Bonding a Trio – Monty, Dexter, & Penny – UPDATE: BONDED

[MoveDiagonally]

 I’ve been putting off offically starting bonding Monty with Dexter & Penny. I even started to question whether it would even be best for Dexter & Penny to have a new friend. They are pretty reserved where Monty is completely outgoing and unaffected… But I’m taking the plunge.

 

I’m going to update this thread as much as possible, so kind of like a “bonding blog” sort of thing. 

 

Pre-bonding: 

While their X-Pens have been next to each other for a long time I pushed them closer together. At first they were only about 2 inches apart. But Dexter and Penny reacted poorly to this and a mini chase broke out between them. After getting them sorted out and back to loving each other I put the pens about 5 inches apart. My pens have bases with an edge so they can’t move them on their own or reach each other. 

 

Dexter and Penny have slowly gone from hating Monty being next to them, to ignoring him, to being curious about him. Monty never seeemed affected by their presence. 

 

I’ve also been swapping around the fleece blankets they use for beds/general cusioning. 

 

We’ve done two sessions so far. I’m going to post each on in a reply to this one. 

 

[MoveDiagonally]

Day One: 1st Session
Our plan was to introduce them in pairs and then all together to see the different dynamics.

What actually happend was Monty becoming so aggressive and lunging at the other two that we almost couldn’t end it on a good note. My husband almost didn’t want to put on gloves because he remembers how easy Dexter and Penny were. Boy was he glad that I convinced him to wear them! When he would try to block Monty from attacking the other two Monty started going after his hands.

Here are a couple pics. 

Monty flopped as soon as we put him in the bathtub. We took that as a good sign! Duplicitous rabbits

Monty and Dexter right before the lunging started:

Monty and Penny before the lunging but after Dexter’s session so my husband kept his hands close so he could try to prevent any fighting. It’s tough to find the balance of letting them interact without too much interference AND being protective.

[MoveDiagonally]

Day One: 2nd Session
Because of the first session going so poorly we decided to stress bond. We chose to use the laundry basket method. We pre-stressed Monty because he was the most aggressive of the three the first time around.

This went SOOOOO MUCH BETTER. There was NO fighting at all.

We stress bonded them in pairs and then as a group.

Dexter and Monty:

Penny and Monty:

Group:

I think we’re going to introduce them in pairs and a group again next session using the basket again but we’re not going to do the stressing/jostling unless there is aggression.

Mulder wanted to be stress bonded too

[NewBunnyOwner123]

Weee! I am going to follow this thread. I don’t have any advice because I have no experience with bonding considered Sally and Harley just fell in love almost immediately. But I can’t wait to see how this goes! I thought you were going to have all the lops in a group and then just Dexter and Penny. Are you thinking of having all the buns together eventually?

[MoveDiagonally]

Originally I was going to have a trio of lops and a then the duo but after a lot of thinking I came to the conclusion that it might be beneficial to have all 5 bonded eventually. With so many single rabbits and the bonded pair it’s really tough to give them all the exercise time they should be getting. Having them all in the room together and letting them out to play together would give them the most range and time to gallivant.

I also am hoping that the outgoing nature of Monty and the babies will help Dexter and Penny open up a bit more. They are very reserved rabbits. If we don’t see any good progress or it seems to adversely affect either Dexter or Penny then we’ll go back to the original trio + duo goal. I just want them all to happy and hopefully they can do that together.

[NewBunnyOwner123]

Oh hopefully they do come out of their shells with Monty’s guidance. Before Sally bonded to Harley, she would spend her entire exercise time in the kitchen and rarely cared to see us she demanded WE go to her (she has a royal type personality) but now she is always in the living room with the family.
I cannot wait to follow your long journey of eventually getting all 5 buns together! I am eagerly waiting to see how Tanlovers bonding goes too. lol Good luck!

[MoveDiagonally]

Day One: 3rd Session

We used the laundry basket as their meeting place and decided to stress them only if they became aggressive.

Monty & Dexter
Had one incident of Monty lunging at Dexter, stressed them, and then no more issues.

They were pretty much doing this before the lunge:

And this after the stressing:

They stayed like this without moving much.

