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BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

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.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum BONDING When is the next step?

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    • abbypetty
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        Hello! My bunnies Ollie and Luna have been living side by side (with a gap between) for months now. They are both fixed. We started bonding them last night. We put them both in the bathtub with some hay. When the meeting first began Ollie nipped one time at Luna, and not again after that. Luna (f) was relaxed, ate hay, and kept shoving her head underneath Ollie (m). She would sometimes stand on or very near Ollie, and eventually layed down. Ollie barely moved, sniffed around a little bit, and then just sat down. His ears were relaxed forward (like when he sleeps), and his eyes closed. He still ate treats and Luna even ate piece of treat off of Ollie’s head. I’m wondering if Ollie is reacting okay? Is this a sign of relaxation or being upset?

        I’m wondering how many more meetings they should have before we start to integrate them in their room together.

        Thank you!!!

        Abby, Ollie, and Luna <3


      • sarahthegemini
        Participant
        5584 posts Send Private Message

          That sounds like a good first sessiom however I would stop putting treats on their heads for now. Usually apple juice or something is great for encouraging one to groom the other (if it’s usually one sided grooming) or for both to groom each other but it’s best to wait til they’ve built up some trust first.

          Ollie may have felt a little stressed but that’s one of the reasons you start off with short sessions

          Generally what you do is continue doing sessions in neutral area and increase the time til they can spend hours together with no issues. Then you can progress onto semi neutral. Sometimes when you move from neutral to semi neutral, they can take a bit of a step back but that’s quite normal. Once you’ve built up time in semi neutral, you can then move them to where their shared territory will be and you need to supervise them for 24 to 48 hours. This is known as ‘cementing the bond’

          As you said they have their room, I assume that’s where their pens are currently located? So when you get to the final stage (putting them in their final, shared accommodation) you’ll need to deep clean the room so it’s somewhat new to them both


        • sarahthegemini
          Participant
          5584 posts Send Private Message

            That sounds like a good first sessiom however I would stop putting treats on their heads for now. Usually apple juice or something is great for encouraging one to groom the other (if it’s usually one sided grooming) or for both to groom each other but it’s best to wait til they’ve built up some trust first.

            Ollie may have felt a little stressed but that’s one of the reasons you start off with short sessions

            Generally what you do is continue doing sessions in neutral area and increase the time til they can spend hours together with no issues. Then you can progress onto semi neutral. Sometimes when you move from neutral to semi neutral, they can take a bit of a step back but that’s quite normal. Once you’ve built up time in semi neutral, you can then move them to where their shared territory will be and you need to supervise them for 24 to 48 hours. This is known as ‘cementing the bond’

            As you said they have their room, I assume that’s where their pens are currently located? So when you get to the final stage (putting them in their final, shared accommodation) you’ll need to deep clean the room so it’s somewhat new to them both

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        Forum BONDING When is the next step?