BONDING 2 neutered males…next step

[viv]

Wondering if I can get some advice regarding bonding. I have 2 young males …one neutered three weeks ago [lop] and other neutered 5 weeks ago. I did place them together just  once when I first got them at  12 weeks of age but the harlequin one immediately attacked. They have been living in adjacent but separate enclosures since. I was told that the lop was a female when I got her/him,  as I understand mixed sex bonding’s are generally easier but turns out I now have 2 males. I have been switching their enclosures once or twice a day as one of the enclosures opens to my livingroom. This way, when I am home,  they can take turns being out of their enclosures  for at least a couple of hours daily.

They are 6 months old now and I really hope to get them into one enclosure and have them roam together eventually.  They sometimes lie near each other and I always give them their greens and treats together [there is about a 4 inch separation between the enclosures] and they don’t seem to have an issue with this.

Yesterday, for the first time since neutering,  I put them into a neutral area [bathroom]  along with lots of treats, a friends help, spray bottle and oven mitts handy.  The lop immediately started eating [he is really into food] and after about 30 seconds the harlequin attacked pulling out fur [no blood] I squirted and separated and  this happened  three times, …more fur pulled and on the third encounter the lop retaliated and bit back…again no visible injuries to either other than fur loss. My friend and I then sat with the buns on our laps [six inches apart] and had a long patting session with both buns who appeared relaxed. They then were returned to their enclosures.

So I am wondering where to go from here?  I won’t  have a friends help on a regular basis as I live alone.  How much hair pulling out is usual??  The lop seems totally non aggressive…more interested in food. Would it be advisable to put a harness on the aggressive one to prevent him lunging at the lop? Would it help to just sit and pet the aggressive one in the presence of the other rather than letting him run loose?  I am mainly wanting to avoid injuries and avoid  make the bonding less likely to occur by doing anything wrong. I am also  concerned that I may just have one overly aggressive bun as someone told me that at age 12 weeks most buns don’t attack another young one as this one did.

I understand I may have been rushing the bonding with it only being 3 and 5 weeks [for the aggressive bun] after neutering. One reason is because I am going on vacation in one month and was hoping to get somewhere with the bonding process before I go. It is a lot more to have to transport the whole set up to a friends house and then worry that the friend won’t be as careful as I have been about not allowing interactions… even through the bars.

I have had bunnies before but always just one at a time and I am was really looking forward to having a bonded pair.

Appreciate you reading this and would love any specific advice….I have read all the general  information on this site, and others, regarding bonding.

[DanaNM]

Thanks for all the details! I do think a couple more weeks of pre-bonding should help allow hormones to settle more.

So, bonders vary a bit in how much fur pulling they allow. I think if you are new to bonding, it’s best to try to prevent it, because things can escalate quickly to a fight when you are in the really early stages.

If one rabbit is very excited about food, it might be best to remove the food for now, just so his excitement over the food doesn’t get misinterpreted by the other bun. Food can be a good tool when sessions get longer, but in the beginning I like to keep the bonding area pretty bare-bones.

When your harlequin approached your lop, was it a rapid lunge, or a more tentative approach? If the later, then I recommend petting both buns a lot when they approach each other. That makes them think they are being groomed and can help them build a positive association. It is really good that you petted the buns for a while to end the session. It might be good to try starting the session like that as well.

If the attack was more of a rapid lunge and attack right away, then I definitely think more pre-bonding would be good, and that you will want to try some stress sessions (such as a short car ride together, or you can put them in a bin on top of the washing machine). Car rides have worked really well for my tougher bonds to get them past the fighting stage.

I wouldn’t recommend a harness or anything like that during the session, the risk of injury would be very high.  Instead, have a dust pan or something similar handy to put in between the buns to block lunging (don’t use your hands like I do LOL, I once ended up with a bite that left my thumb numb for about 8 months!). I’ve also heard of people using mesh colanders to put between buns as they sniff each other if they suspect aggression, but I haven’t tried that myself!

I also think it helps to set super short time goals. Since you know this first session went bad after 30 seconds, have your next session be 30 seconds or less. Then slowly increase the amount of time they are together once they can spend that amount of time without fighting.

I’m sure you will make progress before your trip, but I can’t say whether they will be bonded by then. In my experience, the pressure of having a firm deadline tends to slow down the process, because I’ve always ended up pushing the buns a little too far and then back tracking. For context my first pair was like yours in the beginning, immediate fighting. I didn’t know what I was doing at the time, but it took me about 3 months to bond them. They were MADLY in love once they were bonded though, so it was totally worth it!

. . . 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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