Monty & Penny
No lunging incidents. Monty stayed in the same position pretty much the whole time (grooming demand pose) and Penny alternated between the poses you see in the previous bonding session pictures. I was going to post the new ones until I noticed that they’re almost exactly the same. 

Group:
No fighting or much of anything really. They just stood together with all their heads mooshed together like this:

I have been taking a bunch of pictures during the sessions because I like to be able to look back through them afterwards with my husband. During the sessions we’re both worried they are going to fight so it feels like we’re only looking for aggression. Looking at the pictures helps putting the sessions into perspective. I wish I had a good video camera. I would just set it up and tape the sessions instead of taking pictures but I only have a small handheld (phone sized one).

I’m  not going to post every session like I did these ones so no worries on there being a million posts in this thread. 

Input is always appreciated and welcome! 

[Deleted User]

Move Diagonally congratulations on making such a positive start.

When you described the first unpleasant session I remembered a tip I read on this site, … BB mentioned using a wire mesh strainer for a quick hands free intervention. Thought it might be handy for when you progress outside of the basket. (In case you’ve forgotten it as opposed to having chosen not to use it, … hard to keep All the suggestions in mind.)

You are much braver then I am, but in case I ever get really courageous and decide to try introducing a new little one to my pair I too will be following your adventure with great interest!

[MoveDiagonally]

Thank you for the reminder about the strainer GD! It’s been a while since I used it so I hope I can find one.  

So far today has gone MUCH better. We’ve done some sessions in the basket and there have been no fights. In Monty’s most recent one on one with Penny he even FLOPPED!

Penny and Monty seem to be doing better than Dexter and Monty. But no attempted fighting is progress to me.

Next session we’re moving into the bathtub again. Hopefully it goes a little better than the first time they were in there.

[MoveDiagonally]

 Day 3

 

We tried the bath tub again and while there were no fights we found that they just each stayed on their own “side” and didn’t interact at all. We decided to put them in a smaller area to encourage interaction but not so large that they could avoid each other completely. 

 We ended up just putting them between us with the baskets on either side of us. 

 

In our most recent session we had our first GROOMING! Dexter groomed Monty! Afterwards he laid next to him and eventually even “settled in”. 

GROOMING VIDEO:

 

I felt bad for Penny as the “odd one out”. She did keep her distance a bit this session or tried to climb on my or my husband’s lap to “stay out of it”. I will be doing more one on one with her and Monty. 

 

[MoveDiagonally]

I forgot to mention that we did have a bit of an aggressive moment during the most recent session. I actually caught it with my cell phone and I’ll post it in case it’s helpful for anyone else to see the behavior/body language that leads up to an aggressive moment. 

We stressed them after this by shaking a “noise can” which is just a tin can with pennies inside. It makes a loud noise and startles/stresses them a bit. There was no more issues after that and we ended the session on a good note. I’m going to be focusing on Penny and Monty next session. Maybe return them to the baskets if it happens again.

[kcomstoc]

Sounds like you’re making good progress congratz

[MoveDiagonally]

Thanks kcomstoc!

I knew bonding a trio would be hard but I didn’t realize how exhausting it would be. I’m just starting day 4 and it feels like it’s been a lot longer!

There’s still a long way to go but it’s nice to be able to celebrate small victories like grooming.

[kcomstoc]

I bet it is good luck today I hope everything goes well, you’re doing a great job

[MoveDiagonally]

Day 4

Had some really nice one on one sessions with Monty and Penny. We started off with the head to head grooming demands stand off, to Monty grooming Penny for a fraction of a second, and ended with them laying down next to each other semi-comfortably.

Dexter continued to groom Monty and they laid around comfortably next to each other for most of their sessions. We did not do any group sessions. There were a few minor disagreements today but they worked them out without our intervention.

All in all, I think it was a productive day!

[Deleted User]

Move Diagonally, I’m so happy and excited for you! Seems as though things are going so smoothly! Fantastic progress, … Congratulations!!!, … you are making it look way too easy! (Someone offered me a rabbit today and I had a terrible time saying no, it needs a home but I’m just not brave enough to try doing what you are doing, and don’t have the space for a single plus a pair. If anyone reading this knows someone who wants to adopt a rabbit and lives near eastern Ontario Canada let me know.)

