Bonding help

[Moonlightbunny66]

Spay/Neuter
Are your bunnies spayed/neutered? Yes
If so, for how long (for each)? Marcel neutered around 2 and half months ago

Pinky neutered a little over a year ago

– If not, why not?
Are you aware of reproductive cancer risk in females? If not, please read about it here. Yes

Housing
Please describe your bunnies’ current housing set-up (living together, as neighbors, etc.). X-pen neighbours

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.? Curious, territorial, some affection and some aggression
Have you done any “pre-bonding” (cage or litter box swaps, etc.)? Yes 
If so, for how long? 4 weeks before bonding sessions and continuing throughout
Have you started sessions yet? Yes, about 7-8 sessions
How long have you been working on bonding your bunnies? 2 months? Or a bit under
How frequently do you have bonding sessions, and how long are they? Almost everyday, started at 10-15 minutes and increased to 1-2 hours
Have you tried any stressing techniques? No

I’ve been working on bonding the bunnies but they’re having issues and I can’t figure out the bonding space best for them. I started in a storage bin just big enough to fit both of them but Marcel wasn’t bothered and spent his time trying to get out, while stepping on pinky so I scrapped that idea. Pinky sat frozen in the bin so it didn’t work, only lasted a few minutes.

The next day I tried the bath tub instead for 10 minutes. Pinky again sat frozen, scared. Marcel hopped around curiously and layed next to Pinky. I did the tub a couple more times but Pinky would barely move in there, so I decided to put them in a neutral area pen next time. It also gets too hot in the bathroom since it’s summer.

Pinky was more comfortable in the pen so he moved around more, I had a big litter box and water in there since I was doing it for longer this time (40 minutes or an hour I think). Throughout the times I’ve had them in the pen, pinky has done small lunges and one time marcel grunted and hit him with both his paws on his head (boxing I believe). But I always calm them down before it leads to a fight. But, they do still do small lunges at each other and marcel tends to grunt at pinky, sometimes for no reason. I also switched to two separate small litter boxes which I don’t think helps because pinky tries to squeeze in with marcel (marcel is a Flemish giant) and he doesn’t always like that. I have switched between the bath tub and pen trying to figure out where they are best behaved. Pinky is no longer scared in the bath tub but I think they do slightly better in there. (Also I put a towel down in the bath tub so it is not slippery!)

They have cuddled and groomed each other several times, especially when I pet them together they will lick each other after that sometimes. I pet them together every session and they will cuddle for that. They also tend to stick their nose up each other’s butts which they don’t always tolerate. Pinky also likes to shove himself under marcel and wants to be groomed, probably trying to be dominant.

I think the reason that Pinky and Muffin (unfortunately Muffin passed away in the hospital a few months ago 🙁) worked so well is because Muffin was much more tolerant of Pinky being nosey and bugging. They were very good together so I don’t have experience with a harder bond like Pinky and Marcel.

I just wanted to post to see if anyone can figure out what I’m missing and where I should go from here with the info I’ve collected from their relationship.

Small space: Pinky gets stepped on and Marcel gets frustrated

Larger space: Lunging and some nipping

I am not a big fan of stress bonding such as carrier car rides since the stress is really not good for them, especially Pinky.

Advice is appreciated!

[DanaNM]

Overall it sounds like things are going ok!

I think I would keep going with the pen, but remove the litter boxes for now. I’ve find they always tend to cause issues, so I just use puppy pee pads until the buns seem basically bonded and I’m cementing.

. . . 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.  

[Wick & Fable]

I agree that there are generally positive signs happening. I concur with removing the litter boxes, as I too have found they can cause some issues. This includes things like hidey holes and potentially anything else you add to the bonding environment.

The small lunges are not “ideal”, but them not escalating to fights is good. They need to do a bit of those more tense interactions to work things out properly. As long as you’re there to interrupt when danger is afoot, those interactions are fine within a bonding context.

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.

[Moonlightbunny66]

Thanks guys! I’ll do it without litter boxes next time and see how it goes! Good to know the behaviour is okay for now.

[DanaNM]

I agree that the lunges and grunts are OK as long as they aren’t escalating! I bet they will get better without the boxes though. 🙂

As long as neither bun gets overly excited about food, food sharing can also be a nice activity during bonding. I usually scatter greens, pellets, or cheerios to give them something to do besides worry about each other (except in cases where one bun gets food aggressive!).

. . . 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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