Bonding: Very Small Space (Help!!!!)

[hanandlav]

Hello! I have a super sweet Netherland Dwarf girly. She is 2 and her name is Lavender. I have been able to be home with her a lot in quarantine, but I have to go back to work soon and want to start working towards a bonded friend. At a local shelter, there is male, Netherland Dwarf who I am planning to adopt. Both bunnies are altered.

The problem is that I live in an house with roommates. The only space I really have to keep them in, is my bedroom, where Lavender has been free range for months. My original plan was to split the room in half with an xpen and let Lav live on one side with her litter and water and such (she doesn’t even have a cage) and to let the other little guy, live on the otherside. They would be able to see one another all of the time, from the moment he moves in and really this is Lavender’s territory. I would plan to clean it thoroughly and move some things around so that maybe it feels different.

I do have a neutral space that I can do the bonded sessions in. I just only have one space to keep both rabbits. Again, they would be separate, but I am afraid it is not separate enough. What do you think? Help!!!! I want to do this right!

[DanaNM]

It is actually recommended to have rabbits that are going to be bonded live side by side as neighbors, so that set-up sounds great to me. 🙂  Once the new bun is settled in, you can start swapping which rabbit is on which side to help the process even more (called “pre-bonding”). The idea is that the buns get very used to each other’s scents and lose track of their territory. Be prepared for some poop and pee wars, but that should go away once they are bonded.

You will want to make sure they can’t nip each other through the x-pen though, and that it is tall enough that they can’t jump over (mine have cleared 30″, but 36″ seems tall enough). You can either use 2 x-pens to make a buffer of about 4-6″ so they can’t nip noses, or use a smaller mesh to reinforce the x-pen. I’ve used both 1/4 ” “hardware cloth” and “nose guards” made from these small mesh storage cube grids.

. . . 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.  

[hanandlav]

Thank you! He is home! My current bun, immediately started to sniff him through the x pen. They sniffed and sniffed each other and have been following each other through the pen. Does this mean anything? Thanks!

[Wick & Fable]

Following each other can be from curiosity, it could be some aggressive stalking, but regardless it is an expected behavior at the beginning. If it evolves into lunging or biting through the pen, you want to limit the visual, but for now, that sounds like fine behavior.

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.

[hanandlav]

Thank you! Another question. The female bun that I have has no smell, but for some reason the male that I just brought home today smells awful. He hasn’t even peed yet, so I am sure the scent is coming from him. He was just recently neutered on Jan. 7, if that is helpful information. I am wondering what I can do to make his smell better. Thanks!

[Wick & Fable]

Both the rabbits may start smelling a bit because they may be leaving territorial poops behind, which are smelly.

Another reason can simply be where he was prior to you and that environment. My Fable smelled bad when I received her. She smelled like cheap pellets, which was what she was fed incidentally and it was awful. After a while though, she stopped giving off that smell.

I would just wait and keep best practices for rabbit care and your care standards will help if the scent is from his past environment.

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.

[DanaNM]

That behavior sounds very normal, and no outright aggression through the fence is great. Just be sure they can’t nip noses! That can build some bad feelings between them.

Bunnies can be extra smelly during bonding! They have scent glands which I think they expose in addition to leaving territorial poops. I just adopted a new bun and during bonding the whole room smelled oniony! Thankfully it has gone away now that they are bonded. I also agree 100% with Wick on the diet affecting how they smell.

. . . 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.  

[hanandlav]

Thank you all 🙂 Yes, I have an x pen with hardware cloth zip-tied onto it between them so they are unable to get to each other at all. It has only been one day of them seeing one another, but my current bun has been binkying around every time our new pal comes close to the x pen. Also, she lays down with her body right next to the x pen. He has not been as excited, as this is all new territory for him. He has thumped quite a few times, but also has snuggled with me throughout the day. He is just getting used to being here with us in a new place that smells nothing like him yet!

[DanaNM]

That all sounds very cute and like it’s going well!

. . . 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.  

[hanandlav]

Update: The male rabbit, Nigel, was pooping and peeing everywhere so I put a sheet over the fence so they couldn’t see each other while he settled in. One day, I came home from work and he had removed part of the sheet and they were looking at each other through the double x pen I have that separates them. They have been living side by side with visibility of each for about 2 weeks now. They mostly ignore each other. Lavender, the female, will sit with her body against the fence, but they only time Nigel comes to the fence, is if I am on the other side with Lavender. Today, I started swapping litter boxes and they are both currently using the other litter. Lavender won’t pee in the same corner the Nigel chose, but she is still in his box. I am SO nervous to bond them so I was just wondering if the ignoring behavior is a bad sign? I am planning to start swapping them in about a week or so. Thanks!

[hanandlav]

Additionally, his smell is all gone 🙂 Thank goodness!

[DanaNM]

Ignoring is fine 🙂

Ignoring means they aren’t too bothered with the other rabbit, which is a good thing. You might notice a bit more interest once you start swapping sides, but if not that’s even better.