Good luck, … I hope you continue with the fab results!

[MoveDiagonally]

Thank you for the encouragement GD!

Quick Day 5 Update:
Things went pretty much the same as yesterday but everyone seemed a bit more comfortable in their one on one pairs. They solved their own minor disagreements without our intervention. Tomorrow I’m going to try group sessions again and see how it goes.

Another thing about this bonding that I’ve guiltily been enjoying is being used as a safe space by Dexter on some occasions. He’s so stand offish and generally hates being pet and fawned over. I’ve always respected his wishes and have been content watching him and enjoying his company when he decides to sit near me. It’s been pretty good for my bunny self esteem to know that he thinks of me as a “safe place” even if generally he’s not fond of affection.

[MoveDiagonally]

Day 5 Video : Penny & Monty
Haha, I wish they would just groom each other already!

[kcomstoc]

lol poor penny she was waiting so patiently to be groomed by Monty and he was just teasing her by grooming himself (he’s so cute though)

[MoveDiagonally]

Day 6 & 7

We’ve been doing group sessions. Everything seems to be going alright. We’ve had to break up a couple scuffles but for the most part they’re working out their issues on their own. Dexter still grooms Monty but Monty and Penny are still at a stand off in that department.

Haha, nothing really exciting.

[kcomstoc]

AWE they look like a bunny family it’s super adorable glad that everything is going so well hopefully monty or penny gives in and grooms the other one

[kcomstoc]

Any progress between them? or are they still at a stand still for grooming?

[MoveDiagonally]

Thank you for asking!

Things are kind of stalled so I’m not sure if I should be doing something differently. We’ve been doing group sessions but I’m thinking about going back to one on one’s to help Monty and Penny get closer.

I’ll make a bigger update later tonight with pics and stuff.

[kcomstoc]

YAY, I just was wondering because it’s been a few days and I’ve been following the thread and am very interested. I’m very excited for the official update

[MoveDiagonally]

Day 8, 9, & 10

It’s all been pretty much the same for all the buns. Dexter grooms Monty and Penny and Monty just kind of demand grooms from each other. We’ve been doing exclusively group sessions and I’m not sure if it’s helping Monty and Penny move forward. I don’t want Penny to be the odd one out and it seems like the Monty/Penny relationship is the biggest road block to our progress.

I want to focus on them as pairs but we’ve done that before, seen some progress, only to feel set back when nothing changes in group. We haven’t been stressing them as they haven’t been fighting but it might try it just to help them get closer. I was reading an old thread where Forum Leader, Petzy was bonding his bunnies and I really liked to cube idea. I have extra grids so we might try that tomorrow.

Last pic from our last session:

(Dexter’s molt is in overdrive >.< )

[kcomstoc]

Awe they are so cute…so as soon as Monty and Penny work out who is going to be the top bunny then they will be bonded (mostly)? good luck I hope it happens soon and I’m glad they aren’t fighting anymore

[MoveDiagonally]

We’re still in neutral territory so we have semi neutral and non neutral to go. Lol. I want them to be good in neutral areas before moving forward.

[kcomstoc]

Right O.O sorry I forgot there was still so much to do

[MoveDiagonally]

Day 11

Had a bit of a backslide with some fights today. Not sure what made them all mad at each other. The stress bonding methods we’d been using weren’t having the same affect on them anymore. We decided to go with the cube design I saw here:
https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/108762/Default.aspx

I’ve got to say I LOVE it. I don’t see them getting used to it like the other stress methods, they have to be close to each other, it’s portable, and it’s sooooo easy to control.

Mulder testing out the cube:

Penny and Monty in the cube:

Dexter and Monty in the cube

In an out of cube Penny Monty session we used the “banana trick” to try to get one to finally groom the other. I know grooming isn’t necessary in general but pretty much all Monty does in the sessions is demand grooms. So I figure it’s important to him. We did get a little “fake” grooming using the banana. It seemed to help both of their self esteem a bit and Monty actually took a break from demanding grooming.

I’m pretty happy with how bonding has been going. Despite the fights earlier today they haven’t been too bad together and I’m optimistic about where things are going.

[BabyD]

Your bunnies are so adorable!
Keep posting those pictures and videos, because I really enjoy looking and watching at them.

