Curious to get feedback on something I was told by our vet. I took Liam in for his post-adoption checkup this week, and mentioned how I was planning on bonding him to Merida once his hormones are good and gone (he was neutered 19 Dec 2013, so I’m waiting the full 6 weeks to be extra careful). I know there are many, many ways to bond rabbits, and what works for one person might not work for anyone else, but I was kind of… skeptical? concerned? about some of the things suggested by the vet (I’ll underline the bits).

In the dismissal instructions from the vet: “We also discussed with the owners how to properly introduce Liam to Merida, the female rabbit in the household: [dwarfsparrow] needs to keep Liam quarantined for a minimum of 30 days from the adoption date. During the first few weeks, she may place the cages so the rabbits can see each other, but not touch each other. Then, slowly move the cages closer together until they can smell each other. When Liam and Merida each feel safe they can each learn to tolerate the other.

Next, let each rabbit out of its cage separately. Let one rabbit out, but leave the other in its cage. Do not let them out together until neither rabbit shows aggression. Signs of aggression include biting cage bars (when the other rabbit is near), jumping up on the cage attempting to bite each other, or anything else that looks like one rabbit is aggressive/defensive. This can sometimes last weeks or months before there’s success. If they are friendly at this stage you can try letting them out together for short periods of time.

Lastly, place the rabbits in a neutral space where they can roam freely. If they start fighting, quickly separate them; however, end the session on a good note (when both rabbits are quiet and not fighting).

With patience, work, preparation, and a bit of good luck, Liam and Merida will soon be snuggling together happily.“

I feel like letting the buns potentially take their aggression out on the each other’s cages could lead to some bad feelings for the “trapped” bun. My plan (regardless of the vet advice) was to put them in a small box with hay and litter, within a general neutral space, for short amounts of time and then work up to larger areas of neutral space, with stress bonding as needed. The only problem is that now my boyfriend thinks I should go the route the vet suggested (granted, he’s maybe done 10 minutes of rabbit research to my weeks and weeks’ worth, but I’d like him to be/feel involved in the process, being the bunny-daddy and all).

Currently Merida has free range of the dining room, while Liam is kept in his hutch in the kitchen (about 5 feet away from Merida’s hutch and on the other side of the kitchen island). When Liam is let out, I make sure that there is a pen -and preferably also his hutch top- between then to allow for sniffing but no biting. So far they seem curious but also a little wary/territorial towards each other. I’ve been keeping Merida out of the kitchen since we got Liam, and since we just moved into a new apartment in the beginning of January, the entire rest of the apartment is currently neutral space for both of them.