Bonding Advice?

[LeoAriesBunnyBunBun]

Alright! Hello! I’m new to this forum although I’ve been following and reading everyone’s posts for the past couple years on how to take care of my buns, but I can’t seem to find a solution to my problem! Perhaps my fellow bunny lovers can assist me?

I had just adopted a baby bunny (Aries) for my little 2 yr old Leo bun, in hopes to make him less lonely since I know rabbits are very social animals and love interaction! Well, Leo is a great rabbit, he loves new people coming to visit and jumps on their lap and demands pets from them, he likes to meet other animals and play with them. It seems like he has no idea how to handle another rabbit! It’s not like anything is bad so far with the bonding process, they’re not fighting or anything, but Leo just completely ignores Aries! She is absolutely in love with him and kisses him and lays beside him in hopes he will return the favor but he just seems really nervous and hides behind me or runs away! I’ve tried putting apple juice on her forehead in attempts to make him groom her but he doesn’t seem to care for it (he just comes and licks the remaining juice off my fingers lol) but he absolutely loves goes into the living room where her cage is and smelling and licking her through the cage bars! It’s so strange!

My question is: is there any advice any of you lovely people can give me? I would love them to both be cage free in their own area but I can’t do that until I know I can truly trust him with her! (Or vice Versa) I’ve been thinking about moving their “bonding area” to the living room where her cage is since he loves going over there and smelling her and kissing her through the cage, but since the area may smell like him since he has free roam over the entire house I’m weary of it. When he goes to smell her through the cage, his body language definitely is calm and composed. He doesn’t have Any angry vibes or stances coming from him at all.

If it helps, he is also neutered and she’s going to go in as soon as she’s old enough for a spay!

Thanks so much! <3

[Mikey]

Baby bunnies cant bond. Only spayed/neutered rabbits can bond. Since hes already afraid of her, its best if you keep them apart as when hormones come into play, she is likely to fight him. Since hes already nervous around her, you dont want her puberty to make it worse as theyll likely never bond if he becomes too afraid

[LeoAriesBunnyBunBun]

Thank you for your response!

I didn’t know that baby rabbits couldn’t bond! I know multiple people who have bonded their buns well before they brought the second one in for a fix. I thought it would be best to start her off as a wee baby so they could get used to each other better! He does seem to really like her though, it just seems like if they’re in a neutral area he seems really nervous and scared.

[Bunnybuzz]

It depends on the bunny but I used to have a little 9 week old bunny and he was best friends with my 2 year old bunny. They were never apart and always cuddling. The same thing happened when I started bonded my bunnies too. But after a few weeks they became best friends. Give them a little time. Try taking her out for a run and then putting him in there for a little bit. It might help.

Let me know how it goes

[Mikey]

I tried that too, and at one point it got very bloody. Its very, very common once hormones kick in. Babies cannot bond, unfixed rabbits cannot bond. Unless youre willing to risk that, or worse, you are best to keep everyone apart.

[Bam]

Baby rabbits often get along very well until puberty hits. That’s why you can’t really say they’re bonded. You shouldt separate them at puberty, get them desexed, let them heal and then bond them for real. If they’ve been bonded as babies and not got the chance to get into bad fighting at puberty, re-bonding, or proper bonding, often goes very smoothly.

If they have fought for real, re-bonding can be very difficult or not even possible. Plus they can hurt each other quite badly.

[Bunnybuzz]

Well, it really just depends on the bunny. All rabbits are different. Ruby used to have a sister Dorris and they were 1 years old. They were also best friends and when Dorris past away Ruby was never the same. A lot of brothers and sisters can bond it just depends. Same with unfixed rabbits. It’s definitely better to have them fixed but if they haven’t reached 3-4 months then its fine. When I bonded Ruby with August (he was 9 weeks old and not fixed) and they bonded right away and were best friends.

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