[kcomstoc]

they look so good together they will be bonded in no time, sorry about the little set backs but at last monty and penny have “groomed” each other a little bit now.

[Ranjen1]

Wow very good! I am in the beginning stages of bonding 5 bunnies. Three black bunnies we just adopted. They are all bonded siblings about a year and a half old. Two males and one female. I also have an older bonded pair that is male female. they were a trio but my oldest bun passed a month ago. I did the car stress bonding yesterday. Then I set them all up in a pen in neutral area and all went fairly well. If a fight broke out, I separated the two that were fighting and put them in a basket together on top of the washing machine, that stopped the fighting. So that was only day 1…loooong way to go.

[MoveDiagonally]

BabyD, kcomstoc, and Ranjen1 – Thank you all for your encouragement and comments!

Day 12

We did more one on one cube bonding sessions and it went pretty well.

Penny & Monty

I set the cube on the couch so it would feel a little “unstable” for them. In the video below I gently “bounced” it as a mild stressing.

Dexter & Monty

In cube grooming. Short, dark clip. :/

[MoveDiagonally]

Day 13

So we decided to push ahead and do group sessions again. We had to intervene on some scuffles but they solved most of them on their own. They eventually settled down so all in all I think we’re making progress.

Poor Dexter can’t get a break from grooming! Monty, Penny, and himself.

After the issues were resolved most of the bonding was pretty “boring”. Them just hanging out near each other. As you can see my dog was totally intrigued

Bonus video! Lol. How long are Monty’s ears? (the clumping fur is from being squirted with a water bottle)

[kcomstoc]

Monty’s ears are SO long it was so ridiculous that they could be that long. Poor Dexter having to groom both Penny and Monty lol it’s so adorable, thank you for keeping us updated

[Ranjen1]

Looks good!! Bonding is pretty boring when they just ignore each other, but that is a good sign!

[MoveDiagonally]

kcomstoc – I know! I love my E-Lop’s ears.

Ranjen1 – I like boring! Boring is good.

I’m really excited for how things have been progressing. Today it’s been officially 2 weeks since we started and I feel like we’ve come a long way from the growling, lunging, general awfulness of the first session.

[kcomstoc]

Who are you going to try to bond after they get all settled down? Also how long do you wait after they get fully bonded and can be left alone together?

[MoveDiagonally]

We still have a ways to go

Once the trio is fully bonded I will give them time to settle into their new life together. When I feel up to another round of bonding I will try to add Helo to the mix and then Inara. The goal is to eventually have 5 bonded bunnies.

I’m not sure when I will consider them fully bonded. With my pair it was more of a feeling. When they get along, zero fights, and I can trust them alone while I do other things in a non-neutral area (checking on them of course), stuff like that. Right now we’re still hovering over them so that is a bit off. Our bedroom is right across from the bunny room so if we leave the doors open we can hear everything. But if my first bonded pair’s first overnight stay taught me anything it’s that I won’t be able to sleep and I’ll probably check on them every couple hours. I think after they’ve been together for at least 48 hours without problems I will consider their bond complete.

[kcomstoc]

Awesome I’m glad that everything is going so well for you guys, soonish you will have a trio and before you know it a quartet and then 5 bunnies (I didn’t know what 5 is called)

[Bam]

I love reading this, it’s so hopeful and inspiring and the pictures and films are great.

[MoveDiagonally]

Thank you Bam! I’m enjoying your bonding thread as well. I can’t wait until your two start snuggling!

Mini – Update: Day 14 & Day 15 so far.

We’ve been doing group sessions and it’s been pretty much the same as my last update. I think we’re just in the waiting part of it. They’re getting used to each other and figuring out their group dynamics.

[MoveDiagonally]

Day 16 & 17 (so far)

I saw Penny groom Monty today! It was very quick and I couldn’t capture it digitially but I’m excited!

Other than that things are pretty much going the same. Waiting game I think

[kcomstoc]

I have a feeling that Monty is going to be king bunny of the trio seems like things are going well, I was about to ask how things were going but was holding off because I didn’t want to seem annoying O.O i just love the bonding stories

[MoveDiagonally]

No worries, kcomstoc. You’re like my bonding cheerleader, haha.

