Bonding Winston and Ginny..

[kristin211]

 Okay, so I took Winston to a shelter and he met up with a few rescues there. He was frightened at first but started to relax a bit after being there. With all the bunnies, Ginny seemed the best. She wanted his attention more then anything! He was not aggressive towards her but seemed a bit submissive. Well, Ginny was the one. Since we lived a bit far from the rescue, we decided to see how they did with being in the same box on the way home (they both are terrified of car rides) Well they snuggled the whole way home. No fuss from either one of them. Well we get home and set ginny up in her spot near winstons cage (not near enough to bite, ect) and let them relax. After awhile I tried another bunny date. Put both of them in the bath tub with a big plate of greens. Ginny seemed to be just fine..winston was the wallflower. He just kind of sat there and both would try and put their heads underneath another. I guess both wanted to be groomed? I tried the banana trick and put banana on winstons head. She did lick it off but did not groom him besides that. She would flop against him and just laid there with her head on his.  Winston is still mad at from yesterday because he hates being picked up, and car rides. Plus he now has a stranger near his living quarters. So im not his favorite person. I just need advice..any suggestions would be awesome. Ginny is such a lovely, friendly girl and it seems so promising i just need some advice or anything!

[MoveDiagonally]

I would just keep doing what you’re doing. When I bonded my original pair I used the methods/steps described here with a lot of success:
https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/tabid/53/CategoryID/9/PID/940/Default.aspx

Sounds like you’re off to a good start.

[tanlover14]

It is a great start and sounds like it’s going well!

I’ve always had the problem when bunny bonding where I wasn’t the favorite person in the house. Whenever I came over, it was like they KNEW they were going to be stressed with that other bunny and would take off running! Haha. Don’t worry, after bonding they went back to normal.

[kristin211]

Both are wanting to be groomed and trying to be the dominant one. I did the banana trick but doesn’t seem to be working. Don’t know what to do

[kristin211]

Currently in the tub. Both nose to nose. It’s like a Mexican stand off. Ginny has been nipping bc Winston’s refusing to groom! She seems comfortable but he doesn’t and is not about to groom her first. Does this mean they’ll never bond? I had such high hopes I just want to make the right decision

[kristin211]

I put the banana on his head and she licked him for like two minutes straight. Just for the banana I’m supposing. Is this a good thing? Or will is just work bc there was banana on his head

[MoveDiagonally]

Posted By kristin211 on 08/25/2013 07:33 PM
Currently in the tub. Both nose to nose. It’s like a Mexican stand off. Ginny has been nipping bc Winston’s refusing to groom! She seems comfortable but he doesn’t and is not about to groom her first. Does this mean they’ll never bond? I had such high hopes I just want to make the right decision

What they are doing is 100% normal. This is day one or two? It’s still much too early to worry about them not being able to bond. They are doing really well they are just working out who is boss. I would try the banana trick again but put the banana on Ginny’s head not Winston’s. She might end up being the boss of the pair which is pretty normal for the lady bun in rabbit relationships. 

[kristin211]

So tonight didn’t work out as well as I had hoped. I put the two buns in the tub again and same thing happened. Nose to nose, ignoring eachother, ect. Well my boyfriend needed the shower because he had work so I thought to myself…maybe I should put them in a semi-neutral area and see what happens. Well, at first nothing did. They were looking around, inspecting things, going nose to nose. Then out of nowhere, Winston started to mount Ginny, much to my surprise. I was happy for a split second thinking well atleast were moving a little forward but Ginny was not receptive AT all. She was not submissive and kept turning around to try and get to him. Well he went to mount her head and i quickly separated them, knowing what could happen. Well Ginny blindly bit me, so I knew that this wasnt a good idea. I decided to return them to the tub because I didnt want things to end on a bad note.So back to the tub they went.At first, they were ignoring each other, then Winston tried mounting again, and Ginny did not like it one bit. I threw a towel at the one to separate them. Then they went back to ignoring eachother. Ginny stretched out on one side of the tub and Winston on the other. I called the rescue and explained all that had happened. She told me to separate them and give them the day off tomorrow. I wont be returning them to the semi neutral area until im 100 percent sure they are ready. Im kind of upset over this but understand that it happens. Has anyone else gone through this? What did you do to help? Keep in mind now, Winston pretty much hates me and runs away from me anytime I go near his cage after his little dates. He even jumped out of my arms when I went to take him back to the tub. I knew this was going to be a bit stressful but these buns are giving me grey hairs

[MoveDiagonally]

The reason they had issues is because they were moved forward before they were ready. It’s not a crisis it just means they need more neutral space bonding time. No serious harm done, you’ll get there with them.

