Bonding Butter and Honey

[Kate]

Hi fellow bunny lovers!

First time rabbit owner and bonder here trying to feel my way. I have two lovely girls – Honey (9months) and Butter (5months) who are both spayed. Honey came first and Butter came a few months later. I’ve kept them in separate cages from day one, constantly switching the girls over. We’re at a point now when they seem to love each other through the bars (always licking, etc) but they’re not there yet when outside the cage together. Bonding sessions are a mix. Honey will groom butter and seems relaxed some of the time, and some of the time she just nips her the whole session (sometimes taking out fur but not any worse than that). butter on the other hand seems really timid. She’ll constantly try to dive under Honey, doesn’t seem to groom back, and then three times she has tried to mount Honey. The first time I’m not sure Honey knew what was going on. The second two she let it go for a little bit and then got annoyed at Butter. But for someone who nips all the time, Honey has never tried to mount Butter.

I feel like I’m at brick wall with them. Any advice on what’s happening / where to go from here would be hugely appreciated!

[Little Lion Head]

The mounting is actually really normal. It’s how rabbits determine their pecking order; one bunny needs to be the “dominant” bun and it’s not sexually motivated at all. Mine have been bonded for about 6 weeks and Pumpkin still mounts Shamrock now and then. Shamrock gets fed up and nips at Pumpkin and then it ends. Also Shamrock does all the grooming in the relationship and Pumpkin never returns the favor. Some bonded pairs groom equally and some are like mine. It actually sounds like it’s going well. Where are you doing bonding sessions? Where are they when the mounting and nipping is happening?

[Kate]

Thanks for that! You’ve made me feel a bit better about it all! We actually do out bonding sessions on the bed. It’s a big bed in saying that. My apartment isn’t small but it is all one room and the bedroom is on a balcony type layout so I feel like it’s really only place left that is neutral and new territory to them both, since they can’t get on it unless we’re doing a session. All the mounting and nipping happens during the session on the bed. I’ve let them out together just a couple of times in the living area but honey just chases butter the whole time and they don’t end up even coming in contact with each other.

[Little Lion Head]

Something you might want to try is either setting up a pen or creating a pen area in your living room. This will limit the space they have to chase and nip. One thing that worked well for us when Pumpkin would go hump crazy was to take them and smoosh them together side by side and pet them to calm them. They would stay like this as long as we would pet them.

Stress bonding is always an option too. Put them in the same carrier for a car ride. They get scared and go to each other for comfort. They end up associating the good feelings of comfort w/ each other instead of the scared feelings. Or you could simply put them in a box or laundry basket together and simulate a rocking motion to stressbond.

[Sindri]

LLH has some great ideas. My two were terrible to bond it took 8 to 9 months. What worked well was starting out bonding in a cardboard box that was just big enough for the two of them. No one chasing could happen that way. I had to do a lot of stress bonding. Like LLH said you could set up a pen area. Best of luck!

[Kate]

Thanks guys! Have started a bit of the stress bonding in a wash basket. I think I just need to increase the sessions in each day too. I’ll let you know how I go over the next few days

[Kate]

Ok so it’s been a few days of wash basket sessions. Even with the intentional shaking of the basket as a stressor, it’s always just honey biting butter on the bum the entire time and them going round in circles because butter is trying hard to get her away. It’s tough to watch. It seems like honey is biting hard but I guess not much fir is coming out and I always check them both after to make sure neither is seriously injured.

Is honey biting butter her form of mounting? Do I just continue for a bit longer and hope they settle a bit?

[Author]

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