Day 18

We actually had some more Penny/Monty grooming at the end of the session. I managed to catch a little bit on camera. I need to be better prepared at the end of the sessions, lol. It’s not full on grooming just little bits here and there.

Bonding Butts

What they do most of the time during bonding sessions

Dexter, Penny, and Monty tell us that bonding is no reason not to snack!

[kcomstoc]

YAY go team monty, dexter, and penny I love when you update this they are so cute and as I predicted monty is the bunny king

[kcomstoc]

Any updates?

[MoveDiagonally]

Monty is definitely shaping up to be the boss!

Everything is kind of moving a long the same. I’ll post pics/vids later tonight or tomorrow morning.

[kcomstoc]

awesome and I called it, I knew monty would be the king bunny lol

[MoveDiagonally]

Day 19 & 20

Same ole same ole, really. Not sure if I should be doing something to speed things along or not. Right now they just seem to be getting used to each other. Occasional scuffles that require intervention but we’re not hovering anymore.

[kcomstoc]

AWES they are so cute together

[NewBunnyOwner123]

I LOL on the 06/09/13 pictures where Month is laying in between penny and dexter. Penny is stepping in Montys ear :p

[kcomstoc]

LOL so she is, I didn’t even notice

[MoveDiagonally]

I didn’t notice that in the picture either! Lol.

[NewBunnyOwner123]

I think since you are at a standstill you should set up the xpen and have them stay in it all night with you staying guard. Maybe it’s about that time to take the extra leap. That’s what I did when Harley and Sally got to that boring point lol (they reached that point on day 3)

It’s so exciting seeing Monty with other bunnies!!!

[MoveDiagonally]

I think that’s a great idea NBO! Thank you.

I think we will give that a try this coming Sunday or Monday evening! Hopefully it push them past this stagnant phase. My husband is out of school all next week so we can dedicate a lot of time to bonding.

[NewBunnyOwner123]

I can’t wait to see how it turns out

[kcomstoc]

Me neither excited

[Bam]

I love this thread. Monty’s ears are baffling.

My two are nowhere near this stage. When Yohio makes noises (pulling and dragging at stuff, overturning stuff and what not in the hallway), Bam gets so nervous he seeks comfort in the dog. The dog is utterly indifferent.

[MoveDiagonally]

I’m going to skip describing day 21-22 because they were pretty much the same as previous sessions.

Day 23 & 24
We are doing our first overnight bonding session!

So far we’ve had a couple fights that were broken up fairly easily with the spray bottle. Things seem to be going well overall, we even saw some Dexter and Monty binkies!

More later.

[kcomstoc]

Yay binkies awesome

[MoveDiagonally]

They’ve been together for 9 hours so far. There was an hour where they started picking fights but they’ve stopped doing it at this point.

I’m don’t have a real plan at this moment. I don’t have any errands to run today so I might just keep them together all day!

[kcomstoc]

Wow they are so adorable together, it looks like they are sorting everything out and look like a bunny family keep up the updates I am loving it

[NewBunnyOwner123]

I’m so excited for the three of them!

[BabyD]

So adorable!!
Glad to see that they are getting along well together.

[MoveDiagonally]

Thanks everyone!

They ended up being together for about 10 hours before we had to end the session. Things were showing some signs of decline and I so I gave them a break. We’re going to do another longer session today and see how it goes.

They did munch on some pellets together:

[tanlover14]

Thought I would finally make some time and pop in over here!

Sounds like things are going wonderfully with your clan!

I couldn’t help but laugh when you said in the beginning how exhausting it was and it was only Day 3! It is exhausting isn’t it?! I always pretty much begin running on caffeine when I’m bonding. Being that I spend all my free time with them together. The strategy just seems to work out better for me rather than the small sessions. I’m glad you tried the long one! It’s really GREAT progress that they can be together 10 hours with only a few minor scuffles.

[MoveDiagonally]

TL – I think when I start my quartet I’m going to push for longer sessions sooner. I feel like I made more progress with one longer session than I was making in the shorter sessions the entire week before.

Bonding this trio has felt a bit like bonding boot camp! I’ve learned so much.

