It sounds like she doesn’t appreciate his pushiness (demanding to be groomed) and she just wants some space. I would not be overly worried yet. You could either try giving them a bit of a break, or you could try distracting them by taking them for a car ride (or similar) in a carrier together. Stressing them isn’t necessarily a good thing, but it does work for some bunnies because they decide comforting each other is more important and asking to be groomed/demanding space.

Is this the size space (3×3) you normally have them in for these sessions? Have you tried a bigger area so she has somewhere to retreat?

Is the carrier by itself not already scary? Cause my bunny does not like the carrier no matter what. I’m thinking they wouldn’t associate the other bunny with the carrier… just that the carrier is scary and, oh look, someone is here that can help me feel better. But I guess we can’t read their little bunny minds. My bunny does some of the weirdest things and I have no clue what he’s thinking.

I do think a larger space with enough room for them to truly retreat is a good thing to try at this point. As for the fur pulling, you don’t want it to get to the point where there’s large chunks of fur everywhere. A little fluff after a spat isn’t the end of the world. You just don’t want there to be injury or grudges formed.

Digging can also be out of frustration. Particularly if they want to do something, but aren’t able to. Example: They want out to run around, but the pen is closed.

I think ignoring is great, actually. I means sth like “I don’t see you as a threat and I’m not a threat to you”. I’d let them do the ignoring in peace tbh. It’s a really promising and important step. There is communication going on, but it’s very subtle.

After a cpl of sessions of ignoring  you could introduce some hay, a tiny pile each. Not high value treats, greens or pellets, that could cause a fight. Just some hay, because it’s very good if they’re relaxed enough to eat in each other’s presence.

Sounds like a larger space was all they needed! I agree that ignoring is not a bad thing. It’s progress.

I wouldn’t rush anything if they are peacefully getting along this way.

He may simply be saying, “hey, I’m the boss around here”. Lottie is acknowledging by backing up and then returning to what she was doing, so I would say that is a good sign. And grooming is great, even if it is one-sided!

I think ot’s good you’re interrupting attempts at violence – I do with my buns on the rare occasions I’ve seen  chasing/nipping that lasts more than seconds. Best not to let things get a chance to escalate. But it’s really great that Lottie doesn’t seem bothered by it and just goes back to eating/chilling 😃

Not all bonded buns spend all their time snuggling or doing everything together. And in some bonded couples, there’s only ever one-sided grooming. Those things don’t mean the bond isnt strong or “good”. The bond my girl bun Snöa now has with my boy bun Lage is different from the bond she shared with her first husbun (who sadly passed over the Bridge very much too young). I don’t think it’s a better or less good bond, it’s just different, more of a big sister-little brother type vibe.

Getting along for over 24 hours can still be used as an indicator. But you may need to learn to read their behavior a little more. One bunny annoying the other bunny (including a small nip) is going to be different than one bunny trying to pick a fight. If that makes sense. LOL  Bonded bunnies can have little spats now and then, but they are going to be fewer and far between. It really just depends on the bond they have.

Glad to hear they are getting along well. Yes, sometimes an unfamiliar setting can help cement things.

Hi!

Glad to hear your bunnies seem to be bonding nicely. Just an anecdote of encouragement – when I bonded my long term boy to my most recent rescue girl, for the first year they cuddled and showed one sided grooming, after a year (and 3 years later) they now both groom each other and are supper snuggly buns. I guess he was just very stubborn! So sometimes the dynamic can take some time to truly settled… Even though it only took them a couple weeks of dating to actually bond. Of course this is not always the case.

Good luck!

Oh no! That’s no good. :\

What about having 2 litter boxes?

Sorry to hear you had a set back, it’s does sound like they are doing okay but they may not be fully bonded yet, sometimes it can a take a little time in this phase for them to become properly comfortable and trust eachother but what you have suggested sounds to me like they are still going in the right direction. Bonding can often feel a little like two steps forward one step back. Also sometimes nervous bunnies seem like they are being nervous by running away but actually in bunny speak this may be her telling him that she doesn’t want to groom him right now, and that’s probably where he then gets agitated and chases, he is saying groom me, groom me so I know I’m top bun and she’s saying yes sometimes but I’m setting my boundaries and want to groom you on my terms – this behaviour happened with my most recent pair, an eager to be dominant boy and a nervous but stubborn girl setting boundaries.

I would usually still supervise in this phase if the chasing and avoiding is happening daily simply to avoid a set back from an unsupervised chase escalating.

If that is the case and you are not able to supervise 24/7 for days at a time, what worked well for me was to keep them together as normal whenever I was around and as much as possible, but when I was at work I would place a pen grate between their enclosure to seperate them so a chase could not break out unsupervised and potentially hinder the trust. Sharing a fence allowed them contact and to flop next to eachother, at this stage I would think fence sharing is fine for most pairs unless you start to see increased aggression – this worked well for the 3 pairs that I bonded. It helps to give the buns a break from chasing which I found improved their trust and got them over the final hurdle and after just a short while they were able to go 48 hours together without chasing and settled into their bonds. You can also do this when you need to sleep if you are unable to sleep close to them but don’t fully trust them yet. Keeping hay next to the fence for each of them allows them to enjoy eating together too. It might take a little longer than if they are together constantly but for me it gave me peace of mind and kept their stress down which I believe had positive impact.