Finding a Mate for a very shy bunny who doesnt travel well…

[Dee]

Now that my poor Precious died, and Lukie is once again an only bun, I’m thinking that I might try again to find him a bunny to bond with. He never bonded with Precious- the problem is that Luke is a very nervous little guy and was picked on by his brother as a baby, plus attacked by my rabbit, Nelli.
Another issuevis that Luke is so terrified by going to a strange place and meeting other bunnies, he just freezes and crouches there. Both Nelli and Precious went up to him and humped his head and had to be removed- Luke won’t even attempt to get away or respond, he is so scared. Because of this, we really can’t tell if he likes another rabbit. Therefore, if we adopt a mate for him, there is a good chance that once home, Lukie will decide that he doesn’t like the other bunny. I think this is what happened with Precious. She was the sweetest rabbit, never wanted to hurt him, but she was pretty assertive and tended to hump him. We got them home together and Luke would not move. Wouldn’t eat or drink, so we had to seperate them although the shelter owner advised us to marathon bond them.

I think that the only way we could really tell if Lukie likes another bunny is to introduce them at his home, where he is comfortable. Problem is, not many people are willing to bring their bunnies out to meet other bunnies. I really think he would love to have a wifey. He actually flopped by Precious and groomed her a few times when I had them cuddled up in a laundry basket, but when they had enough room to hop around, Luke got too scared and would go after Precious, even if all she did was lower her head to ask for grooms. Another very timid bunny, or maybe an extremely motherly bunny would probably be perfect for Lukie.

But how will I go about this?? Any ideas? Thanks everyone!!

[DanaNM]

Hmmm…. You might have some luck with a bunny that has either been bonded before, or was raised with their siblings, as they typically are better at “speaking rabbit”.

I think you might actually be OK with a more dominant rabbit, as long as he is OK with submitting. Since he got too stressed with marathoning, you’ll prob want to take the slow and steady approach. Since he seemed to feel OK in the laundry basket, I would start there. The problems arise when one rabbit won’t assert dominance, but won’t submit either.

I think you would also benefit from a very long period of pre-bonding, so that Luke would have lots of time to get comfortable with the other bunny.

Have you considered getting him a stuffy as a companion in the meantime?

. . . 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.  

[tobyluv]

People that work at rescues should know the temperaments and personalities of the rabbits there, especially ones who may have been there longer. If you contact a rescue and tell them what you said here, they should be able to help you find a good match for Luke. There are never guarantees that two rabbits will like each other, but knowing which rabbits have certain temperaments should be helpful to you.

[Dee]

Thanks for your replies, DanaNM and Tobyluv! Great advice from both of you ☺.

Dana, I agree it would be great for Lukie to have a bunny that already knows how to communicate, so he wouldn’t have to take the lead! And I think he would be OK not being top bun, as long as he knew the other bunny wouldn’t hurt him. He’s strange though, because he will be the one who nips first, then he gets all scared. One time in the laundry basket, Precious moved too fast and Lukie lunged and nipped at her, and apparently he knew he had made her angry, so he started shaking with fear. It was pitiful. He definitely needs a friend that is able to reassure him a lot! And the stuffy idea is brilliant!! He had a stuffy that he grooomed every day, but unfortunately Precious got a little carried away and pulled all of its stuffing out, so that was that. I’ll get him another one though, because he actually liked it ☺.

Tobyluv, I’ll definitely drop an email to any shelters within an hour’s drive. I remember the first time i adopted, the lady was amazing- she knew all theIt rabbits personalities! It would probably still be wise to bring Luke to meet the bunny, unless the person is sure it will be a match made in heaven. I know there is no predicting how two bunnies will actually get along though. And once I bring a rabbit home, I could never send them back, unless they were dangerously aggressive to Luke. I immediately become attached!

[DanaNM]

I think in nearly all cases of aggression (in rabbits, and also most things!), it’s fear based, it’s just more obvious in some rabbits. My first pair was a tough bond, and it sounded very similar. Bunston was very shy, and very threatened by Bertha, so he was aggressive towards her. It took a long time for him to realize she wasn’t a threat (she never was aggressive in return), but he also had to then submit to her being dominant. She never asserted much dominance over him, since she recognized that he was afraid of her, but she just waited patiently for him to groom her on her own time. I thought they might never bond, because he would just sit hunched up in a ball in the corner for hours, while she minded her own business. The day he finally crept up and groomed her was a HUGE deal, and then it was like the flood gates of bunny love were opened. They were very tightly bonded once this happened.

So I think in any case, patience will be key! You didn’t mention, but how long did you try to bond Precious and Luke? Bunston and Bertha took 3 months.

. . . 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.  

[Dee]

Precious was with us for about 14 months, but I must admit that we weren’t very consistent with our bonding efforts. Part of the issue is that Luke is also very afraid of being handled in any way. Obviously, simply opening up the gates and letting the bunnies meet up was not a safe option. The way they did best was the laundry basket, but once Luke had been caught and picked up once, he would become so skittish that I was unable to get him to repeat the bonding for at least a week. It also affected his eating, because he would hide from,me instead of getting his food, so it was just really stressful all around.We did try making a neutral territory within an Xpen enclosure, and letting Luke wander in, then bringing Precious in. However, any setting where there was room for them to actually hop around made Luke afraid, so he would lunge and nip at Precious. That is where the 22nd issue comes in- MY fear. Luke and Nelli, the female bunny I originally adopted Luke to bond with, did not get along once home. Once, they accidentally got together for only a couple minutes before I realised what had happened, and in that time, Luke scratched Nelli’s stomach so badly it needed several stitches. The fact that rabbits can do that much damage to each other so quickly has really made me paranoid about allowing them to interact in ways that include nipping, humping and lunging- basically any typical bunny dominance behaviors make me grab them right up, thinking a serious injury is about to occur. That said, Lukie-
who is like Houdini- managed to get in unsupervised with Precious at one point, and although they both lost tufts of fur, nobody was badly injured, although I found some little scabs on Luke’s hindquarters a week or so later.

I’ve considered the possibility that Lukie might just be a happy single bunny, but I really think he would be happiest with a friend.

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