bonding nippy bunny

[Floppy]

Hi! I need some bonding advice. I have been bonding two bunnies for about two month but I’m not sure much progress has been made.

I am bonding a holland lop boy, floppy (free roam house bunny) and a lionhead girl, audrey (adopted from a rescue, was probably abandoned), both fixed and between 1-2 year old.

They currently live in side-by-side x pens separated by a water bottle. Their spaces are swapped daily. Initially there were some marking but it has since stopped. Also now they would comfortably sprawl out / flop next to each, still separated by the pens of course.

Bonding sessions: I do them on the bathroom floor covered with a blanket. Because I live in an apartment and floppy free roamed most of the apartment, there wasn’t a lot of options. I also tried a smaller space, and in the bathtub, but they didn’t go well and audrey would nip/bite more often.

Audrey’s behavior hasn’t really changed. She doesn’t appear aggressive and seems to be comfortable enough with him around. She would just roam around the space and sometimes eat hay if I put it on the floor. She doesn’t approach him face to face, but sometimes when she is walking and he is in the way, she would nip his sides / butt. But if he approaches her and gets really close she would nip/bite him and sometimes grunt. I’m not entirely sure if it is a nip or a bite because sometimes some hair would be pulled out.

Floppy’s behavior has changed though. Initially there was some apprehension and defensive behaviors, then there was about week where he would hump her a lot. She would initially accept it but on second try she would try to turn around and bite him. This only lasted a week and he has stopped humping. Then he would approach her a lot, trying to lower his head and put it under her body, but she doesn’t groom him and nips instead. Sometimes he doesn’t mind and would go back again, sometimes he gets frustrated and tries to nip back at her.

Sometimes if I hold a longer session (1 hour) they would both get tired and would flop but not touching each other. But her nipping behavior never changed. Also I have tried the banana trick, but after they eat the banana they would just stop, so they never groomed each other, and also it seems to trigger her nipping. I also have done some stress bonding when I was on a road trip and they seemed ok and would snuggle together, she would occasionally nip but less often and he wouldn’t nip back. But I don’t have a car and not able to do these stress bonding sessions now.

I got tired and took a break for a week and now have been doing only table bonding sessions for about 2 weeks. When I pet them both next to each other they are fine, but if I stop petting or let them get up for a bit, Audrey would turn his head and nip him. He doesn’t react to the nip most of the time, but I don’t feel I am making progress with this method either.

How should I proceed with the bonding? Is there a way to get her to stop nipping? I am still hopeful I can get them to bond, but I just don’t feel like she is making any progress. Floppy actually seems to be quite interested in her. Maybe I should try to get him to groom her instead?

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