Bonding Struggles

[erichtsf]

We bought a second rabbit into our home just over a month ago. She’s super sweet and but very shy. We’ve tried to start the bonding process but it hasn’t been so successful so far. We’ve done some stress bonding sessions where we place them in a carrier together and walk them around the house or take them for a car ride; we’ve tried placing them in a bathtub together and we’ve also tried a larger open area and they don’t seem to be getting along. They live in separate cages right next to each other. 

What I notice when they’re with each other is: 

A – our new female rabbit seems to be scared of our male rabbit. Any sort of contact he makes with her she either runs away, stomps her feet or freezes in a ball. I also should mention I don’t have a large apartment so it’s very difficult to find a neutral space.

B – I can’t tell if our male rabbit is biting, nipping or licking our female rabbit. When she’s frozen in a ball he’ll sometime try to go check her out and I can’t tell if when he does that he’s biting or licking her as she just runs away but it doesn’t look like he’s trying to bit her. We have had a few issues recently where our new female has been bitten in the ear and today she was bitten on the nose.

C – There’s been no mounting since our initial meet when the female tried to mount the male rabbit. 

D- our new female rabbit seems to be skittish in general, she’s not as happy to be picked up and won’t let me pet her if she out running around but if she’s in her cage or once you pick her up she’s super cuddly.

I was wondering if anyone had any advice on some different strategies we can use for bonding the rabbits. I know it takes some time but we just haven’t seemed to have found any success with the strategies we’ve used. I was also wondering if anyone could tell me what our rabbit’s behaviors mean? Why is the female so skittish around the male? why is the male continuing to nip at the female?

[DanaNM]

Hi there, welcome

So, there are so many strategies out there it can be overwhelming. A couple more questions will help me give some advise.

First, with shy buns, it can really help to do extra pre-bonding (cage swaps) along with a bit more settling-in time at home. How long after you brought the new bun home did you start sessions? And have you been doing any cage swaps? The idea is to make sure they get used to each other’s scent and to make sure the shy bun behaves pretty normally during bonding sessions. If you started bonding sessions immediately, I would pause and go back to doing cage swaps for a few weeks.

Second, neutral territory is probably the most important element for establishing a bond. I have a studio apartment, and had to get very creative with bonding space. My bathroom was OK, but I had the best luck with setting up a pen at a friend’s house in their garage. My local rescue would also let me bring them in to do sessions in their exercise pens.

Next, you will want to focus on building trust between them, so whenever the male approaches, pet them both a lot to swap their scents and make them think they are being groomed. Try to do this before nips happen.

It can honestly feel like progress isn’t being made, but your goal is to promote peaceful sessions. Any session where they don’t fight builds trust. So if that means petting the boy in her presence so he doesn’t bite her, that might be a good strategy.

In general, approaching with ears up and tail down = interest/curiosity, ears down, tail up = aggression. So if you see his ears go down when he approaches, be ready to pet and intervene.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

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