Bonding question

[Hedi]

When I first got Cooper it seemed Pookie took an instant liking to him (or was just happy for a nice bunny to be around). He has been fixed for over a month now. Last several days we have done the neutral territory. There is a potty box and them. Pookie keeps leaving territorial poos. Cooper leaves none. Cooper chases Pookie around trying to hump her and then she escapes, sometimes when he comes to get her she does a binky straight up and slowly runs away. No aggression ever. Just Cooper humping. Pookie cleans Cooper and sometimes a little too rough because he pulls away from her. Cooper never attempts to clean Pookie.

Tonight I had them in their neutral territory for 30min. Same thing, humping, cleaning, chasing. Nothing mean, just following eachother around.

So I moved them to include the dining room that is not neutral. So they have access to the kitchen and dining room. Same thing. Pookie leaves poos and Cooper follows him around. Pookie lets me love on her and Cooper as well.  He actually hasnt even tried to hump her in the "non neutral" area.

I was hoping to have them bonded by this weekend because we are going out of town and my inlaws will have all three buns.

Is all this good?

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[MooBunnay]

Hello! They are such a fluffy and sweet looking couple

I think that sounds like an excellent bonding beginning – The first good thing being that the humping is not leading to fighting, and the other good thing being that Pookie is cleaning Cooper.  I would just let them be together as much as possible between now and when you go out of town, so that you can make sure that if there are any spats you will be there to break it up.  Its funny that Pookie is still leaving territorial poops!  You could also try a car ride with the two of them in the same carrier – just to reinforce the bond even more.

Good luck!

[Spacehopper]

How cute, they blend with the carpet. My 2 were unsupervised after a week of 15 minutes out together each day, and that was chasing, humping, Brian being followed EVERYWHERE – but then we realised he was appearing at the living room door looking for Bean. When I realised I didnt need to keep leaping up and down to check on then, or crawling about, peering round doorways, I’d got caught up in something and realised I’d not heard a peep out of them for ages, so I cautiously went to check, and there they were curled up together under the bed. I say you’re doing brilliantly!!!

[Hedi]

What about him humping her head? I forgot to mention that? For some reason he tries to hump her head. She lays really flat and if giving the chance she will run otherwise she just stays put. Usually he starts at the head, then gets her sideways then gets into the correct position-and by that time she has ran away.

Im afraid he will hurt her?

I will keep doing the same thing the rest of the week and see how they are by this wkend.

[osprey]

Actually, the bun on top is most at risk when they try to mount from the front.  If she gets mad and nips him, he could end up with a gash in the genital area.  If we see buns trying to do this, we always try to redirect so that they will do it from the back.  Much safer.

 

[Hedi]

I do redirect him. Usually he figures it out himself and gets on her side or finally in the correct position. They are out right now in unneutral territory. They have been playing hide and seek. Running and playing. At least he is not trying to hump her every second like he was the first time.

Things are looking good!

Pookie is pretty passive. Will take a lot before getting upset. She hasnt gotten upset with him at all.

[Spacehopper]

Don’t panic too much, my little one was always desperate to hump Brian’s head. I had to remove the littlun as Brian seemed to just lay flat and take it. Now there is no head humping, just licking and grooming.

[Lucy]

Patina still head mounts Fujoe… it never stops. I think it’s cause he gets confused and will take it longer than if she was on his rear end. But she knows what she’s doing- she’s doing some bunny face bang action. We do redirect her when we see it, but it’s usally over by the time one of us gets to her.

[Hedi]

Pookie never seems to get upset over it. I watch her body language and her ears and she seems fine. When she gets tired of him she goes and hides in a place that he wont fit. lol

I just worry that she will get tired of it and not want to be his friend. Yesterday they were out for about 3hrs together. That was the first day I have seen him not mount her every minute of the time out. They did sit next to eachother a few times.

Im just glad all this is normal. The attempt at bonding with my girls was so horrific that I wasnt looking forward to this. And having a male animal in the house is very new to me.

Thanks for all your help…we will see how the next few days go.

[BinkyBunny]

How are things between them today?

Regarding the head humping. I have seen bunnies who have been bit on their genitals, and it’s NOT pretty. Abscesses can form there and it can be extremely painful, so it’s always good to redirect like you are doing.

[Hedi]

Well, I have been gone on vacation this whole week. Last week everyday they would be out together. They were out for 4hrs together on thursday and then spent the nite together for the first time without problem. Friday nite they spent the day together and I spent part of the day connecting their cages so they have 20sq ft for just the two of them. So its pretty much all of her cage and most of his. So she still has her "side" and he has his "side." Cooper has finally realized that the head humping just doesnt work so he does it from the side and slowly works to the correct position. Saturday morning we left for TN and we took all of them to my inlaws. We put Pookie and Cooper together and Carrera in a separate cage. They were fine all this week. My inlaws just think they are the best thing ever. THey are in a spare bedroom that can be seen while siting at the kitchen table. So they watch them most of the day.

Im having bunny withdrawls. I miss them so much. I got home tonite but cant get them until tomorrow afternoon. My husband came back early and he went over there on Wed and he said as soon as the girl buns saw him they went and hid in their houses!! They are so spoiled when they are there so I’m sure they werent ready to go home. lol

The bunnies never did fight at all when they were out. Sometimes though Cooper would try to hump Pookie and she would jump away. He would sit there a minute, then go after her and she would jump, he would sit there, and on and on. She does have places that are just for her that he cant really fit so if he drives her crazy she can get away from him.

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