Bonding day 6. Is this "normal"?

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 3sd replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 9 months ago by Mara.

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- 02/14/2019 at 8:39 PM
  Mara
  Participant
  14 posts
  I’ve started the bonding process with my two buns, Hummus (almost 10 months) and Freddie (2 years). They are both males & fixed, and they’ve lived in the same room separated by a pen for 6 months. I’ve been putting them in the bathroom for 15 ish minutes a night. Hummus is obviously dominant, and will hump Freddie. Otherwise they sort of ignore each other, or I get them both calm and then push them next to each other while I pet them. Sometimes they’ll stay that way next to each other, but don’t do it on their own and don’t flop. Freddie is tolerant of Hummus but does run away from him. I separate them after it goes on for maybe 30 seconds or so, and I don’t let Hummus hump Freddie’s face, though he likes to. So they’re pretty amicable but I’m not sure if any progress is being made? Not worried, just wondering if this is normal or if there are things I could be doing to aid the process. Thanks!!
- 02/14/2019 at 11:39 PM
  Dface
  Participant
  1084 posts
  Honestly its a good sign when newly intro bunnies are nonchalant about each other.
  For me I don’t really think bathtub bonding is that useful. It’s a stress bonding situation and is handy to deal with aggressive rabbits, but I find giving rabbits a big neutral space to interact is a good way to get to know whats truly going on. It also lets them ignore each other (which is a very big part of bonding – just being in each others presence without fighting)
- 02/15/2019 at 7:17 AM
  Asriel and Bombur
  Participant
  1104 posts
  Like Dface, I found a larger space for the submissive bun to get away to always worked best for me. It gave them plenty of room to explore and ignore if need be. Humping should not be happening for more than a count of 10. Anything after that is likely to stress out the submissive bun.
- 02/15/2019 at 12:27 PM
  Mara
  Participant
  14 posts
  Thanks to both of you for the advice! I will try a bigger space. They are not in the tub, but the bathroom is still a small space. Also good to know about humping, I wasn’t sure how much I should allow since I know it is a natural part of the process, but I also don’t want Freddie to be freaked out.
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