Help! Next steps in bonding with a territorial female

Forum

OUR FORUM IS UP BUT WE ARE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF UPDATING AND FIXING THINGS. SOME THINGS WILL LOOK WEIRD AND/OR NOT BE CORRECT. YOUR PATIENCE IS APPRECIATED. We are not fully ready to answer questions in a timely manner as we are not officially open, but we will do our best.

You may have received a 2-factor authentication (2FA) email from us on 4/21/2020. That was from us, but was premature as the login was not working at that time.

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.

What are we about? Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules.

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

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 7sd replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 4 years, 2 months ago by DanaNM.

Viewing 6 reply threads

Author

Messages
- 09/21/2020 at 9:56 PM
  binkieBun
  Participant
  25 posts
  My rabbit and his bonding female rabbit are off to a good start. The female has been establishing her dominance. Both groom each other and seem happy during their bonding session in an EMPTY nuetral pen.
  
  As next steps, I added a litter box that had been used by both of them, a hay bin, water bowl, tunnel, and toys in the neutral pen. The dominant female got restless, and started nipping the male… Things got better when I removed the items, especially the litter box.
  
  How am I supposed to move forward in the bonding process?
  I want them to start sharing items in the neutral pen, so they can eventually live together.
- 09/21/2020 at 11:15 PM
  DanaNM
  Moderator
  9054 posts
  Hi there, it would help if you fill out the “bonding template” pinned in this section. If you copy and paste it into your reply we can get a bit more background on your process so far to give better feedback. 🙂
  
  That said, it’s best to use a brand new litter box when introducing it to them, or one that has been cleaned VERY well. Same goes for toys etc. You can gradually introduce used things once they are sharing non-neutral space, but if you give them everything all at once then it can cause problems.
  
  . . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.
- 09/22/2020 at 7:58 AM
  Hazel
  Participant
  2587 posts
  What Dana said. Clean everything very well, and only put one new item into the pen at a time. When they’re good with that, move on to the next item.
- 09/23/2020 at 3:24 AM
  binkieBun
  Participant
  25 posts
  Thank you for your feedback.
  
  Spay/Neuter ————————
  
  Are your bunnies spayed/neutered?
  YES
  
  If so, for how long (for each)?
  MALE – 5 YEARS; FEMALE AT LEAST 1 YEAR
  
  If not, why not?
  
  Are you aware of reproductive cancer risk in females? If not, please read about it here.
  YES
  
  Housing ————————
  
  Please describe your bunnies’ current housing set-up (living together, as neighbors, etc.).
  TEMPORARY SEPARATE SIDE-BY-SIDE EXERCISE PENS FOR BONDING
  
  Bonding background ————————
  
  Did you allow the bunnies to “settle-in”?
  YES, OVER 24 HOURS
  
  How would you describe your bunnies reactions towards each other (answer for each bunny): shy, scared, curious, calm, aggressive, excited, affectionate, etc.?
  FEMALE: ENERGETIC, ASSERTIVE, SOMETIMES NIPPY AS A DOMINANT RABBIT
  MALE: AFFECTIONATE, CURIOUS, SOMETIMES SCARED WHEN BONDING HAS A STRUGGLING MOMENT
  
  Have you done any “pre-bonding” (cage or litter box swaps, etc.)?
  YES, CAGE SWAPS THAT INCLUDES LITTER BOX, ETC.
  
  If so, for how long?
  ABOUT 2 WEEKS
  
  Have you started sessions yet?
  YES
  
  How long have you been working on bonding your bunnies?
  ABOUT 2 WEEKS
  
  How frequently do you have bonding sessions, and how long are they?
  EVERY OTHER DAY, ABOUT 30 MINS.
  
  Have you tried any stressing techniques?
  NO, BUT WILL TRY THE CAR RIDE TECHNIQUE SOON
- 09/23/2020 at 2:54 PM
  DanaNM
  Moderator
  9054 posts
  Thanks!
  
  Yes I think my initial advice still holds!
  
  . . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.
- 09/23/2020 at 7:21 PM
  binkieBun
  Participant
  25 posts
  Great. Thank you for getting back to me. 😀
- 09/23/2020 at 9:14 PM
  DanaNM
  Moderator
  9054 posts
  I’ll also just add that you haven’t been working with them too long and your sessions are pretty short so far (if they are still just 30 min). If they still get feisty over a clean litter box, try waiting until they are spending many hours together at a time and then try to add it in. It could just be a bit too early in the process to add it. Buns can be pretty particular over their litter boxes!
  
  . . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.
Author

Messages

Viewing 6 reply threads

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.