Bonding male rabbits – one previously thought to be female

[Callie810]

Hi guys, feeling a little bit anxious so would love some advice!

We have two buns. Number 1 is Rocky, a neutered 1 year old lion/lop who we’ve had since February.
Number 2 is Willow a female (being neutered right this minute) 6 month old lion/lop.

Or so we thought.

I recieved a phone call from the vets this morning as they were prepping Willow for surgery and it turns out she’s a boy!

I’m now a little bit worried about the bonding process.

We have had Rocky and Willow in separate pens next to each other for a few weeks now. There is about a foots space between them and when they are in their own pens they are fine with each other. They will follow each other up and down sometimes and also sit and eat hay simultaneously in their litter trays which face each other.

We haven’t let them near each other physically without the pen fence being between them. We have however let each of them approach the pens. We had a fair amount of grunting and lunging to begin with (mainly from Rocky which we took to be because he is he established rabbit) However over the last few times we have had calm sniffing as well as grunts. Willow has never lunged or grunted at Rocky, he/she has just been very curious about Rocky and followed his movements.

So Rocky has been slightly agressive but once the grunting and lunging had happened once or twice he would run off. He also is completely fine sniffing Willow if he/he isn’t facing him (yesterday he stared at him/her for a few minutes whilst he/she was eating)

I have read that you shouldn’t introduce two males at all until after both are neutered but it’s a bit late for that as we thought Willow was female.

What next? Is it going to be impossible to bond them? How do we go about it?

Should I be encouraged that Willow has shown no aggression even before being neutered?

[Sirius&Luna]

There’s no reason why you can’t bond two boys! The process is exactly the same as for a boy and girl, so don’t be concerned.

You’ve done everything right so far. Now what you need to do is give Willow a week or so to recover from his neuter. After that, you should start swapping them into each others cages every other day or so (Willow in Rocky’s cage, Rocky in Willows cage, then 2 days later back into their own cages, and so forth). This is so they lose track of what’s ‘their’ territory. Do this for at least a month, maybe 2, depending on how they react. Likely you will see some stomping, peeing and territorial pooping at first. Hopefully by the end of a month, they won’t react at all.

After at least a month of this, then you can try introducing them on neutral territory. We’d be happy to give you tips on that aspect when you come to it

[Callie810]

So just wanted to come on here and update the situation!

We have been continuing with the side by side living but have now been allowing the rabbits to be around each other pens when they are out.

Theo is absolutely fascinated by Rocky and will regularly spend time shoving his face through the bars of Rocky’s pen, lie down near it or just sit and stare at Rocky. He will also sit near Rocky when it is Rocky’s turn to be out. Theo has also been showing signs of wanting Rocky to groom him, he puts his head down when he’s near Rocky in his pen.

Rocky however is giving us mixed messages. He still growls a lot when he is in his pen and Theo is out but there will also be times when just sits near Theo and doesn’t do anything. We are also still having instances of nipping/biting (not sure of the severity as there’s a pen between them) and a bit of swiping sometimes. On the other hand when Rocky is out he will sit near Theo, even loaf near him (facing away from him mind) and the other day Rocky spent a good couple of hours chilling directly next to Theo who was chilling in his pen. But then Rocky will also growl and go to nip him during this time as well.

So altogether not really sure what to make of it. Theo just really wants to be Rocky’s friend and is obviously trying to exert dominance by requesting to be groomed whereas Rocky floats between chilling near Theo but kind of ignoring him to showing signs of aggression.

We are planning on swapping them into each other’s pens for a few weeks from tomorrow. I’m off for a week at the end of this month and we are tentatively planning on a first face to face bonding session then.

I’m just worried that Rocky is never going to get over whatever his issue is.

[Deleted User]

Theo is giving off some good bonding vibes!!

Now about Rocky… Just a little more information from you, if you don’t mind! Was the room that they are currently housed in belonging just to Rocky before Theo came home? If so, he may just be being territorial. It makes sense if so, and it wouldn’t be all that concerning if he views the room as his own. He basically tolerating Theo though, so it’s good he isn’t swatting through the cage or anything like that!

[Callie810]

Sorry for the delay in replying! Yes we have had Rocky since last February and we got Theo in August. Their two pens are in the room that Rocky has been in since we got him so I’m guessing he will be feeling very territorial.

He has swatted through the bars a few times but hasn’t done that for a while, it’s more the growling and biting/nipping now. Sometimes the nipping is extremely light (Theo has quite long fur so it almost looks like Rocky is giving him a trim but the fur isn’t being pulled from the root) and other times it does look quite aggressive but he has never actually bitten Theo resulting in an injury. Again today he has also sat near him a few times.

Last night we swapped them into each other pens and aside from a bit of a mess being made with them litter both rabbits seem quite calm about it!

[Deleted User]

Oh ok, then I definitely think that his aggression is due to him thinking that this room is his territory. Do you have a neutral area to do actual face-to-face bonding? That will be really important to reduce aggression from Rocky. It’s a good sign that they are calm in each others enclosures.

[Callie810]

We are planning on using the bathroom for their face to face bonding. They have both been in a few times but not enough for it to have become a territory. We are going to give it a thorough clean beforehand and I am also going to use a bit of vinegar as I know that can help with neutralising things. I know using the tub is a popular thing but Rocky detests being picked up so we may just have to use a pen on the floor and make a small space.

Planning on swapping them in their pens every few days for another two and a half weeks at which point they will have been doing that for nearly a month. Both me and my partner are off from 28th Jan for a week so am intending to do their first face to face meeting then. I don’t envision it lasting more than a few minutes, it will be more of a test to see what exactly they are like without the pens in the way.

I am very nervous about it!!

[Deleted User]

It is definitely normal to be nervous! I suggest creating a new bonding thread when you do start, so you can get advice on how to read the signs! I posted daily when I was attempting a bond. Unfortunately, my two had a really, really great start, but they couldn’t sort out their dominance issues and I gave up because I was so mentally exhausted from the stress. I’m sure if I had more neutral space and more time on my hands (I work full time and am a full time student) I could have made it work, but I just got so overwhelmed. It will be good to have that week off to give you a good start! Try doing a few short sessions each day and always end on a good note. Quick tip! don’t put litter trays in during the beginning. Mine had a fuss in the litter box because I didn’t know that at the time.

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