bonding

[mowingmylawn]

okay, so i know i made posts about bonding my rabbits a long while back but im terrible at sticking to things. they still arent bonded but im ready to try again. so, when i put them together all they do is want to go at eachother, they growl a lot but im not sure what to do? i had my mom spray them with water, i seperate them and let them go again. once i did that one or two times they just stayed still for 20-30 seconds so i decided to come here for help. how should i approach this? ive been putting them in the bathtub. it seems like all they want to do is fight. they definitely know eachothers scents, they see eachother constantly and also i switch their cages. what should i do?

[Sirius&Luna]

Are they both neutered/spayed? Are they male or female? How long and how often have you been swapping cages for? Have they ever had a big fight? What have you tried so far.

Have you tried a space other than the bathtub? Some bunnies find the bathtub really stressful so it doesn’t work.

Have you tried smooshing them together and petting them? You could try doing that for a few minutes a day for a week or so, before you back off and actually let them interact.

[mowingmylawn]

yes theyre both neutered and boys. its usually once every couple days and its been going on since january of this year, so they know eachothers scents.

they were bonded at one time but ended up fighting due to not being neutered early enough, so i had to seperate them and get them neutered.

no, because im unsure of where to try it. i head that that was the best way to start but i guess not.

yea, it did it for 3 – 5 minutes for 2 days. i can try to do it for a week.

[mowingmylawn]

yes theyre both neutered and boys. its usually once every couple days and its been going on since january of this year, so they know eachothers scents.

they were bonded at one time but ended up fighting due to not being neutered early enough, so i had to seperate them and get them neutered.

no, because im unsure of where to try it. i head that that was the best way to start but i guess not.

yea, it did it for 3 – 5 minutes for 2 days. i can try to do it for a week.

[Sirius&Luna]

The thing with bonding is that while there are some rules to stick to (neuter and neutral space!) a lot of the rest is trying and seeing what works for them. Some bunnies will do better in a bigger space where they feel safer to get away from each other.

Keep going with the smooshing, then try a neutral space other than the bath tub

[mowingmylawn]

okay! since we have dogs i was thinking of letting them go out in the backyard (to be safe) and put my extra pen out in the hallway and see if that works? we have spaces blocked off in our house so the dogs cant go in the hallway, so no unnerving scents.

im a bit scared of putting them on the carpet though, i dont want em to fight because in the bathtub i just slid them away and it was fine. could i possibly put the pen in the bathroom on the slippery floors? or is that not a good idea.

one more thing, im not sure how to reach them in the pen, should i stand in it? because i might not be quick enough.

[mowingmylawn]

okay! since we have dogs i was thinking of letting them go out in the backyard (to be safe) and put my extra pen out in the hallway and see if that works? we have spaces blocked off in our house so the dogs cant go in the hallway, so no unnerving scents.

im a bit scared of putting them on the carpet though, i dont want em to fight because in the bathtub i just slid them away and it was fine. could i possibly put the pen in the bathroom on the slippery floors? or is that not a good idea.

one more thing, im not sure how to reach them in the pen, should i stand in it? because i might not be quick enough.

[mowingmylawn]

bump! (sorry for the double posting my phone has been acting up)

[Sirius&Luna]

If you have reason to think they’re going to fight, then just prebond for longer. But most rabbits won’t automatically fight. If you’ve been trying this for months and they always fight straight away, then maybe they’re just not going to bond.

Otherwise, you can be in the space with them and be ready to intervene. You can put the pen in the bathroom if you like, it doesn’t really matter where it is as long as it’s neutral and you can get to them quickly and safely.

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