Bonding Two Neutered Rabbits

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This topic has 4sd replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 5 months ago by Chloe1989.

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- 09/15/2016 at 6:44 PM
  Moo <3
  Participant
  35 posts
  Hi! This is my first time posting in binkybunny, love this website! I haven’t found a clear answer on my answer, so I thought I’d give it a shot! I recently adopted my 2nd male rabbit, Ewok, (1 week ago) from a rescue group (bunnybunch). I took my current rabbit, Moo, there for a date and it went well, (no fighting and a few snuggles) so I decided to take him home and bond them. I have about 2-3 sessions each day, each one lasting 15-20 minutes in the bath tub. The same thing happens each time, Moo will mount Ewok several times, and Ewok will lay there. Both Moo and Ewok will place their heads under one another, but they refuse to groom the other. Does anyone have any tips on how I can progress forward? Possibly, how to ‘make’ them groom each other.. They eat together, and seem comfortable around one another, (Moo grooms himself, flops near him.) They will put their heads together as I pet them. If Ewok doesn’t groom Moo after awhile, Moo will nip him, but I’ve been careful not to let that happen often. If you have any questions, I’m more than happy to reply!
- 09/15/2016 at 7:49 PM
  Mikey
  Participant
  3186 posts
  Their bond sounds good so far. Good on you for letting Moo pick his new friend Ewok out To help urge one of them to groom the other, you can pet a bit of sugar free apple juice onto both of their heads, or mash a bit of banana onto both of their heads. That usually gets one or both buns to start grooming the other. Most nips are acceptable as long as theres no fur pulling and it doesnt cause a fight, so theres really nothing to worry about so far with your pair
- 09/16/2016 at 4:52 AM
  Love4Bunny
  Participant
  878 posts
  You can also try the Smoosh Technique:
  https://youtu.be/w7Lac4hKlTE
  I chose to do a variation of this because of the slight size and temperament difference between my bunnies. I kinda played it by ear: as the bunnies progressed with bonding, I was more comfortable placing them side by side.
  
  Someone once described it to me as the human equivalent of facilitating a conversation between two people – they have to nut it out eventually. Circling and face mounting is not great, but I think some nipping is okay. After all, they are demanding something from the other and you won’t really have peace till someone acquieces. Rabbits are scrappy little buggers like that!
- 09/16/2016 at 11:08 PM
  Moo <3
  Participant
  35 posts
  Thanks for the replies! The applesauce works great, Ewok groomed Moo last night, and this morning, Moo even groomed him without the applesauce! He used to mount almost non-stop and nip at his back to ‘hold on,’ but the mounting has dramatically decreased. I decided to try the smooch method tomorrow. I would still appreciate any advice or future tips from anyone! Thanks for suggestions above, they definitely helped the process!!
- 09/29/2016 at 11:40 AM
  Chloe1989
  Participant
  5 posts
  Hi I hope it’s ok to post here but reading about two males bonding and I need a bit of advice! I have a neautered boy bunny blue and a four month old bunny lilly who we thought was a girl but turns out she’s a boy! He is getting neautered Monday and Is there a chance we can bond them? Ive read so many times the best Marc is male/female. The older bun does groom little one through the pen but in the past trying to bond them face to face hasn’t worked so we decided to wait untill lilly was spayed (now don’t know what to call him/her) baby bun chins everything including our older bun will it be safe to bond them? I’m so worried we’ve had littlen since she was 8 weeks and I love them both dearly so I really want this bond to work. Any advice would be so apreciated
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