[tanlover14]

Seriously, MD! That’s why I started out bonding the five with long sessions! When I spent a whole weekend bonding the quartet rather than small sessions – I swear it like finally clicked with them! And we made so much more progress!

You really do learn a lot for sure!!

[MoveDiagonally]

Today started off rough. Penny was not pleased with Monty right off the bat so we stress bonded them. As soon as they seemed alright Dexter decided to start in with Monty. So more stress bonding. Things seem to have settled down now.

[MoveDiagonally]

More pics of bunny togetherness!

[MoveDiagonally]

Yesterday ended up being really nice. There was a bit of grooming between Penny and Monty. They all laid down comfortably next to Monty at some point and snoozed. They were together for 10 hours again.

They’re starting to look like a real bunny family!

I’m hoping all that bunny love transfers over to today’s session.

[kcomstoc]

I cannot say this word enough AWE!!!!!! lol they are the most adorable thing ever!!! i kind of want a bunny family now, but it’ll have to wait

[MoveDiagonally]

The longer sessions seem to be working well but we’re still having a few squabbles. I’m noticing that Penny and Monty will be fine with each other when they’re alone (she’s grooming him one on one) but when Dexter is involved Penny gets a bit irritable. Especially if Monty comes into a situation where Dex & Penny are already snuggling. I think I’m going to load all three up and take them for a car ride tomorrow and see if that helps them mesh a little better in the group sessions. I’m also going to try limiting their space a bit more and condense the X-Pen. Today I noticed Penny & Dexter snuggling on one side and Monty sleeping on the other.

Penny and Monty 1 on 1

[tanlover14]

How’s it all going, MD? I’m doing an all-nighter with bonding tonight!

Have you gotten past the 10 hour span yet and how did the car ride go??

[MoveDiagonally]

I was just reading through your thread what a night you’ve had!

The car ride went fine, no one fought and they all snuggled. I’m not sure if it helped much in their bonding session, Monty humped everyone when we got back.

We haven’t gone past 10 hours yet but that’s the plan for this weekend. I’m grabbing some coffee and then it’s marathon bonding time.

[tanlover14]

I will be doing this the rest of the weekend I’m sure – so feel free to message me or update your post with any new concerns or issues that I may be able to help you work through.

I’m drinking LOTS of coffee. It would be nice to have someone to go through a marathon bonding session with me! =D In my personal experience – the longer they are together, the more they seem to realize the other bunny isn’t going anywhere and they should work out their ‘pecking order’. So I would try and keep them together as long as possible (even if you get stressed). I swear to goodness, I refuse to break them up until they are bonded!!! LOL. My buns probably think they just have a crazy mother – and being friends is better than having to sit around with me all day.

[MoveDiagonally]

I’ve pretty much decided to “go for it”. At this point it just feels like whatever progress they make it’s reset every time I separate them… Doing the longer sessions moved us forward but we’re getting stagnate again. So I’m not going to separate them anymore, it’s time to push them forward. They’re going to be together until they are bonded!

TL – Thank you! It helps to know there’s someone else bonding at the same time.

[tanlover14]

I know exactly what you mean – it really does almost seem like it “resets”. Which is why I decided to go against all the advice with the quartet last time and just bond for such long sessions.

And then the sessions get so long! It’s way too hard to keep having the same 10 hour bonding session over and over! And I’m pretty confident once they hit being together that long it’s merely a concern of working out a pecking order if they are still having issues. As long as you have the time, I don’t see a reason NOT to just keep them together until it finally clicks. They are obviously compatible buns or you never would have made it to 10 hours! That’s quite an accomplishment!

[MoveDiagonally]

 Moved them into their temporary home! Once they’re bonded it will be doubled in size making it 4′ X 8′. They had a fight when we first put them in there but have been doing well since. 

 

[kcomstoc]

YAY looks like they will be bonded quite soon we should throw a party on here for the successful bonding going on here

[NewBunnyOwner123]

I love the part when you take the plunge! I’ll be stopping by periodically to see how things are going I’m so excited!

[tanlover14]

Everyone on BB should just bond in pairs, LOL.

I swear having another bonding thread to go back and forth on also has helped me feel not quite as stressed. Somewhere to vent and somewhere you can see similar situations happening also with some advice.

