Bonding help

[Ahugs]

I am new to having bunnies. I have an 11 lb bunny that someone dumped. I got her in mid August. I wanted her to have a friend and ended up with the second. I had no clue she was a dwarf until the person showed up. When I saw the conditions I couldn’t say no. I got both spayed at Christmas. They stay in separate rooms. I have recently put a fence up that cuts my living room in half. This way they can each come out and they can also still go to their rooms. So Ms B. The big one she always comes out and sniffs and will put her back to the fence. The little one coco she will scratch at it sometimes. Sometimes coco will just sniff her and run up and down the fence. Ms B who has been great at her litter box now wants to leave pee on the floor at the fence. I will immediately clean it up she will go right back and do it again. Even if she has to go grab a drink and come back. What am I doing wrong? Please don’t blast me I’m doing the best I can. If they have to live separate forever for their safety and happiness I will do that. They’ve both been dealt a bad hand and I just want them to Know love. I couldn’t touch either at first. Now my big girl is a love she likes to be hugged and kissed by me and my boy. The little one is coming around I can touch her but she’s moody. She prefers for you to tell her how pretty she is. Any tips would be appreciated.

[Sirius&Luna]

Thanks for rescuing these two bunnies – they sound like they got lucky!

It’s great that you got them both spayed – that’s the first step to bonding!

Dividing the room in half is a good plan, but make sure they can’t touch each other, as bunnies have been known to fight and bite each other through bars. My own little Atlas got a nasty bite on the ear from Luna through cage bars.

Peeing and pooping along the fence is normal – it’s territory marking, so you’ll often find bunnies peeing and pooping along the edge of dividers to mark space as theirs.

I would say the next step for you is to start swapping them between halves of the room, so neither sees either half as ‘her’ territory, and so they get used to each others scents being in the area where they live. They might well be angry at the beginning. Do this for about a month. Hopefully, by the end of a month, they won’t care about the swapping anymore, and you’ll start to see them do things like lie alongside each other through the fence.

At that point, you can try introducing them for a short amount of time in a neutral space I’m happy to help with that part later

[Ahugs]

OK Thank you!! We will do that.

[DanaNM]

Yes it sounds like you are off to a good start, everything sounds normal so far!

Box habits should return once they are bonded, and marking will hopefully go down once you do a bit of pre-bonding (swapping who’s on what side).

Running the fence and scratching at it are aggressive behaviors (which are normal at this point), but you’ll want to see those behaviors go away before you start actually dating them.

During prebonding you can also start swapping scents by brushing them with the same brush.

. . . 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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