The set up you have is actually fine, you don’t need to do pre-bonding in neutral space, just the actual bonding sessions. So it’s good you’ve reserved the neutral area for later.

As far as nipping etc, you should set up the fence so they can’t nip each other through it. You can either use a second wall of fence of make a buffer of 4-6 inches between walls, or use something else to block the nipping (cardboard or a towel will do in a pinch). Storage cube grids make great temporary fencing as well.

It’s very normal for bunnies to behave this way when they are in their home turf, even if they get a long in neutral space, so don’t worry too much. Just modify the fencing so they cannot nip each other (as those nose nips can cause hurt feelings and make things harder down the road).

I usually aim for a couple weeks of pre-bonding and then see how they are doing. Some pairs benefit from longer pre-bonding. The hope is that they get more and more calm towards each other. You might see them start to lay near each other on opposite sides of the fence, or their behaviors might start syncing up (like they will groom themselves at the same time, eat at the same time, etc.). It helps to feed them near each other at the same time on opposite sides of the fence. I like to to wait until they don’t seem phased by the side-swap and just go about their normal business as though nothing happened (as opposed to running around thumping and chinning lol).

I have something similar too and it’s fine! You just need a 2nd barrier between them so she can’t nip him. We have an ex pen and then some of those storage cubes set 6 inches in front of it all connected in a row with zip ties. So they can see and interact but they’re too far apart to touch each other.

Sounds like a good set up!

FYI in bunny body language, bowing the head is a dominant move! Unlike in dogs, the bun the goes low is the one trying to be dominant. New bonders often interpret that as the bunny being submissive, but actually it’s a grooming request. The bunny that asks to be groomed is trying to be dominant. He is probably remembering that she groomed him during the first date and wants more. 🙂

Females are more territorial than males so it is normal for females to behave this way when a newbie comes into their territory.

Assuming you mean bonding sessions by “stress tests”? Don’t do any bonding sessions just yet. But once you decide to start, continue the cage swaps throughout the process.

A bonding sessions does not have to be a stress session necessarily, the space just has to be neutral.  If you haven’t already, I recommend reading the Bonding section in the Bunny Info section on this site for a good run-down on bonding. It can also be helpful to read through bonding journals on this forum (use the search bar to search “bonding journal”) to see the various ways things can go and different methods.

If he didn’t fight when she mounted, that’s a good sign. And yes mounting is a dominance behavior. It can be hard to tell in the early stages who will end up being dominant, and often it’s best to just not worry about it. As long as there is no fighting, that’s a good thing.

Things can change though-out the bonding process and as one bun settles in, which is why the settling in and pre-bonding period is important.

And yes, just keep up with swapping sides every day or two until they calm down towards each other.