Bonding after past fighting?

[Cbunnynsmile]

Hi. New to rhe forum. Fairly new to house rabbits. We adopted a Las Vegas Rescue bunny in late spring and the advice we got from the SPCA and a rabbit rescue group member was to add another bunny for her. We had trouble finding a neutered male, so we adopted another female from a county shelter who spayed her after we adopted her. About 6 weeks following her spay, I switched litter boxes a few times, moved their homes so they could see and smell each other but could not touch. Bella, the smaller one was very territorial, often nipping my feet if I had gone into the other rabbit’s area before entering hers. We took them into a bathroom and as soon as they were both on the floor, Bella charged Bonnie, so Bella was immediately scooped up and we have not attempted bonding again. One one occasion when I was cleaning the room and their areas, I moved Bella’s x-pen and left the room briefly. When I returned, I heard sounds that alarmed me and saw Bella in Bonnie’s area. Bonnie has an open area outside of Bella’s x-pen. I grabbed Bella and put her back in her area. Fur from both was on the floor and Bella ended up with a scab on her back that has healed. Bella’s spay was in August and she now seems calmer onverall and no longer nips my feet after I have come from Bonnie’s area. Might it still be possible to try bonging or would the past indicate that these two are not good bonding candidates? Thank you in advance for your experienced advice.

[Asriel and Bombur]

Females are trickier to bond because they are so aggressive and territorial. It’s not impossible though, but you do need to have a good amount of patience and be wiling to take it slow. Prebond for at least 1 month, possibly 2 because of their tiff. The goal with prebonding is to do it until there’s no aggression. So after 1 month of prebonding, you can start short sessions in neutral territory. Start with 5-10 minutes and gradually increase the better they do.

It sounds (just from what I read) that one of the girls wasn’t spayed during the introduction? In which case that would’ve had a big factor to do with their reactions. But it ultimately will come down to their personalities and whether or not they will bond.

[DanaNM]

Hi there, welcome

And thank you for adopting!

I think it still might be possible, but I would try a few different techniques.

First, I think some addition pre-bonding might help, especially since the first round occurred when Bella might have still be hormonal. I like to completely swap who is in which cage daily or every other day if it’s possible. Anywhere from 1 week to over a month, depending on how the buns behave. You will likely see an increase in marking and loss of litter box habits at first, but over some time they will calm down. You are basically looking for them to be relaxed near each other, without aggressive behaviors through the fence (attempting to box, running the fence, etc.). It sounds like they have already calmed down a bit on that front, so that’s good.

When you are ready to start sessions again, since your initial first date in the bathroom did not go well at all, I would opt to try a stress session right off the bat, like a car ride. My first pair (the ones in my avatar) fought on sight at first, and the only thing that got us past it was car rides. You’ll want to have a helper drive. You will site in the back seat, with oven mits or tennis shoes or work gloves on your hands. Have the car running, pop the bunnies in a plastic tub, and take them for a drive. Make sure they do not fight! You can pet them both and swap scents. It helps to have them site by side, heads facing the same direction, so they don’t start circling. I would go for about 10-15 minute drive if they are doing OK. Then put them straight back in their areas. Repeat the stress sessions daily for a few days in a row, and see if they seem to be going to each other for comfort. Of course make sure that they aren’t getting too stressed. Some bus can’t handle this tactic, so you might need to reassess.

Once you are ready for longer sessions, I would opt for as large a space as possible, in as neutral a space as you can find. A couple of pens set up in a garage or at a friend’s house can work great. Start them on opposite sides, and hopefully they will spend the first few minutes exploring. When they come together, be ready to pet them a LOT to calm them down. Keep petting and swap scents. Do NOT let them fight. Start of with short time goals (30 sec, 1 min, 3 min, etc), and always end on a positive note, even if it’s you petting them both.

Hopefully with Bella more calm things will go more smoothly for you! It can take several months for female hormones to settle post-spay, so that very well could have been affecting things before.

. . . 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.  

[Cbunnynsmile]

Yes, we waited about 6 weeks after the little dwarf Bella had recovered from her spay. Thanks so much for your input!

[Cbunnynsmile]

Oh, thanks so much for taking the time to post the detailed reply! I had seen other websites refer to car rides, but I did not have a clear idea of how to go about it. Yes, we went through a state of territorial marking when I switched the litter boxes. I had not tried complete home/pen exchange because I was concerned it might stress Bonnie a bit too much. When we adopted her, it took months of quiet floor time with her before she adjusted so that now she hops ovI Enter 9nearest Bella;s x-pen arer to greet me when I enter her area. She still shys away mostly from my husband. Recently I put up cardboard most of the way around Bella’s x-pen so she cannot react to seeing Bonnie at all. I notice Bonnie creeps and stretches when she gets near the area that is near Bella’s x-pen. I thought it was interest, because she often went close to Bella’s area to look and sniff (no touching because it was several inches apart with both x-pen and cube wire shelving sections to keep them apart). Now I think it is may be behavior reflecting more caution and anxiety on Bonnie’s part…she wants to know where that scary roommate is. Thank you so much. I will get my nerve up and start the pre-bonding again. It took weeks and weeks for Bonnie to come out of her hiding box when I went into the room. Who knows what either of them experienced before, one in Las Vegas and one picked up by animal control in a nearby county? So, they have both gained weight, present for petting and tolerate some brushing and love getting nibble sticks from binkybunny. With your advice, maybe time will bring them an even better situation. Thanks again to those who answered!

[DanaNM]

Ah yes, it can be really hard to do bonding things with a shy bunny. It will probably be a benefit that she’s had this longer settling in time to get used to you and her new home. You will definitely feel like you’ve back-slid a bit once you resume bonding things, but she will forgive you once all is said and done.

You might consider getting her trained to go in her carrier to make it easier to swap sides. I started leaving mine out all the time and feeding my buns their pellets in it, and now they run inside readily for food.

. . . 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.  

[Cbunnynsmile]

Thanks so much. Yes, I worrry about her having a setback, like when Ihad to pick her up to get her to the vet. She was more skittish around me for a few days after that, hiding in her safe box, but then forgave me. I did leave the carrier out after we first brought her home, knowing she would need to go to a vet for a checkout. She used it as a second hiding area…until I noticed one day she had taste-tested the zipper! Yikes! That scared me. It is a great idea to put pellets in as enticement.
Best wishes and thanks again.

[DanaNM]

Ah yes, soft carriers are not great for buns for that reason! I use a hard sided one with mine.

. . . 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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