Bonding Clover and Escarole…someday

[Samantha]

HI!!! I am back for some bonding advice! I want to start by explaining the set up of my house where the bunnies are located so you have an idea. 

Clover has been in our bedroom in an x pen since she arrived about 2 months ago (I think).  She gets free run of the bedroom for most of the day and evening.  Our room is down a long hall from  the living room where Escarole has his xpen and he has the run of the living room and hall the majority of the day. 

Escarole has come down the hall and sat beside her cage and they just sit and sniff one another and kiss noses and whatnot since a few weeks after she arrived.  We figured this meant after she is spayed and her horomones calm down it means it may go well. 

Clover was spayed one week ago today.  She is healthy and eating pooping normally.  Escarole has not been visiting as frequently and we figured it may be because he cannot smell her as strongly? Not sure.  Or ! She asked him to kindly leave her alone until she healed

Anyway, this evening Escarole knocked her x pen door away from the wall where we have it blocked off for the first time and made it into her space.  Fortunately I happened to be walking down the hall behind him not too long after.  I walked in they were just walking seperately around but he was fully in her pen.  She acted uninterested in him and he went around rubbing his scent on everything.  I watched carefully in case of a fight and was VERY nervous but curious since no aggression was shown yet.  She bows her head to him and he tries to get his nose near her neck.  Eventually he attempted to mount her and at that point i seperated them because i didnt even want to wait for something to happen.

Now she is definitely mad at him.  He goes to her cage and tried to bite the bars to get back in and she turns her back to him.  When it is time to introduce in a few weeks will this hinder the process? I am concerned

I have more questions after this!

[Elrohwen]

Since they didn’t get in a fight, I don’t think it will hinder their bonding at all! It was an overall positive experience and not at all different from what can and will happen in regular bonding sessions.

[Sarita]

I wouldn’t worry. I don’t think that she’s mad at him. It may have been okay to let him mount her at that time to see what would have transpired.

I once had a pair that bonded themselves – Grace got into Snoopy’s pen and he was just fine and she would eat his veggies and mount his head – she was a Netherland Dwarf and he was just a bunny. I decided to let them be together and they lived happily ever after.

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