Are you spending the night out with them tonight? I’m so exhausted and last night I got absolutely no sleep (about 2 1/2 hours!) but I’m hoping for more hours in between anyone picking on each other. LOL

[MoveDiagonally]

Thanks everyone! They’ve been together for a little over 12 hours now. I took a bit of a nap and when I woke up my husband said they had another little fight but they’ve been pretty quiet overall.

TL – Yup, I’m on bunny duty again. You’ve been tremendously helpful! And I agree, having another thread to look at, distract me, and relate to definitely keeps the stress down.

Pretty quiet over here. I’m wondering if Penny and Monty will ever really be that into each other. I definitely think they will get along and co-exist but I’m not sure if they’ll ever be totally in love with each other. Right now it’s Monty cuddling Dexter, Penny cuddling Dexter, and Dexter cuddling both. Maybe they’ll get more affectionate towards each other once they figure out which one of them is the boss.

[MoveDiagonally]

 

[kcomstoc]

I still think monty’s going to be the boss of this group

[tanlover14]

I thought that about Sidney and Simba – they had one scuffle after they were bonded and I worried they wouldn’t ever really like each other. But it seems they have grown to love each other I believe. They are constantly snuggling around. And they groom each other. So maybe it will just take time with those two also.

[MoveDiagonally]

They’ve been together for a little over 22 hours now. Having some scuffles between Penny and Monty this morning. Basically Monty approaches Penny, Penny chases Monty away, repeat. They need to work out their “who’s boss?” issue. Dexter seems cool with everyone at this point and Penny and Monty both like him a whole lot.

TL – Thank you! I’m glad to hear that it worked out for your bunnies in the end. They do have some really nice moments together so I’m hoping to see more Penny/Monty cuddles.

[MoveDiagonally]

Together for 45 hours. Had some scuffles last night but we’re still making progress. I feel like I haven’t slept in forever, lol.

Here they are munching on some pellets together this morning:

[Bam]

Lovely pictures! Eating togeather like that. Have you been up all 45 hours to watch over them?

[MoveDiagonally]

I hang out around them during the day and sleep next to them at night. Whenever they scuffle the noise wakes me up so I can mediate (they’re not really hurting each other so much as chasing, etc). Even when they don’t fight I find myself waking up at every noise “just in case”, lol. I’ve mostly been getting naps.

[MoveDiagonally]

Just under 60 hours together.

My husband took over watching them for a while today so I managed to get a little sleep. But no fighting since early this morning. Penny and Monty were even sleeping in the same litter box! We’ll see how things go tonight but I think we’re almost there

[Bam]

Congratulations!!! Great work! Now you just need to get them 3 little party-hats, 3 little party-horns and some streamers so you can have a post-bonding party =)

 

(Edit: The party-suggestion is purely meant as a joke. For those not so used to bunnies and who are perhaps reading this thread, please never give partyhats, streamers etc to bunnies because they could eat it and get very sick!)

[MoveDiagonally]

Haha, Thanks Bam. I’m so excited for your pair to get together!

I’m going to supervise them for another night for my own piece of mind but I’m going to call it. They are BONDED!

 

[kcomstoc]

YAY bonded bunny team of 3 2 more to go lol, I told TL that i thought everyone’s bunny teams would be bonded by Thursday and that they would try to take over the world as a team now

[MoveDiagonally]

Haha, thank you kcom for all your support throughout the process! It was really nice to visit my thread on the harder days and see you rooting my little group on

That goes for everyone really (EXTRA BIG thank you to TL). Love BB forums. The support here, as always, has been really awesome.

[kcomstoc]

you are very welcome you provided a very good story for me to read and enjoy and I’m glad they were bonded so well

[Deleted User]

Move Diagonally, I am so very thrilled for you!!! I had out of town company so had to follow for a few days without posting, then lost my internet for a week (that was fun) so I’m getting caught up all in one shot. It was exciting when you went into the long stretch, … so happy its worked out, and really quite smoothly over all.

I’m sure not going to be trying in the foreseeable future (which is sort of a pity since I know of one looking for a home and rather wish I could give it one), but the description of your experience has made it look a little less intimidating, so maybe, one day.

Congratulations!!!!

[Author]

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