BONDING HELP!

[Alexis]

So I started bonding my bunnies (A 1 and a half year old male, and a 7 month old female) about a month ago, they are both fixed. I just get mixed signals from them. For hours straight they cuddle, groom eachother, flop next to eachother, share food. But sometimes the male starts biting her at her sides. This leads to them circling but shes not trying to bite just avoid his biting. I am not sure what to do. I started with stress bonding, moved to a bathtub, and now am marathon bonding. Does anyone know what causes him to bite her randomly after hours of cuddling and being sweet to eachother? How do I get this to stop?

[DanaNM]

There is a bonding template pinned in this section. If you could fill it out and paste in your reply that would be really helpful!

I will say that I have had similar situations and experimenting with the space seems to help. So trying either larger or smaller areas, and a brand new neutral zone can help.

. . . 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.  

[Alexis]

Sorry! I filled it out below. Thanks for the reply! I was also wondering should I move their bonding pen where their permanent home would be and then slowly make their bonding pen bigger eventually making that their permanent home? Thanks!

Spay/Neuter
Are your bunnies spayed/neutered?
If so, for how long (for each)?
If not, why not? Yes! Nova has been neutered for a year and half. Hazel has been spayed for about 2 months. We didnt start the process until she was healed and hormones calmed down.

Housing
Please describe your bunnies’ current housing set-up (living together, as neighbors, etc.). They were living as neighbors for a while but are now marathon bonding.

Bonding background
Did you allow the bunnies to “settle-in”? Yes
How would you describe your bunnies reactions towards each other (answer for each bunny): shy, scared, curious, calm, aggressive, excited, affectionate, etc.? When they very first started hazel was at first curious but then very submissive, nova wouldnt really let her move around. Then hazel started mounting him, he has never mounted back. That helped I think as now they cuddle and groom often. After expanding the bonding area or something changes hazel will mount nova to establish dominance and nova will sometimes try to bite her sides. This ends pretty quickly.
Have you done any “pre-bonding” (cage or litter box swaps, etc.)?
If so, for how long? Yes about two-three weeks.
Have you started sessions yet? Yes
How long have you been working on bonding your bunnies? About a month now.
How frequently do you have bonding sessions, and how long are they? Started with 15-30 minutes but then noticed they do way better with longer sessions so would leave them for hours together with supervision. Then I thought marathon bonding would work the best as separating them seemed to be the problem.
Have you tried any stressing techniques? Yes! Would take them on car rides together and then place them in a neutral space afterwards.

[DanaNM]

Thank you, this is helpful!

What happens after the circling? Have you tried pushing past this during the session?

And how large is the space? Sometimes a larger space can help. They might chase a little, but they can actually get away from each other, so it doesn’t just immediately lead to circling.

The nipping could be him thinking about mounting, in which case more space might help things play out more safely. My male will nip my female when he is thinking about mounting and wants to chase her. In this case though it’s very slow kind of walking chase around the room… and he’s honking and has his ears forward. Then when she stops he barely knows what to do LOL.

 

. . . 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.  

[Alexis]

Lol how funny! I have tried various sizes right now they are in a 2 by 2 of those wire shelf panels. A week ago I tried a pretty large space 4 by 4, I think, and the circling was a lot worst. I usually just let it play out they have never had any serious fights it’s just this weird little circle thing lol. But right now is the best they have done I tried the small space marathon from the tokihut blog. Started them in a 1 by 1 then a 2 by 1. And now the 2 by 2. I think they just need more time. They really seem like soon they will be the best of friends haha.

[DanaNM]

I consider 4×4 of those grids to still be relatively small (assuming they are about 1 ft long?). By large I mean like 2 x-pens linked up or a whole room.

But if they are doing well in small space then they might just need more time.

 

. . . 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.  

[Alexis]

If this starts going south I will try the x pens next. Thanks for the help!

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