Bonding Female/Female Advice? (stressed)

[Peter'sOwner]

I’m trying to bond two fixed female rabbits together but this is my first time bonding a pair of rabbits and I’m looking for advice on how to do it. I have been doing some research but keep getting conflicting information and am not sure which is the right way to go about it.

I’ve had Bunbun for a year as a house rabbit and just recently got NomNom another female 2yo fixed rabbit. Currently they each have their own cage next to each other we put them in at night. During the day they stay on separate sides of the house separated by a baby gate so they can’t hurt each other. I watched a Youtube video that suggested you start by stress bonding them which I have been doing the past couple days but now I just read that stress bonding isn’t the right way to do it on another site….I’m confused.

BunBun seems like the more dominate one and will lung at the baby gate between them while NomNom seems more submissive and skittish I want to try doing a face to face bonding session but some sites say a smaller place like a bathtub is best while others say a larger area like a room or exercise pin is. I’m not sure which to do?

I got stuffed animals in both of their cages to get them used to each others scent by switching them out everyday. But now I just read switching their cages is better then using stuffed animals I guess I’ll start doing that today.

Are female/female the hardest pairs to bond? is it actually rare for them to work out?

When I first set them up on a bunny date at the SPCA their one time face to face they didn’t fight BunBun would sometimes try to chase or jump at NomNom but other wise they were just chill and both were fine flopping down on opposite sides of the area just watching each other. Though the baby gate its much the same BunBun will try to nip or jump at the baby gate NomNom will smell her and then back off they do this for awhile then they will relax and lay next to each other on either side of the baby gate. Is this a good sign?

When stress bonding them we put them in a laundry basket together on top of the dryer while its running, NomNom cuddles up to BunBun for comfort and grooms her but BunBun doesn’t groom back or really snuggle. Is that a bad sign? Is stress bonding really bad for them and should I stop right away? 

I’m feeling stressed and confused by this process 

 but I really want them to get along I’m sorry this post is so long but any advice would be much appreciated 

“Be brave, little rabbit. Take a chance.”― Cherise Sinclair

[Poppyhani]

Hello! Bonding is very stressful, and there are a lot of ways to do it, so don’t panic! You did the right thing by coming here.

First of all, it’s great that you’ve got their cages next to each other, and that they can still get used to each other’s smells during the day. Cage switching is most definitely a good thing to do, so that’s a plus! Bonding places usually follow the rule of the smaller, the better, but again, it really can largely depend on the rabbit. The smaller the neutral space is, the more they’ll focus on each other… is the logic behind that. A good middleground is to start small, and if it goes well, just keep on expanding the amount of space you give them.

It’s a good sign that they’re lying next to each other! Females can be difficult to determine who will be the dominant one, but if there’s already signs that NomNom is being submissive, you’ve got some good prebonding going on. Many people would recommend doing a month of prebonding (cage swapping, litter swapping, etc) just to keep it safe. As far as stress bonding goes, it’s a bit up in the air, and usually only used for difficult bonds if the first couple of sessions just don’t go well. The intention is to make them rely on each other instead of fighting. Some people would say avoid it, some people would say it’s okay… so it’s entirely up to to you. A big part of bonding is following your instinct and trusting your bunnies. I just recently bonded, so I know how stressful it is.

Lastly, female/female is harder than female/male, but it’s definitely possible, and there are lots of success stories! Victoria Raechel on Youtube bonded two females and has a log of her bonding sessions on her channel, so it might help to put you at ease!

[Peter'sOwner]

Thank you for the reply I know now the I will definitely switch their cages each night and now that I think about it switching which side of the house they are on during the day would probably be a good idea too. After a week I think I will try the bathtub and see how it goes if it doesn’t go great I’ll spend another week switching them out and I’ve heard its good to end any face to face session on a good note so I’ll try to do that too. If the bathtub does goes well I guess I will just increase the length of the sessions till they seem more chill with each other and if that goes well for a week I will see how it goes putting them on the same side of the house for sessions. If at any point it looks like its going bad I guess I’ll just go back a step/week and go from their. I’ll definitely check out Victoria Raechel’s videos Thank you 

“Be brave, little rabbit. Take a chance.”― Cherise Sinclair

[Peter'sOwner]

BONDING UPDATE: so I have been switching cages and sides of the house but today out of no where the rabbit that had been acting more submissive jumped over a gate to jump my rabbit BunBun and took a chunk out of her ear! I feel so guilty it just happened out of left field my poor BunBun we just got back from the ER vet and they gave her some pain medication

Now I feel like I could never bond them together my original rabbit BunBun will be forever scared by this I don’t want to take NomNom back but I don’t see how bonding could work after this I don’t want to risk either of their safety (T.T)

“Be brave, little rabbit. Take a chance.”― Cherise Sinclair

[Sirius&Luna]

A serious injury does reduce the likelihood of them bonding. Rabbits have been known to hold grudges for a while!

If you want to go ahead with the process, you need to now separate them for two to three months, so they totally forget about each other. Keep them in separate rooms and don’t let them see each other. THEN, you can start the prebonding process again.

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