First Time Bonder Needs some help!

[MissyBunny]

Ok so long story short last few months haven’t been the best. I started a journey to bond my bunny Missy with a half blind bunny from the petstore I work at who desperately needed a home but when going through the spay process my sweet girl Missy did not make it. I’ve had time to grieve, but I will forever miss her, she was a very special girl.

 

The blind bunny got spayed and it was successful. She healed for roughly a month before I found an add for a neutered male bunny who also needed a new home. I took him in and for roughly 3 weeks the two lived together separated by two gates. All has been going well but as a new bonder I feel excessively nervous when I put them together. I’ve tried a mix mash of bathtub bonding, table bonding, basket bonding one car ride and small room floor bonding. In all these situations one thing has always been consistent, they both demand grooming but only the male will bite when she doesn’t submit. In he basket both have bitten but he always has started it. I am unsure how to treat dominance nipping as I’ve read it is a neutral reaction as long as they’re not duking it out and causing injuries. I’ve not witnessed any attempts at mounting either. I’m wondering if I should allow them to roam in a small space and allow nipping as long as it doesn’t result in a full fledged fight? Every time one nips I immediately intervene and I’m not sure if I’m interfering with their process since both seem to refuse to back down. They have not had any serous fights aside from one time she escaped into his enclosure at night, they tusseled  but the only injury resulting was her running into a wall and got a bloody nose but nothing else. Hoping anyone has some suggestions, I feel like I’m too uptight with their bonding but I’m afraid to let them get close without having control of them.

[DanaNM]

I’m very sorry about Missy 🙁

I think trying a slightly larger space (as long as it’s neutral), and allowing a little nipping is a good idea. Nipping is fine, as long as it’s not escalating to a fight.  Having a bit more room will give you some time to react, and will give them a bit more room to move around each other.

The other thing you can do (which tends to help the human as much as the buns), is when they ask each other for grooms, pet them both a lot and swap their scents. This makes them think the other rabbit is grooming each other and helps keep everyone calm and happy. Sometimes real grooms will even follow. Eventually you have to ease off the petting, but in the early stages it can really help!

So when they approach each other, be ready to pet pet pet. When they move away from each other, let that happen. Mounting  and nipping is also OK to allow, but stop hard biting, circling, and prolonged chasing.

. . . 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.  

[MissyBunny]

Ok thanks, I’m just super nervous with allowing nipping, just since she is half blind I worry she will freak out since she often times will grunt and box at me if she’s approached from the blind side.

[ZhuMo]

Hello, I seem to have the same issue, both my girls demand grooms, One of them used to always groom but now she is asking for it back and is not recieveing. When she does mot recieve groom she will nip and it leads to circling. When they both put their heads together I pet them but one the one who never grooms will walk away and the one who used to groom will attack. I have tried rubbing bananas on their heads but it doesn’t seem to work. What can I do?

[DanaNM]

Hi @ZhuMo, I’ve replied in your thread!

But with regards to this question, I think they are attacking because things are still a bit too tense between them. I think experimenting with a larger space and possibly some stress sessions may help. I think the banana trick works best when both buns are calm around each other but maybe need a gentle nudge to actually groom.

@MissyBunny, how is the bonding going with your two? Sorry I missed responding to this before.

 

. . . 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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