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Sharing pellets sounds like progress! And the shoving faces to get at the food is def something bonded pairs do, so it’s great it didn’t lead to a fight.

Thanks for the tip on hay/pee pads. We are trying our hay tower as seen in the photo and it seems to be going ok. One nudge out of the way/grumble that they resolved themselves.  Otherwise a ton of side by side eating. I measured there area and it’s around 17ft, which isn’t nearly as small as I thought.

I also just tried pellets in their pen,…[Read more]

Yeah we leave the balcony door open, so they can come and go as they’d like.
Most of the time were finding ourselves forcing them back in the house. And I feel really badly because I feel like I’m restricting their freedom 🙁

I usually use puppy pee pads all over the floor for dates. You can layer them so it’s easy to just peel one off when it gets too wet.

My set up is usually a massive pile of hay in the middle of the space, so it’s big enough that one can’t claim it. I also will scatter feed veggies and pellets during bonding sessions to help prevent food…[Read more]

Thank you both. I’ll add more detail. I really appreciate it.
We are doing dates in the bathroom for now. We have tried all throughout the upstairs and have an unfinished super neutral basement in the back pocket, I am willing to move them to when needed.

Do some stress bonding when dates don’t go well/have a fight but rarely as part of the…[Read more]

My goodness that is very hot! I know rabbits do sometimes like to sunbathe, and will cuddle up to a warm spot when it’s cold out, but that is pretty extreme.

Do they have a way to get out of the heat easily? Rabbits can get heat stroke at temps over around 26 C (80F), so I personally wouldn’t let them spend much time out there.

I’m so sorry for your loss 🙁

I concur that pine pellets are awesome.

Clumping litter as a rule is not safe for rabbits, but pine pellets break apart when saturated, so it’s kind of a reverse clumping. I use a cat scoop to scoop out the wet areas and sift out any clean pellets.

I agree with Wick, I usually don’t have litter trays or hide outs in the bonding area until they are acting pretty much bonded.

The other thing to try is possible a brand new area if you’ve got one (such as a friend’s house or another room). When bonding goes on a long time, the neutral spaces can become less neutral.

If the small space goes…[Read more]

There is no hard and fast rule for how long to pre-bond, but on avg people seem to do about 1-2 weeks minimum.

The main thing is to see how their behaviors are towards each other and after you do the swaps. I like to pre-bond until both bunnies seem really relaxed towards each other (through the fence) and don’t seem phased by the swaps (you…[Read more]

Glad he’s starting to calm down!

The original post at the top has links to what you can do to reduce exposure (most importantly keeping rabbits indoors and practicing biosecurity measures), but the virus is so contagious and seems to be about 90% lethal, so vaccination is the best thing you can do, and the only thing that will give immunity. A single hair or fly spec carrying the…[Read more]

Yes, they are doing some things that bonded rabbits do, but they are also doing things non-bonded rabbits do too. Take it as promising that you see grooming and can go some hours without a dispute while still having proximity, but this a part of the process. A true bond will not be unstable like this, so they are not bonded.

It would be helpful…[Read more]

It is actually normal for the poops to be smaller after a longer period of resting. Rabbits are not nocturnal, they’re crepuscular meaning they’re at their most active in the evenings and mornings.

As LBJ says, it’s great that you’re keeping track. Knowing what’s normal for your particular bun is very useful and enables you to detect potential…[Read more]

All of that makes sense. Thank you!