Wondering if I can get some advice regarding bonding. I have 2 young males …one neutered three weeks ago [lop] and other neutered 5 weeks ago. I did place them together just  once when I first got them at  12 weeks of age but the harlequin one immediately attacked. They have been living in adjacent but separate enclosures since. I was told that the lop was a female when I got her/him,  as I understand mixed sex bonding’s are generally easier but turns out I now have 2 males. I have been switching their enclosures once or twice a day as one of the enclosures opens to my livingroom. This way, when I am home,  they can take turns being out of their enclosures  for at least a couple of hours daily.

They are 6 months old now and I really hope to get them into one enclosure and have them roam together eventually.  They sometimes lie near each other and I always give them their greens and treats together [there is about a 4 inch separation between the enclosures] and they don’t seem to have an issue with this.

Yesterday, for the first time since neutering,  I put them into a neutral area [bathroom]  along with lots of treats, a friends help, spray bottle and oven mitts handy.  The lop immediately started eating [he is really into food] and after about 30 seconds the harlequin attacked pulling out fur [no blood] I squirted and separated and  this happened  three times, …more fur pulled and on the third encounter the lop retaliated and bit back…again no visible injuries to either other than fur loss. My friend and I then sat with the buns on our laps [six inches apart] and had a long patting session with both buns who appeared relaxed. They then were returned to their enclosures.

So I am wondering where to go from here?  I won’t  have a friends help on a regular basis as I live alone.  How much hair pulling out is usual??  The lop seems totally non aggressive…more interested in food. Would it be advisable to put a harness on the aggressive one to prevent him lunging at the lop? Would it help to just sit and pet the aggressive one in the presence of the other rather than letting him run loose?  I am mainly wanting to avoid injuries and avoid  make the bonding less likely to occur by doing anything wrong. I am also  concerned that I may just have one overly aggressive bun as someone told me that at age 12 weeks most buns don’t attack another young one as this one did.

I understand I may have been rushing the bonding with it only being 3 and 5 weeks [for the aggressive bun] after neutering. One reason is because I am going on vacation in one month and was hoping to get somewhere with the bonding process before I go. It is a lot more to have to transport the whole set up to a friends house and then worry that the friend won’t be as careful as I have been about not allowing interactions… even through the bars.

I have had bunnies before but always just one at a time and I am was really looking forward to having a bonded pair.

Appreciate you reading this and would love any specific advice….I have read all the general  information on this site, and others, regarding bonding.