bonding question

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This topic has 5sd replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 8 months ago by flapjack.

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- 03/05/2018 at 11:16 AM
  flapjack
  Participant
  24 posts
  so flapjack and maple are still working on bonding! things are going pretty well, there have been no fights or anything. mostly ignoring and a little grooming.
  
  however i have noticed that sometimes he will chase her and nip at her rear. i’ve caught him with big chunks of her fur in his mouth, but no skin was attached. (she’s a lionhead mix so she’s got a fluffy bum.) whenever i see it happen i usually separate them and give him a bit of time to calm down, but is this anything that will push back my bonding efforts?
  
  eta: sometimes he also nuzzles his mouth under her stomach/rear like he’s trying to suckle or something? i’m not sure what exactly is going on there but it usually doesn’t bother her lol
- 03/05/2018 at 11:51 AM
  Serenity
  Participant
  173 posts
  This is perfectly normal and not at all detrimental. Fur pulling happens all the time and won’t push anything back, but if possible it would be good to prevent it/ For instance, if he starts chasing her and nipping gently push him away before he pulls fur. You probably don’t even need to separate them for a time. Just push him gently away when he gets her but chasing is perfectly fine. Seems like they’re doing great!
- 03/05/2018 at 3:09 PM
  flapjack
  Participant
  24 posts
  glad to know its normal! he does lunge at her sometimes and nip, not to instigate a fight but to get her to go away. is that normal as well, does it usually pass? it only really seems to happen when theyre on the floor together, but i cant get them to both stay on my bed and i recently tried to put them both in the bathtub and maple freaked out.
  
  edit: okay, maple hopped over and he just started to groom her?
- 03/05/2018 at 3:09 PM
  flapjack
  Participant
  24 posts
  edited to remove double post
- 03/05/2018 at 8:35 PM
  Serenity
  Participant
  173 posts
  Yes all of these things are normal and even good things. Rabbits are animals that communicate through nipping so the fact that he’s nipping her to move her it good, they’re learning to communicate. So long as he isn’t doing it ALL THE TIME just cause he can. It seems like things are going very well! You can expect them to be fully bonded pretty soon.
- 03/10/2018 at 1:25 PM
  flapjack
  Participant
  24 posts
  sorry for such a late post! but thank you for the reassurance she does get a bit skittish when he nips her, but no fights have broken out. however they usually calm down after a while. it might be worth noting that flapjack is also younger than her (she’s over a year by a bit, he is 7~ish months) so perhaps he’s just being an annoying teenager, haha.
  
  i’m hoping the bonding will keep progressing! i feel like something is going to go wrong because it hasn’t been terribly long since i introduced them (like, 2 weeks?) and i’ve heard of people needing months upon months to fully bond their buns. but i won’t look a gift bunny in the mouth!
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