Bonding advice

[Hugo&Dora]

Hey! Looking for some bonding advice.

We have an 8 month old male mini lop that we’ve had since he was 10 weeks old. When we got him he was the runt of the litter, and is quite small. Temperament wise he is really relaxed and affectionate with us, and we’ve never seen any ‘adult’ behaviours such as humping/aggression. Just before we got him neutered we did have a small amount of circling and honking, although that stopped as soon as he was neutered.

We’ve just adopted a 3 month old female, who is not yet spayed. We want to bond them but plan to take it very slowly given that it will still be a while before she can be spayed. She is currently in a separate cage in another room, although after a few days we allowed him to go in and see her through the cage. This meeting was largely her having a look, and him being mostly disinterested apart from a little sniff! He had a good nose around her cage and we are letting him go into that room whenever we are there to supervise.

This evening while she was out having a run about, she got into the room he usually is in. We closed his cage to stop her getting in there, and watched to see what they would do (while being ready to intervene!). Initially they were again very disinterested, although once she noticed him she started playfully running up and sniffing his ears and tail. After a few minutes he followed her as she ran off. They then started to circle each other nose to tail, all the while honking! We separated them fairly quickly just to prevent any fights. However I am looking for advice as the information available seems mixed – some people say this is a way for them to determine dominance and should be allowed, and others say to stop this immediately. Just wondering on the views of people who have bonded bunnies and may have experienced this?

Any other hints & tips greatly appreciated! First time bonding although we’ve read through all the recommended guidelines on here ?

Thank you!

[Doodler]

Hi Hugo&Dora! Honestly I would make sure this type of contact doesn’t happen again until you are ready to start the bonding process. Even at that point you want to make sure the physical introductions occur in a neutral territory. This would be a place neither have been in before.

They really shouldn’t have any physical contact until she is spayed and you’ve gone through a prebonding process. I wouldn’t even let them sniff in between cage bars at this point. They can cause damage in between bars.

Once she’s comfortable in your home you can have them living by each other but you’ll want to make sure you have a gap big enough where they can’t reach each other.

I am glad to hear you are willing to take it slow. You will have separate bunnies for some time but having bonded bunnies is worth the work. Good luck with them!!

[DanaNM]

Hi there, welcome

Yep, agree with Doodles, wait until she is spayed, healed, and hormones drained (usually a few to several weeks) to continue.

You can have them side by side with a buffer, just be very sure they cannot get to each other. You’d be amazed how high your bunny can jump when you bring a new bunny home!

Once you do start again, all meetings should be in completely neutral space (where neither rabbit has been).

. . . 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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