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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.
- This topic has 37sd replies, 11 voices, and was last updated 2 years, 6 months ago by
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Yikes, you can’t even use the bathroom while bonding bunnies!! I walked back into the living room and found the fence open, with Owen and Molly both out. One of the two has learned how to open the door in the fence panel 😯 Luckily there was no fighting like the last time they were together.
We’re in the process of hutch swapping now. Bonding them seemed to go really well, except when they try to sort out dominance: they are equally stubborn and both refuse to submit.
Bonding them went so well that they could walk around the house together for more than an hour. Two days later there was a big snuggle session in non-neutral terrain. Then they tried to sort out dominance, and it led to a bunny tornado with fur flying. Not just once, but also the next time that they saw each other 🙁
With some excellent help from you lovely people here we’ve reset the process. The fact that they didn’t fight immediately when the door opened is a good sign.
Just to keep our spirits up: this is what we’re doing it for:
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@Dana: I’m so happy that there’s a vaccine, finally! I’m rather worried about RHD2 because there was no vaccine available outside of Europe. It’s a dreadful disease 😥
So happy that your buns got it, even if it needed a long stressful car ride!
@Dorian: Thanks for the well-wishes, and the same to you! You’ve got a beautiful new bunny, and I hope that they’ll make a very cute fluffle together!
@Azerane: Thanks for the well-wishes as well ^_^ It’s great that you could see your family again, what strange times we had in the last couple of years…Sorry to hear about your Nanna. Growing old is a blessing, being old is not 🙁 I hope that she has enough help around the house so she can live comfortably.
It’s good to hear that Apollo is eating well again, even if he’s being naughty ^_^
We have a bit of news about the bonding: there’s been a lot of mirroring! I really hope that this is the next step in bonding. For many animals it means that you’re empathising with the other: we humans do it too if we like someone.
Today Bas sneakily made this pic of Owen and Molly flopping. Owen flopped first and Molly followed.
There was more mirroring yesterday: they follow each other if they move, and they copy each other.
Molly had already eaten her food, but Owen went back for round two. Molly followed and just licked the rim of her bowl for show.
It’s not only Molly who mirrors though: Owen had just drank a lot, but when Molly went to drink he copied her and just took two sips.
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@Bam: Wow, those look amazing! Those rich colours are really appetising, it would make a great decoration for an autumn or Christmas dish too!
@Glenn: Cute! ^_^ Yes, we couldn’t help ourselves either, so we bought cute rabbit-themed things too!
There’s this pot which is going to be the new treat jar:
And there’s a breakfast set that’s going to be a gift for my best friend. She had a bloody awful year with lots of bunny problems: 3 sick rabbits, one rabbit death, and a big mistake by the shelter who bonded her remaining bunny.
They bonded him to an intact female, while the staff said that she was fixed. As a cherry on the cake she turned out to be partially urine incontinent as well! 😯
My friend is home with a burnout now, and I really hope that these will cheer her up a little:
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Ellie I’m glad to hear there weren’t any issues with Owen. Young rabbits are so very different to middle-aged and older buns. Apollo and Luna really don’t do much at all, lol.
Bam, hopping mice are the cutest things. I could only find this picture of a hopping mouse on my computer at the moment from a pet store. I’m not actually sure if it’s a Spinifex hopping mouse, or a Mitchell’s hopping mouse, since it was the largest mouse in the tank and much more sandy in colour than the others. But they look almost identical anyway, lol. They’re so cute, big eyes because they’re nocturnal, big back feet and long tufted tails. They’re not truly domesticated and they’re not a good species to handle but they can be hand tamed and petted. Also they’re adorable, which is probably the most important factor in addition to the fact that they don’t have that strong mousey smell that domestic mice have. I’m also keen on Dunnarts as well, they are sort of dwarf hamster-sized insectivorous/carnivorous marsupials, but they have a much shorter lifespan. The hopping mice can live 4-6 years in captivity.
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Thank you for your kind words, Bam, Azerane and Dorian! Yes, I’m still missing Breintje every day.
As the vet said: he’s bonded to you like to a bonded mate. I guess I’m experiencing what bonded bunnies miss when they lose their mate: the loss of always being together and caring for each other. We were practically glued to each other in his later years: always sitting or napping against each other.
Bas said that Breintje wasn’t as sociable as well in his first 2 years. I wouldn’t know of course, because we met when he was out of his adolescent phase already.
I guess I’ll have to wait until Owen and Molly are a little older and work on our bond in a way that fits their age. There is some bond already. They do follow me around all day and try to attract my attention. When I wake up Bas has already given them breakfast, but I’m still getting binkies when I step into the living room.
What hinders me in bonding with them is that I have problems getting on the floor. I can only manage that on very good days, so I have to find a way to get them on the sofa to interact with them.
I bought some dried herbs at the prey shop, and I crumbled them. Then I put them on a little blanket which is in the sofa next to me. They hop onto the sofa sometimes to browse for herbs, and this is how I can make them comfortable around me.
Molly is a bag of nerves, so I have to sit still with my phone on silent. I can’t pet her yet, but sometimes she gives my hand a few licks. I purr or speak cute words and give her a raisin. I managed to sneak this picture of her:
Owen is a lot more relaxed, and sometimes he even sits down on the sofa after a browsing session. He was on the sofa for half an hour yesterday, and I could pet him for 10 minutes. He was clearly enjoying himself. 🥰
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Believe it or not, today is Dory’s 6th gotcha day!!! How time flies… (bad bird pun). We’ve had plenty of ups and downs with her, but she’s still keeping busy destroying toys, making a mess, talking the house down and making noises that are too loud for my ears! Since we moved last year the layout of the house is actually much better for me to get separation from the noise she makes which was difficult at the last house. I love her, but I don’t cope well with sudden loud noises or incessant high pitched squeaks. As far as birds go she’s actually pretty quiet, but when she’s loud, it’s deafening, lol. We’re still battling with her plucking issues, I think that could very well be lifelong at this point, but trying my best to keep her entertained. Even if the cats complain about being shut away when Dory comes out for some exercise.
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