Bonding problems.. Am I being over-cautious?

[Deleted User]

I have a bunny that I’ve had for about 3 years named Bunny (original I know) who is a very laid back spayed female.  Recently we have added a second bunny who is about 1-2 years old, a neutered male named Alistair.  Alistair is also a very laid back bunny.

We’ve had Alistair for a little over a month, and the bonding isn’t going great.  It’s not terrible either though.  I just get very nervous when I put them together because I’ve read alot of horror stories.  Alistair is very submissive to Bunny, and he will put his head on the floor or under her chin when he is around her.  Neither rabbit has ever mounted the other rabbit. 

They are both free-range, but their room is divided with NIC grids.  They both eat beside each other at the same time, and sleep beside each other at the grids.  It seems great when they are divided by the grids.

When we put them together though it doesn’t take long before Bunny gets upset and lunges at him.  I originally was stopping her right away by spraying her lightly with a waterbottle.  If you spray her or say “Hey!” she’ll stop.  My partner told me though that he thought I was intervening too quickly.  So I started waiting longer, or letting him “be the boss”, but if you don’t stop her then she chases after Alistair with her mouth open and teeth showing like she’s going to bite him.  (Alistair doesn’t seem to care).

I don’t really know the best thing to do.  I haven’t been putting them together everyday because it makes me so nervous.  We have tried car rides 3 times, and each time they do well for a while when we come back (they’re ok for about an hour after we get back I’d say), but then Bunny gets upset again.

Can someone please give me some advice.  I do totally think they are bondable, no one is mounting or being crazy aggressive (like I said bunny will stop if you say “Hey” or spray her).  I just want to know the best way to bond them without me losing my sanity in the process.  I do know that if we put them together at dinner time they will happily eat, but then when they are done eating is when Bunny starts to get irritated.

Please help.

Thanks soooo much,

Sara

[Sarita]

Well, it doesn’t sound like there’s much interaction yet if you are squirting her before she even does anything. Also that is not a very positive response either and you always want to end or work on positive interaction. I think you should see what Bunny and Allister are going to do when she tries to “lunge” at him – I understand that you might be upset about it but you have to allow them to interact and learn to trust each other – obviously not hurt or injure each other.

I guess I’m not sure either what kind of reaction she is having when you think she might be irritated too.

[Deleted User]

Thanks for your comments. The times that I do leave her alone she ends up chasing him. Chasing is bad right? I guess I just don’t know at what point I should stop it. How do you know when it’s really bad? I just don’t want anyone to get hurt.

[MarkBun]

First off, how neutral of a space are you putting them in? If it is in Bunny’s old territory then she’s doing what’s natural and trying to keep him out of her space. YOu need to get into a more neutral space – that is why bathrooms and especially tubs are good as they usually aren’t in there.

Next, try not to be afraid. Your rabbit can pick up on that and since there’s an interloper, she’ll figure it is him who’s making you nervous and will try to get rid of that influence for you. Yes, rabbits can hurt one another but it will often take some doing if they bite anywhere besides the front of the face. Some videos of my buns bonding show Maryann VERY agressive and vicious with her biting, but nothing more than tufts of fur were the result. Just make sure that the bonding area has enough room for Ali to get away but not so much that they can’t see one another (Nothing more than 8 feet).

[Deleted User]

Thanks for your thoughts Markus.  I actually forgot to mention this in my original post, but Bunny usually chases him the most when it’s in her territory. 

Basically the way it is divided up is that Bunny has the living room, and Alistair has a back bedroom, the hallway and a small part of the living room that is sectioned off with grids.  The door to Alistairs bedroom is usually closed during the day so that he will spend his time in the living room area next to the grids with Bunny.

We have tried putting them in the kitchen, and we have tried putting them in the bathroom.  Both of these didn’t go well because Bunny is scared to death (Bunny has had a hard life, she was rescued her from people that kept her in a hamster cage!!!), plus Alistair runs around wildly because he is excited that it’s a new area, which also scares Bunny immensley.  We have seemed to have the most luck when we do their sessions in Alistairs bedroom. 

Alistairs is not territorial of his room at all, and Bunny has only been in there for sessions with Alistair.  She does not seem territorial at all when she is back there, and it takes alot longer for her to start chasing him.  (Let me add that Alistairs bedroom has no furniture in it, it is a small room, but there are no obstacles at all).  I would say the room is about 6 x 8.

The only reason we moved to trying to do sessions in Bunny’s area is because we thought that since they eat at the grids together, go in their side by side litter pans together at the same time always, and lie beside each other (and Bunny lets Alistair groom her through the grids)…. because of all that we thought it would be easy if we just removed the grids between them and let them have their session that way.  But I guess I was wrong?  Should I go back to doing it in Alistairs room?

Also, when they are divided by the grids Bunny seems to get irritated if she sees me petting Alistair, is that normal?  (She’ll snort a bit and put her nose through the grids and sometimes stand on her back legs to look over).  And how important is it to do bonding sessions everyday?

Thanks again, I’m so happy to have found this board!

[MarkBun]

Rabbits can be totally different animals when there’s a grid between them. Maryann was the nicest bunny whenever another rabbit was on the other side of the fence but once they were physically together, she was a terror.

Yes, Bunny is irritated when you pet Ali. Afterall, you’re HER slave and you should be petting her. DO you pet her first before you pet Ali? As long as you show her that she comes first, she might be a little bit more tolerant.

[Deleted User]

Thanks again Markus, I guess I should have been more considerate of Bunny’s feelings when petting Alistair in front of her.  It was just habit to pet him first as he is on the way to the washroom, so I pass by him first.

I am acutally in the middle of reading your thread about your bonding experience with Maryann.  It is very informative, and I appreciate the videos you’ve posted as well.  It makes me feel like I am really getting upset too easily because Bunny and Alistair don’t fight like that (*knock on wood*).  I’m thinking maybe I should keep the still and video cameras handy so that I can share that with everyone, maybe that would make it easier for people to direct me. 

I guess I just want to know that what I’m going through is a normal part of the process and that there is hope for these buns (and me lol).

[MarkBun]

If you have been viewing my videos, then you’ll see that it is normal.  According to Marcy from Save A Bunny, Maryann was only ‘slightly more aggressive’ than your average rabbit bonding.  So yours is probably normal.  And in all of those fights, Maryann only got mouthfuls of Dono’s fur – never any flesh. 

But there is still a mounting issue that happens from time to time.  It usually happens when Maryann tries to get Dono to groom her but he lowers his head for her to groom him (which she does constantly BTW).  So, if she feels that she deserves the grooming, she sits up and mounts him from the front to give him the hint.  So, even with a bonded pair, there may still be some aggressive tendencies that pop up from time to time.

 

[Author]

Messages