Your two both want to be in charge and they have to work that out. I had this happen when I bonded my trio, both Penny and Monty wanted to be top bun. It just takes time. They did their share of nose to nose:

[kristin211]

Woke up this morning..both of them had escaped from their cage/enclosure. Fur was everywhere and looks like winston has a bite on his ear. I have no idea how this happened because I made sure both of their enclosures/cage were secure before going to bed. I have to take winston to the vet now to make sure hes not injured any where else. Im not happy about this at all. So what happens next? Is he never going to get over this and refuse to bond with her? I’m really stressed out about this

[MoveDiagonally]

Poor Bunnies!

If both bunnies are alright then you just give them a couple days off and continue like normal. There’s no way to tell if it will or how much it will affect their bond until your next session. I don’t think it means they won’t bond but I might stress bond them next session.

[kristin211]

im just worried this has damaged what could have been..i really hope it hasnt

[kristin211]

poor ginny has a bite to the back of her neck too im taking her today to get it checked. My poor buns i feel so bad for them

[kristin211]

poor ginny has a bite to the back of her neck too im taking her today to get it checked. My poor buns i feel so bad for them

[MoveDiagonally]

Vibes for Ginny and Winston!

On the bonding front, be positive! Bonding is going to be stressful and have it’s ups and down. Every down is not going ruin their chances at having a bond. You don’t want the bunnies picking up on any negativity. Don’t fret too much or let yourself think anything is hopeless. 

[kristin211]

Ginny is good, vet said shes okay and the bite isnt bad. Tomorrow is Winstons turn which im not looking forward to because hes such a spaz haha. Ill wait a few days then try a stress date and see how it goes. hope all goes well

[kristin211]

Quick question…is it okay for them to be in the same room separated by their cages? I keep hearing conflicted information about this. I talked to a spokesperson from HRS with experience with bonding and she said it was okay, but now other people are saying they shouldnt be. They both have been acting fine so Im not sure if I should keep them the way they are or move ginny to another room

[MoveDiagonally]

Posted By kristin211 on 08/30/2013 07:23 AM
Quick question…is it okay for them to be in the same room separated by their cages? I keep hearing conflicted information about this. I talked to a spokesperson from HRS with experience with bonding and she said it was okay, but now other people are saying they shouldnt be. They both have been acting fine so Im not sure if I should keep them the way they are or move ginny to another room

Occasionally being housed near each other can make bunnies extra territorial. From what you’ve written so far it does NOT sound like that is the situation with your rabbits. I think they are fine. Just make sure the habitats are secure and they can’t get at each other through their enclosures. 

[kristin211]

So, after a little over a week of separation, i put ginny and winston together for a date. It went surprisingly well! They kept going nose to nose, or grooming themselves. Or ignoring eachother, haha. Well, Ginny had a bite from winston on the back of her neck which is healing, and has a scab over it. Winston took to grooming her right where it was. Im not sure why, but he groomed her quite a bit there. Then she would start scratching her neck because I guess it was making her itchy. But they would go nose to nose again, then he would start grooming her again there. I didnt know what to make of it. Has that ever happened to anyone else? And why just that specific area? But there no aggression at all. They were together for about 20 minutes and didnt want to push my luck so I stopped in on a good note. May try again later or tomorrow.

[Stickerbunny]

Animals will often clean each others wounds, so maybe he’s just trying to help her out since it’s wounded. It sounds like it’s going good. Hopefully they’ll figure out the whole dominance thing. It’s just a pecking order buns have to figure out on their own.

[kristin211]

Tonights date wasnt bad…started out the same. Nose to nose, grooming themselves..Ginny is a lot more comfortable around him, it seems. She flops up against him and will lay down where as Winston isnt that relaxed. He did groom the back of her neck again. It seems pretty much healed, as it wasnt a bad bite to begin with. I tried a stress bond with them. Put them in a tote and put them on top of the washer. They both seemed more interested in trying to get out of the tote then being scared. Winston tried mounting Ginny and she didnt resist, which is weird. The last time that happened she was not having it at all! I decided to separate them and try another date tomorrow morning. Theyre moving at a slow pace but id rather them be doing that, then hating eachother and being aggressive after that fight. Anyone have any suggestions? Do i seem to be doing right?

[kristin211]

Had such a good date tonight! At first they were nose to nose, then Winston did his usual grooming on his usual spot on her neck..he even mounted her! I calmly pet her through it then gently pushed him off.He did this a couple times. After awhile Ginny started grooming Winstons head! I was shocked. shes never done that. Then Winston groomed the back of her head again and ginny cleaned his ears and head for a few seconds. Im so happy things between them are going okay. I hope it continues and they’ll be bonded soon!

[kristin211]

When ginny and Winston lay together its face to butt. Is that normal?

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