Good or bad?

[Jenalynn]

I have started Bonding Buzzlightyear(Brown 1 yr old neutered male) and sweet pea  (white 4 yr old spayed female). Im only on day 2 but I had some questions

I put them both into a pen in my moms room (neutral area). The first day Buzz lightly nipped sweet peas back end fur twice within the first  2 minutes  but only when she walked in front of him…then they explored a little…then they got side by side and both didn’t move for 15 minutes..buzz would almost bury his head in her fur and just sit there….i would pet them both as they both layed there….and then at the end he groomed her for like 10 secs so I ended on that note

Today he nipped her fur lightly once, they walked around the pen ignoring each other and then again  got face to face and layed there and then got side by side and laid there.  she lays completely flat almost and he stays more hunched. They are doing really good i think so far. Besides the 3 light nips there is no fighting at all….

I am going to try n post pics… I just want to know how to interpret the laying next to eachother thing they do… I mean they stay like that for 15-20 mins… are they cuddling? are they waiting for someone to make a move? is this good or bad? after a while should I try and get them to move around or should i leave them like that.  Since they are doing good should I increase the time from 15 mins to half hour?

After reading bonding stories it seems that after the starting of bonding some bunnies get sick ….signs start to appear that the rabbits are sick…. does bonding bring out problems in bunnies or is bonding so stressful that they become sick??  Just wondering if this is really common so I keep an extra eye on my bunnies since i am in the process..

 

oh oh Another ? they breathe pretty rapidly while we are in the process – i assume this is normal since they are somewhat stressed/excited  but just wanted to make sure this was ok

 

Thanks!!!

[jerseygirl]

If that is only day 2, they are going along great!! If they sitting side by side like that – seeking one another out
then settling like that, go ahead and increase their time together. I wonder if the initial nipping from Buzz is due to stress?
You mentioned elsewhere he gets really stressed when picked up. How do you bring him to the bonding pen?
Do you bring him in first then Sweet Pea or the other way around?
They’re going to make a beautiful pair.

[Jenalynn]

Buzz is a very high stressed bunny as it is. We bring him in second. Sweet Pea I easily pick up and carry in there… It takes me 10 mins to get buzz to walk into this box in which I carry him 6 feet to my moms room and then let him walk out of the box. I thought if i put him in first he would be more vicious to sweet pea because he would claim the area as his own….. should I put him in first?

[RabbitPam]

I think you’re doing it very well so far and wouldn’t change it.
I’m guessing that the little nips are to say “in case you were wondering, I’m dominant, OK?” and the he snuggles. That’s really sweet. It may even just be a hello.

Keep an eye out for any changes or aggression, but I agree that you can increase their time a bit. They look great in the pix.

[jerseygirl]

ditto, no need to change things. He’ll get more used to what’s going on. I do think perhaps the nipping is fear or stress based rathr than aggression toward her.
Especially if it’s all over quickly then onto snuggling. Looks good!

[Author]

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