Advice – Playtime set-up for 2 not yet bonded buns

[Ali925]

As everyone who has more than one bunny and has not bonded them yet knows, it can be challenging trying to balance out playtimes and such with two or more buns.  I found that I wasn’t able to give them as much free play time as I wanted (due to my work schedule, etc) since I had to let them out at separate times.  My solution to that was to try to separate them safely so that they could each be out at the same time in different areas.  I supervise them the whole time of course…  They are completely blocked from getting to each other, however the one thing I changed so they could be out at the same time is I put a baby gate at the one spot that had to be blocked off.

Right now I have a sheet draped over it, so they don’t see each other and get all riled up.  They don’t seem to fuss much with it, except for some digging and pulling just because that’s what bunnies do when they see fabric…but I know at times they hear the other one running (wood floors don’t hide any noises….) and for Oreo at least, she seems a little nervous when she hears Blu running around like a madman. 

So my question is, would it make sense to take away the sheet just so they know what’s going on on the other side?  Or do you think that will create problems?  I’m afraid to try and then have some bad incident ruin the current set-up.  I love having them out at the same time because they’re both happier I think and I know they’re getting more exercise and fun. 

Their current living situation is: they’re housed in separate pens that are about a foot or so apart, so they are well adjusted to having each other around.  I just don’t know what to expect if they see each other through the gate…but then again it’s not much different than when they’re in their pens with the exception of the possibility of more direct contact (just one gate, no space between).  Plus Oreo used to play in one of the areas that is now blocked off for Blu…I thought she would have given me a stink for that, but so far she doesn’t seem to miss it or is it because she can’t “see” what she’s missing? (I know she loved playing in that room…she liked to chill on the brick by the fireplace)

Thanks in advance!

~Ali

[BinkyBunny]

 i think that  you should not have zero space in between UNLESS you put some sort of netting inbetween where they can see and smell each other but where they cannot bite each other.  Bailey one time bit Rucy through an xpen and almost ripped her lip off in fit of  bunny rage.- and it took just a  split second.  This photo is when  they doing better and I  was introducing Jack into the mix and fastened  flexible netting/chicken wire type with zipties to the xpen. 

 

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[Ali925]

Okay, good to know…thanks BinkyBunny. There is only one spot where they could possible get close and that’s where the baby gate is (covered in a sheet…) so I’ll leave it like that. We know they both try to peek over the top of the gate, but it’s too high for them to see over. Hopefully they continue to behave.

Thanks for the help!!

[lwayne]

I knew it was time to get rid of the sheet (covering one pen since they had to share play space at different times) when one bun would spend their whole play time trying to ‘see’ whats behind the sheet… ie after I had trouble keeping them from peaking and they didn’t seem to be fighting anymore, i just gave it up. One got to the point where he would just flop right next to the other bun’s pen and the other one waited patiently for her turn to come out. That’s also when I speed up the bonding sessions.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

think that you should not have zero space in between UNLESS you put some sort of netting inbetween where they can see and smell each other but where they cannot bite each other.

Totally! I put an overlap of cubes (from cube condo’s) so that there is a cube, then a one inch gap then a cube-so that they can’t bit each other through the bars. So far it’s worked great.

[Ali925]

That’s a good idea too. I could always try that, because I feel like with the sheet there they can’t see, they just hear all the running/cardboard shredding, etc. on the other side, so they’re always trying to see over the top (which they can’t). And if they’re used to each other’s presence it shouldn’t be a big deal to see and smell the other bunny, as long as I keep that distance with the NIC grids. I can’t wait to have these two bonded…

[Author]

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