You can start feeding them their salads and pellets near each other on opposite sides of the fence, if you haven’t already. That helps to build some positive vibes with the other bunny. I also like to brush them with the same brush to swap scents a bit.

. . . 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.  

[Wick & Fable]

As DanaNM said, ignoring is a good sign! To get into more details, ignoring is the absence of one or the other rabbit “freaking out” when the other one moves, gets close, etc.. So ignoring is definitely a good sign, relative to a rabbit who might constantly run or lunge when the other rabbit is maneuvering around.

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.

[hanandlav]

Update: We did our first bonding session and it didn’t go so well. I had them in a small neutral space, with some lettuce. At first, they were just getting used to the space and eating the lettuce. Then, they started trying to hump one another. The girl started trying to hump him first and he did not like that. They were grabbing each others necks trying to be the one mount. I broke it up every time because I didn’t want it to turn into a fight. They were only together for 5-10 minutes and then I returned the to their separate spaces. What do I do next?

[pinkiemarie]

Ok so this is frustrating but it’s ok! Bonding can be a tough process for everybody including the human but what happened today wasn’t actually bad. You didn’t describe any circling that would indicate that they wanted to really fight. Mounting is a behavior that they use to establish dominance so they were saying “hey I like you! I want to be the boss of you!” That behavior will subside as they start to figure out who gets to be dominant. More often than not I think females are dominant but that isn’t a given. I would probably try not having any food in there next time and see if that helps. Sometimes they can get territorial oblver silly things and for the first few times you don’t want anything that they could claim as their own.

So take a deep breath and feel good that your first bonding session didn’t have any fights and they were interested in each other! If possible maybe try a quick car ride around the block in a carrier together next time first if you can. That has been a good thing with my buns. Some people disagree with stress bonding but it can be very helpful and in the car (or laundry basket or whatever stress method you use) one of the bunnies might actually volunteer to take a submissive position to protect the other since they do seem to like each other.

You can do this!

 

[DanaNM]

I agree with pinkiemarie, that doesn’t sound too bad to me at all and sounds like a very normal early session.

Next session I would do lots and lots of petting and try to help them feel calm and relaxed (it will help you too). If one goes to mount, as long as it’s not face mounting, let it happen. But if the mounted bun tries to get away, then remove the mounting bun and pet them both to calm them. You can even smush them side by side and pet them that way.

Stick with a few short sessions for now (but you can multiple in a day if you wish).

You might also find that a bit more pre-bonding will help, but sometimes they just need to get through the mounting phases.

 

. . . 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.  

[hanandlav]

Another Update: We had a 2nd bunny date. Again, we were in our neutral territory, this time without the lettuce. Before hand, I did a little bit of stress bonding on the washer (however, it was really sad, to see them so afraid so I don’t know if I’ll do that again). Then, we went to our dating room. I petted them throughout and they did really well 🙂 During their first interaction, Lav started to groom Nigel. For most of the time, Nigel mounted Lav. He would mount her, then roam around a little and then do it again. A few times, he groomed her after mounting. Then, she started to get sick of it and was running away from him so I stopped them. I put them next to one another and pet them for a while. Now, they are in their respective homes again. Thanks for the help 🙂

[pinkiemarie]

That’s amazing! You might not need any more stress bonding. Some bunnies do really well without it and some not so much. It sounds like this one went great!

[DanaNM]

That sounds great!

And yes I always have felt sooo bad using the washing machine. For some reason I don’t feel as mean with car rides, probably because they have to ride in the car sometimes anyway, but they would never be just hanging out on the washing machine!

In any case, it seems to have helped! Sometimes just one or two stress sessions really helps them. 🙂

. . . 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.  

[hanandlav]

Update: The last few sessions have been the same thing over and over. He wants to mount her, but she doesn’t so she runs away. They do this over and over. There are a few times that she let him mount her, but there has been no grooming. What should I do? Also, they were fighting a little through their xpen this morning. When they are together, they never fight.

[Wick & Fable]

I’m wondering if a stuffy with her scent may help him get that humpiness out of his system.

I think gently deterring it from him when it’s excessive is important so he gets some sort of feedback on that behavior. She’s running away, but it sounds like he’s not hearing the message.

Re: the fighting when separated, is there potentially misinterpretation of body language, like one is biting/clawing at the xpen, and the other interprets it as aggressive behavior? I know one of my rabbits gets very reactive when the other starts digging. He starts getting activated and aggressive because he doesn’t seem to understand what’s happening.

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.

[DanaNM]

Is the x-pen just a single wall? If so, you should add a second layer to make a buffer of about 4-6 inches to make sure they can’t nip each other. You could also add some smaller mesh to do the same thing.

Things can get a bit feisty sometimes before they get better, so don’t worry too much about how they behave back in their home turf.

How big is the bonding area you are workin in? Some pairs where one is a mounter do best in larger space with some tunnels and obstacles so the mounted bun can run away. I am thinking for now I would just keep going (since it’s still early days and things can be repetitive but still actually be progress if there’s no fighting), but if you feel like they are really stuck in a rut I would do some more stressing and/or change up the bonding space a bit (larger or smaller, new location, etc.).

. . . 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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