Hello,

I have two Swedish landrace rabbits or Gotland rabbits, Loke and Freja. I have been trying to bond them now for around a year, I have been reading books, articles, blogs and watched countless videos on the process and also spoken with two friends who own bonded rabbits. I have achieved a certain level of familiarity but I’m uncertain if I should proceed or not so wanted to ask you if I should proceed and how to go from here.

Background and Housing

They are both from the same breeder and are half-siblings. Loke is an adult neutered male rabbit and born in February, 2018. Freja is a spayed female rabbit born in January, 2019. They were sterilised basically around half year of age. They live apart in giant cages (you could sleep in them as a human in a foetal position) but the cages are put next to each other so they can bother each other through the cages if they want (they usually just look or sniff). I bring them out separately a few hours each day in the room they live in (around 20 square metre).

The Potential Bond Mates

Loke is a very cuddly rabbit, you could probably pet him a hundred sessions per day and he’d love it. He easily accepts being pet and is not afraid of other humans (he often begs attention from them too). He licks me on the face or legs when he feels like it, which is quite often. He’s pretty nervous and can get aggressive if startled, he hates being picked up (more than most rabbits). Perhaps due to his nervousness he’s also very polite or law-abiding, after telling him no a few times (yelling, spray of water or “rabbit growl”) he won’t mess with my carpet or whatever again. He’s also a pretty relaxed rabbit, content with doing shorter walks and runs and then mostly eat, cuddle and chill. He treats me as the “dominant rabbit” and is dominant to Freja.

Freja is a very energetic rabbit, often not having time for cuddles but want to nibble everything and run about. She looks at rules as recommendations rather than something to follow, she’s sort of what we’d describe in Sweden as an “eye servant”, as in someone who only obeys rules when being observed. I have little disputes with her almost daily, but she usually stops when I yell “NO” now, so she’s matured somewhat, before she didn’t care. She treats me with respect and she likes me, but she does not lick me, I think she views me as dominant to me. But we can cuddle when she’s relaxed (which is not that often due to her energetic nature). She is submissive to Loke.

Current Situation

I bring them together in neutral spaces (which they don’t have access to) such as another room and the bathroom. Loke is usually the one who is stressed the most and usually reacts negatively if Freja does sudden non-aggressive movements. What I do is let them sit together in a small confined space and try to relieve stress, I pet them both at the same time, which usually makes them relax. What usually happens is that when Freja hasn’t licked Loke after a few minutes he growls and do a “fake attack”, still usually scares Freja and she just lies in a submissive position (lower than Loke). If I stay with them, pet them and talk to them they usually both relax and seem to treat each other more calmly.

I had almost given up on the project, but then Freja started courting Loke herself out of bonding sessions. Almost daily when Freja is out of her cage she runs around for a bit and Loke is usually sleeping on a small wood box, his tail usually hanging outside of the cage. Freja then approach his butt and nibble it to get his attention, or gnaw on the plastic underside of the cage. Loke usually turns around and present his head and Freja licks him for a minute or two and Loke seem very relaxed and does not growl.

After that I began bonding them again but without stressors since Loke is really scared as it is and Freja usually licks him after 5-10 minutes together and he’s always really content, just as when I pet his head. But he’s still really stressed and still react negatively to Freja if she moves around which scares her. She seem to like him since she seeks him out outside of bonding sessions and she clearly displays submissive posture and behaviour (which she does not generally do to me). From my POV the problem is with Loke’s reactions to Freja, he also seeks Freja out outside of bonding sessions doing a similar “rabbit knock” on her cage by biting on her undercage to get her attention, which usually ends in sniffing each other.

They didn’t meet much for the first 6 months but here are the few instances. Loke tried to enter her cage the first week when she was a baby though but apart from that nothing. I let them meet once before Freja was spayed, she was very calm and licked him. Once I slipped up and they were out at the same time and Loke jumped inside of Freja’s cage, she had just hit puberty and attacked him, one of those cartoon fights with a bouncing ball of flailing limbs. I separated them quickly and no one got more than a bruise. Freja has only attacked him once, after being spayed she always treats him as the dominant one. They had not had any direct interaction for more than a month when I started real bonding.

I’ve had Freja for around 14 months and have tried to bond them for 8 months, I used to bond them once or twice a week and took three months of rest. The bonding sessions are usually 10-20 minutes. I’ve tried stressing techniques but I feel that with Loke’s anxious disposition giving them affection is a better glue than getting them more stressed (but here we are).

I live on a big island with a huge uncontrolled wildlife population of rabbits so the rabbit viruses are rampant (most of the local population die each year). Responsible breeders and owners are reluctant to bunny dates (or even having me visit their breeding farm) since the viruses are highly contagious as you probably. There’s also no local rabbit rescue so it’s pretty hard to “try before you buy” with compatible mates. This does not really add to my plight, but just wanted you to know so we can get those comments out of the way. 😉

So, where should I go from here? Is it a lost cause or should I keep trying? Thanks for taking the time. 🙂