Bonding Help

[TheDuchess]

The rescue has found a boy bun that is getting along well with Ophelia. They just met on Saturday and stayed together in an xpen without any incident for two days, aside from one scuffle when a dog came through the shelter and spooked Ophelia. The rescue wanted me to pick them up yesterday and finish bonding myself, but I explained to them that I haven’t moved yet. There was a lot of miscommunication on their end, and I thought that they would be keeping them for several weeks, not just one week.

Obviously, I can’t take them back to my apartment because Ophelia was free roam. We are having our furniture moved this Saturday, the 13th. If they continue without incident and I pick them both up on Saturday, then monitor them together over all of Saturday and Sunday, do you think it would be ok to leave them alone? The rescue seems to think that if they are staying together at the rescue without any issues for a whole week, that I can call them bonded if they don’t have any issues for 48 hours at the new house.

I know that this seems super rushed and so some of you will pick it apart. I also feel like this is going very fast, but the shelter says that they have successfully bonded in as short as one week, because the completely foreign environment helps eliminate a lot of the territorial issues we encounter when bonding at the home where the rabbits live. They would be going from the shelter to a brand new environment in our house that neither have ever been in, so the shelter is even more optimistic that they will continue to get along.

However, I am nervous. I know how bunnies can be. I don’t want to come home to bunny fur everywhere, injured buns, and then be stuck with the resulting difficulty of trying to bond them through a fight. I think that I should let them live together in the room over the weekend while I am there to monitor, but set them up in adjacent xpens when I go to work. Then let them out while I am home and can monitor. I thought of doing that for a week, then another marathon session the next weekend and after that I could call them bonded?

What do you folks think?   

[Harley&Thumper]

Harley and Thumper bonded over a week when they both moved into my apartment at the same time. I don’t think the shelter is being unreasonably optimistic.

[DanaNM]

I think you’ll be able to tell pretty quickly if you feel they are completely bonded, so I think setting aside Sat and Sun to monitor should be good, with a back-up plan in case you don’t feel comfortable leaving them alone after that. With mine, it’s like they’ve suddenly “clicked” when they were bonded finally and then there was no turning back.

I don’t think it’s too fast, considering the shelter has done it for you. Having neutral spaces and neutral people to do the bonding for you makes a world of difference. Plus the pairing might have been a better match than the last attempt with her.

I think having the pens ready just in case is a good idea, but that you probably wont need to separate them. You will likely be able to tell if there will be issues right away, as these usually occur right when you move a freshly bonded pair to a new location.

So would say plan for them to be bonded, but have the pens ready just in case they have some minor set backs.

Congrats on your new bun! Can’t wait to see pics of Ophelia snuggling with her new boo.

. . . 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.  

[BB8]

Oh wow congrats on your new bunny!

[Tony's Mum]

I had Mellie and Tony bonded by a bonding service in three days. I took them back to my house where Tony had been free roam, but I replaced litter boxes, blankets, etc and washed EVERYTHING with vinegar so his scent markings were gone, then I kept them in pen in a neutral room for the first three days that they were home, then slowly reintroduced them to the space and increased the pen until they were free roam. That was a year ago and they’re still besties!

[jerseygirl]

It sounds promising!
It actually might work in your favour to have Ophelia and new bun together in pen in your last week at apt. Things will be busy with the upcoming move and you’ll know exactly where she is.
Plus, it’s easy to create a neutral space at home using a pen.
I believe once you have them home and observe them up yourself, you’ll feel more confident. As DanaNM said, you’ll notice the difference if the bond has formed.

[Author]

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