Biting

[JessKez]

I’m sorry, the search function is down for me so I couldn’t see if this had already been asked

Last night we tried out first face to face introduction, and it was awful. Our new, bigger bunny immediately leapt at our current smaller bun and stuck his teeth into his neck. He literally hung on and we pulled them apart. One terrified taxi ride and 2 stitches later we are back home and very much apart from each other (not even allowed side by side cages until he’s healed)

My question is, I know we need to go right back to the start with pre-bonding but can they ever recover from this?

[Doodler]

Sorry you experienced a bad first introduction. I hope the one with stitches heals well.

It’s not a lost cause however fights can cause it to be a tougher, longer bonding process. It’s hard to predict what will happen because a lot has to do with their personalities.

I noticed in your side by side question that you haven’t had the new one very long. What kind of prebonding did you do before you decided it was time for an introduction?

[JessKez]

Thank you, he seems to be doing OK still eating, drinking and binkying as normal

I do believe it was too soon, that was my mistake. We did side by side, cage swap, litter swap, toy swap. It was all very calm but we rushed it, unintentionally.

[Asriel and Bombur]

The new bun really needs a good month to settle in, and 2 weeks of settling in before you prebond. It’ll help him to feel less anxious and help with aggression. And you want to prebond until there’s no more aggression

[DanaNM]

Since one bun was seriously hurt, you’ll want to take a long break (several weeks), without pre-bonding, to let the buns forget about each other for a while. The exact number is hard to know, I’ve heard anywhere from 6 weeks to 3 months. Who knows how long a bun’s memory is though? After that resume pre-bonding as other’s have said.

It’s not a lost cause, but it may make things very challenging. The cases where one bun immediately attacks the other are pretty rare… where you in neutral territory when this happened?

Once you resume (if you decide to try again), I would opt for a VERY large, very neutral, and somewhat stressful location. Like 2 pens set up in a neighbor’s backyard (weather permitting). You’ll want to provide space for them to move (so they can’t immediately latch on to each other) and stress (so they realize there are more important things to worry about). If they still immediately attack in that type of environment they may just be one of those pairs that won’t work out.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[JessKez]

Thanks for the advice. They are both in different rooms at the moment and will stay like that for some time until we try pre-bonding again in the future.

We had a totally neutral place but I really think it was because we didn’t spend enough time beforehand, which was my mistake.

We have a sheltered garden so in the spring when the weather is better, we think we will try again there with the set up suggested.

I just feel bad

[Doodler]

Don’t beat yourself up about it! We all make mistakes. I totally understand how easy it is to think they are ready, to find out they aren’t.

Good luck with the bonding process when they are ready! Keep us posted on how it goes.

[DanaNM]

Yes try not to beat yourself up! Mistakes happen. Hopefully come spring things will go more smoothly!

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

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