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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.
- This topic has 6sd replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 7 months ago by
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My journal is here
https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/165467/Default.aspxHonestly, it’s mostly about patience and luck! I would really spend at least a month getting them all used to each others smells, as it really helps to be starting from a non-aggressive place. I also gave them all individual time running around the living room. They covered it in pee and poop – it was awful. BUT, it really helped them get used to the idea that the space was shared, other buns existed, and they would have to cope. It was actually the space where we had our bonding breakthrough in the end.
You’ll see that I started off with the two boys (Atlas and Luna were previously bonded), who are both very easy going, so I established that there wouldn’t be any problems between them. That made it easier for me, because I knew while I was bonding them, if any fights broke out I needed to focus on Luna. For the first few sessions, I literally didn’t move my hand from Luna’s head, so I knew I could stop her before any fights broke out.
It helps that I only have one ‘problem’ bun – two of them were willing to get along with anyone, so in my case it was really getting Luna to accept the boys, and teaching the boys that she wouldn’t hurt them. I also found that the pair that had been bonded before were relatively comfortable with each other pretty quickly (Luna and Atlas).
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Posted By Sirius&Luna on 4/05/2018 9:40 AM
My journal is here
https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/165467/Default.aspxHonestly, it’s mostly about patience and luck! I would really spend at least a month getting them all used to each others smells, as it really helps to be starting from a non-aggressive place. I also gave them all individual time running around the living room. They covered it in pee and poop – it was awful. BUT, it really helped them get used to the idea that the space was shared, other buns existed, and they would have to cope. It was actually the space where we had our bonding breakthrough in the end.
You’ll see that I started off with the two boys (Atlas and Luna were previously bonded), who are both very easy going, so I established that there wouldn’t be any problems between them. That made it easier for me, because I knew while I was bonding them, if any fights broke out I needed to focus on Luna. For the first few sessions, I literally didn’t move my hand from Luna’s head, so I knew I could stop her before any fights broke out.
It helps that I only have one ‘problem’ bun – two of them were willing to get along with anyone, so in my case it was really getting Luna to accept the boys, and teaching the boys that she wouldn’t hurt them. I also found that the pair that had been bonded before were relatively comfortable with each other pretty quickly (Luna and Atlas).
Thanks for all the feedback, this whole thing has really discouraged me but this info helps. I sadly have little time I can give these bunnies (about 3 hours on weekdays) which will make this hard but hopefully things go well. Also when you used a Neutral area did you constantly use one area they hadn’t been in. I couldn’t tell based on your journal, I want to use just the bath tub for them as the house isn’t ours so I don’t have a ton of space. Also how frequently did you switch their cages? and do you switch the liter boxes as well or just move those with them
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I don’t use the bathtub for bonding because Luna absolutely hates it, which always gets things off on a bad note. I used a table top, which I had put them on before for photos, but that they couldn’t access themselves. I used that space for the first few weeks, then I moved them to a pen on the living room floor.
I switched their cages every other day or so. You leave the smelly litter tray, so they can smell the other bunny. Or you can just swap the litter trays instead of whole cages if you prefer, but I find cage swapping less hassle and more effective.
To start with I was only doing 10-20 minutes a day, so 3 hours should be more than enough time
I really recommend starting very short, and stopping before they have a chance to annoy each other. Luckily I had the 4 day bank holiday weekend to solidify their bond in, so I could monitor them carefully for an extended period.
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