Well the 3 didn’t fight, but didn’t click either so I didn’t want to go there.  All the dates went so well, not one nip or lunge! Makes things so hard. The place will swap if the bonding doesn’t go well which was a big reason I chose the place farther away.

I ended up with a small lionhead mix, another red eyed white. They kinda look alike. I can’t say he was the one I’d pick if just for me, and honestly nothing much happened on their date. I liked that they were both grooming near each other and just seemed incredibly calm. I really want an easy bond so I went with my intuition on that.

He is a sleepy boy and just got home and getting settled.

Yes, so far he is settling well. Ruby has started marking a little, and aggressively chasing him down the fence, but I’m not too worried because she’s also spending time sleeping at the fence and has really perked back up. She is flopping and doing binkys again 🙂

Here are some pics, I’ll update once I start bonding sessions- but hoping it goes smoothly.

I can’t remember where I saw the idea for the 2×4, but mine aren’t quite 2 inches so hopefully not a problem. Xpens straight across don’t work very well but it’s what I had…Ruby did get to him but only “fake” bit him. I repositioned the bricks to keep the fencing farther apart.

He has become a hyper boy. I thought he was 1.5- 2 yrs old but he’s so active I am skeptical. I’ve swapped them a couple times now. Ruby is getting upset. There is more marking but nothing horrible, the boy is chinning everything including me. With Elmer and Ruby there wasn’t this much marking and such. I think I’ll start with a date Friday and decide on method depending on how they interact.  These bun buns are a lot of work 😉

Yeah, I wasn’t sure but played it by ear. The way I set up the enclosure was that one has the run of a hallway and second bedroom (while still having a part of the room with the other bun), and I wanted to let him run around more. And he did a lot of zoomies and binkies! He actually did seem settled within a couple of days. He is not very skittish which is interesting.

Update! I did our first bonding session earlier. I was fully planning to cut it after a few minutes depending how it went, but I ended up keeping them for an hour and a half.

I thought it went really well! Not love at first sight or anything, but I think they’ll be able to work things out after a couple weeks or so. I purposely did this during sleepy time so a big test will be once the new guy is more awake and energetic.

There were many positive things. Ruby already groomed him a little, she flopped on his head twice, they started falling asleep with their heads together, ate together, etc. The only negative was Ruby got aggressive at him twice. I couldn’t tell exactly, but looked like she bit him (lightly), then I went to intervene and she scratched me so I guess she was boxing him too. He did not retaliate at least. Right after that though it was good again.  He also really got up in her butt a couple times which I moved him from.  So, a few minutes of tension from that but mostly they were pretty relaxed 🙂 I of course facilitated with lots of pets.

Thank you! This is only my 2nd time bonding and although they got cuddly, Ruby never got aggressive towards Elmer so it feels a little mixed. BUT yes it’s so sweet to see, especially with everything Ruby has been through. I hope they continue this way!

Well I spoke too soon. There was aggression tonight. Ruby kept nipping and I’m honestly not sure exactly what happened but I tried to move them apart and got bit.  I think I set Ruby back down and tried to end positive but they weren’t having it. I tried to move max and he bit me, then picked him up and he clamped down on my finger 🙁  I’m not sure if that was for Ruby or me picking him up but it’s pretty bad.

Do you think it’s best to wait longer for the next date? Maybe next week.

Yeah, it’s too bad, I was really hoping for them to work like it did with Elmer. I appreciate your support, bonding rabbits is so hard it makes all the difference to have a place to get help.

I of course worry it’s not a good match. They are still marking quite a lot. Max also is very stinky, like as if he hadn’t been neutered.  He humped Ruby a couple times until I pulled him off, and he urinated on her or something because her tail was wet 🙁 The boy has much more energy too, and I do wish he was more friendly with me. He isn’t shy but doesn’t like me petting him much and bite-y. Elmer was the opposite.

Anyway, I’m not going to give up yet but feeling discouraged. She just doesn’t seem to like him. I definitely moved too fast, and let the date go too long yesterday hoping they’d have an easy bond. I’m going to keep swapping areas but wait a little bit for more dates. I’ll start with shorter ones next time.

I did not have gloves on.. I even had a pair nearby but had not put them on. He got one bite on the side of my finger and sliced it open at the top. I didn’t know rabbits would bite like that!

And ouch about your thumb going numb!! I’m wearing gloves for sure on the next meetings!

I think it may be better not to swap for now, my only issue is space. In hindsight it’s not the best set – up but I can’t change it now. With one of them able to leave the room anytime, they aren’t getting as much exposure to each other as I wanted.

Right now Max has about 50 sq ft, which isn’t horrible but seeing him run up and down the hall makes me want to give him more. I am thinking about how I can set up a play area for him in my living room vs swap them.

Good to know about Cooper, the stinky-ness was concerning! And you may be right about how he is responding to stress. Meanwhile, I think Ruby is still down about Elmer so all that could be contributing to their reactions to each other. Ruby was grooming him, grooming herself with his head under her feet, and later almost provoked him to a full blown fight (I’m at least thankful they didn’t hurt each other or actually fight).