Bonding pen in one rabbit’s territory?

[Dee]

Hi, I asked this before but maybe I made it too long and nonspecific. Or maybe nobody was sure of the answer, which is fine but I wanted to try again.

I feel that I need to be with my rabbits once we start their marathon bonding session. The only neutral areas in my house are the upstairs bedrooms, and I can’t spend 24/7 up there. So I set up a bonding Xpen in the male rabbit’s territory. Put cardboard and sheets up so they can’t see out, put different, new flooring down. But the male bunny, Luke, still knows that they are in his living room. The did fine in the pen, in a laundry basket, but I’m afraid to let them out without hearing if this is advisable. I just don’t get how I could set up a pen in an “out of the way” area of the house, the only neutral place, and still supervise them.

Is it OK that the bonding pen is in the male rabbit’s territory? He is the more timid one, and is fearful from being bullied by another rabbit before he was adopted.

Thanks in advance for any advice ?.

[Moo <3]

I wouldn’t suggest bonding them in his territory. The male might act out, not wanting to hurt the other rabbit, but defend his home. He will most likely remain territorial and make the bonding process much harder. It’s almost like if a stranger came into your house, sat on your couch and ate all of your food. If you can’t sit with them for the whole time, there’s nothing wrong with doing shorter sessions. When bonding mine, I usually set up a pen in a room neither of them were in, and either sat and did work or turned the tv on for a couple hours. I never did a marathon session, because it never fit with my schedule, however they’re now fully bonded. How did they act in the laundry basket and in the pen? Especially if they’ve been acting fine in the neutral territory, you don’t want one of them to get territorial and go backwards in the bonding process rather than progressing.

[Dee]

Thanks for your reply, Lucykao! They are doing really well in the laundry basket, grooming each other and not showing any aggression. How did you make the transition from supervised bonding sessions to fully bonded rabbits? I’m imagining we will just do longer sessions until we can leave the bunnies alone in the room for a while, then overnight, and finally return them to one room at a time. Is that what you did?

Sorry for so many questions. My first bonded pair was so easy- also I had no idea rabbits were likely to really hurt each other so I was very brave!

[Moo <3]

We went from laundry basket, to bathtub, to bathroom, to exercise pen, and then finally a whole room. They didn’t even start grooming until the bathroom! I started only leaving (at the exercise pen stage) them alone when going downstairs, then slowly increasing the time I’m gone. I think if they’re in a pen together, and have groomed each other, and began relaxing (flop maybe, or just lying down), they don’t perceive the other as a threat, and you can start leaving the room for periods. I would not recommend leaving them if one is still territorial in the same pen used. But to me, you’ll just KNOW when it’s safe to leave them, if you have even a doubt, it’s not worth the risk.
PS; Overnight is a great bonding session! Try putting them in the same pen during the night, and sleeping next to the pen. This way, they spend loads of hours together, and you can easily wake up if a fight ensues.
The bonding with be much easier if you let them figure it out. This does not mean to just watch them fight, but if its a small nip, or mounting, or a little chasing and lunging, it’s their way of figuring out who’s boss. If it’s a full-on fight, separate them. Also, try having them eat together (social activity) or try a stressful situation.

[Dee]

Sorry I didn’t reply earlier, LucyKao- I just saw your reply. I get what you mean about knowing when you can leave them alone, it was like that with my first pair of bunnies. I just could tell that they weren’t going to fight.

I’m really happy about them grooming each other. Goods idea about feeding them together- they both love greens so I’ll let them have their salad together ☺. Hopefully Luke will be able to eat- poor guy gets so nervous being put in strange places.

I let you,know how our next bonding session goes. We are taking a break due to a health crisis with Luke. He’s feeling much better though!

[Author]

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