  So, yes, I can imagine how you felt this morning
- 05/29/2010 at 7:09 AM
  kralspace
  Participant
  2663 posts
  oh my goodness, that must have been a scare. It’s wonderful that they didn’t fight, you might have a very easy bond.
- 05/29/2010 at 7:28 AM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  There is a method of bonding that basically involves putting them together and seeing what happens. For obvious reasons, this is not the preferred method, but I’ve seen it work in some situations! Is there any evidence that there was a scuffle while you slept? Any tufts of fur or bite marks on either bun?
- 05/29/2010 at 7:39 AM
  Minty
  Participant
  338 posts
  Nope there were no bite marks or fur anywhere. I picked them up and inspected both. They were just sitting there staring at each other and Frankie was hopping on the hardwood since Sully only likes to move around on his carpet. I’m not sure how long they were even in there for. It could have been seconds or even hours. I think if anything, it was more Frankie being a little brat and teasing Sully! Frankie also peed right beside Sully’s litter box (but on the outside of the cage) so I’m not sure if he was trying to mark his territory or was just trying to pee in a litter box lol. He hasn’t started spraying and there were no territorial poos either.
  
  Karla, I’m not sure if he jumped the pen or not… It looks like it thought, since I secured both sides of the Xpen since he has escaped before.
- 05/29/2010 at 7:42 AM
  Minty
  Participant
  338 posts
  Oh, thought I should add that when I am around I let them interact through the bars of their pens. There has been lots of nuzzling and some grooming, but no nipping from either bun yet. I think this has helped to get them used to each other. They are also side by side 24/7 whether it be in their pens or when I move them outside, so maybe this has helped in pre-bonding them?
- 05/29/2010 at 8:34 AM
  Sarita
  Participant
  18851 posts
  That has happened to me before – luckily both rabbits were altered so I decided since they were getting along and were altered they were a pair. I was very lucky that since it was a male/female pair they were altered. I think I separated them once and then Grace who was a Netherland kept getting back into Snoopy’s pen and he was perfectly fine so then I decided to let them be together.
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