Fast Track Bonding???

[Dobby]

As you might have read, I found a little friend for Dobby.  His name is Pip and he’s in the process of gaining some weight before he can be fixed and then be bonded to Dobby.  The good news is he has gained a couple of ounces since he first arrived.  I think the steady diet is really helping him.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how I will set up the bonding, which now probably won’t happen until late October or November at the earliest.  I have a bunch of PTO saved up and was toying with the idea of using some of it to try the around the clock intense bonding that seems to be a popular approach in some places.

Has anyone tried this approach before?  Any thoughts on this method as opposed to the gradual one usually discussed in this forum?

[Beka27]

I’m not really familiar with fast track bonding. Do you have any links to info about it?

[MoveDiagonally]

Beka – Fast track bonding is where you put two bunnies together and supervise them until they are bonded. From what I’ve read it usually takes 1-2 weeks.

Dobby - I don’t think either stragedy is better than the other and it really depends on your rabbits. I would try shorter sessions at first to get a feel for bonding, evaluate their interactions, and get to know their and your limits. From there you will probably have a better idea on which methods will work for them the best.  

[Beka27]

In that case, I would definitely go about bonding the traditional route first. Even short sessions (15-20 minutes a day) for a few weeks to see where they’re at before you make the commitment to put your life on hold for 1-2 weeks and do nothing but watch bunnies.

I have heard of people doing a 24-48 hour “marathon bonding session”, but this is after traditional daily bonding sessions have advanced… Sort of the “last step” before the cementing stage.

Idk… I’d rather use my vacation time for fun stuff, visiting with family, going out with friends, etc… But maybe you could do traditional bonding and just use a couple days at the very end of the process?

[tanlover14]

I have used “fast-track” bonding marathons when bonding my fourth and fifth into their group. I will advise you it can get very stressful. And there’s no guaranteed that will bond them either. (Beware, you may not get much sleep!) I have some experience with bunny bonding – and as Beka suggested this is typically only used after your buns have had smaller dates.

With my last addition – Nora – she had about 4 dates with the other bunnies – the first date was about 20-30 minutes and the next three were about 5 hours of her remaining with them – before I had a bonding marathon and she was bonded. It took about 3-4 days of them being together non-stop before I deemed them “bonded”. But I also should tell you that I’m very familiar (being on my fifth addition) how each of my rabbits reacts to a new addition. When I bonded my fourth into the group, Simba, I did about three weeks of initial dates before doing a bonding marathon where they were together non-stop until bonded. The only way I was able to do this marathon bonding is simply because I have become very used to their reactions to new bunnies and how they bond as a group most successfully. I STRONGLY encourage you to become familiar with their reactions to each other in different situations before attempting this.

Also, with marathon bonding – I’ve had the most success with starting them at different levels throughout the bonding before moving them. Before I did marathoning, they could sit still in the box (cuddling – they didn’t have much room so they were usually always touching) for at least a half hour with no arguments. They remained in the box for the first 7 hours of my marathoning with nothing but hay and water – so no one could fight over literally anything. The box has always worked well for me because it forces them together with lots of interaction but is a more controlled place where I can easily stress them out if any fighting got out of hand. After the 7 hours, I moved them to a very small x pen with food, litter boxes, and water but not much room to chase. Chasing did happen. It always did every time I moved to another area. Once they had mastered being in that area together with only a few bickerments and absolutely no full-blown fighting I made the x pen larger. After the same thing happened, then I finally put them in their area they would live in together. As you can see, it’s really a stepping stone process and if your buns are not ready to move on to the next point, they most likely won’t. They have to be ready or you’ll just be inhibiting their relationship. This is why smaller bonding sessions first can be so necessary.

Here’s some links to my rabbit blog – I’ve created some articles about bonding that may interest/help!

http://www.wheekwheekthump.com/category/bonding/

Not sure if this is allowed, Beka! Feel free to remove the link if not (idk if it’s considered promoting another site or not?). Just thought one of those articles may help if she is interested in different opinions and ways of bonding!

[Dobby]

Thanks for the insight. And that blog was very helpful, Tanlover. It sounds like I should sort of see how things when Pip is recovered and see how comfortable I am handling the two of them before I decide. Maybe I’ll plan to take a few days off when I’m a little further along in the process. I don’t mind the total focus on the bunnies for awhile. I can listen to audio books for days on end and be happy, which I’d imagine I could do during this process.

Once Pip is fixed, I think my plan is to put them both in the same room (in carefully secured and separated areas) during the month after the surgery, to get them used to each other. I’ll trade litters and such as well. If there is any aggression from that, I’ll put them in separate rooms. This would be a change for Dobby, but I’m thinking this might be good because I eventually want them to share the space Dobby is currently in and it would give me a chance to clean that area and move things around a bit so it’s not quite the same for Dobby when he returns to it. Apologies for the run-on sentence but I hope it made sense. Let me know if this sounds like an awful idea.

Right now, besides the initial meet up, they’ve met through a gate a few times and that has resulted in some poop wars but nothing else really. When I let them do this they both run up to the cage to sniff each other, then run away, and then run back. It’s pretty entertaining.

On a side note, Pip cut his eyelid over the weekend. Either that or he has some sort of blister on it. I noticed it yesterday and today it looks a little more swollen. He’s also been sneezing quite a bit, but with no discharge. He’s headed to the vet tomorrow. Fingers crossed it’s nothing.

[tanlover14]

It’s a wonderful idea! Sounds like you have a good plan going forward. I think it’s always a good idea to change around their area a bit so they’re a bit disoriented when they go in for the first time also. I’ve ALWAYS done it. And every time I put them all in their final area together (which has always been the area they were in before) they are all a little curious and disorientated and more interested in checking every thing out than the other bunny.

With Nora, after a day or two I could sit and just read a book. With Simba, it was a bit longer but I think after about a week we were fine reading a book or walking away for a minute without being nervous. I got a LOT of reading in during marathoning!

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