Grouchy bunny

[2buns2luv]

Hi everyone

A little while ago I posted about a pair of  adult holland lops (male and female) that were at our local pet store awaiting adoption. Even though they’re both spayed/neutered no one had shown interest in giving them a loving home     After alot of talking with my partner Jonathan we decided we would be able to adopt them and give them the type of home they deserve.  (it was heart breaking seeing them there week after week looking sad) We welcomed our new buns home on sunday. Currently they don’t have names and according to the pet counsellor they were un-named when the pair was surrended to the humane society.

We’ve set up an extra xpen next to Luna and Shadow’s home so they can sniff one another through the wire without any fighting. Luna has surprisingly been fairly accepting of the new buns and was even licking the females face and ears last night through the wire. BUT Shadow has been an utter grouch. She has nipped the new bun’s butts through the wire once or twice and when we have had them out in neutral territory for a few mins at a time for interaction (both my partner, jonathan and I are home when we do this to ensure proper supervision) Luna just binkies around doing her own thing, not phased by the new buns being there. Shadow however had chased the female bun, and they’ve actually fought once or twice, the fur flew   We put Shadow back in her house, and allowed Luna to stay out with the new buns. Tonight Shadow grunted at Luna when we put her back home also. Shadow sulks under her wooden bridge now and won’t even accept treats when we offer her them.  As I write this Shadow and Luna and snuggling like best buddies once again.

Is this normal? Any suggestions on what might make the transition a little bit smoother? The female of the new buns is a very docile bunny, and keeps to herself mostly. The male bunny stays in his “castle” 90% of the time.

 

I was thinking of naming them Bonnie and Clyde.

 

[Beka27]

what is your ideal situation? are you trying to bond them all together permanently? i’m not sure how to go about bonding two separate pairs, but someone else should see this and be able to help soon.

i’m concerned b/c it sounds like this might cause problems betw/ Stella and Luna.  bondings can break, and i think if you force this, you are taking a chance at that happening.  are you wiling to keep both pairs separate forever (possibly even in separate rooms) if this does not work?

[2buns2luv]

The ideal would be for them all to be able to share the one house, since it’s so big. but I have to admit that if it put Shadow and Luna’s bonding in jeopardy I would either keep the new bunnies in their own house or find a new home for them. NO WAY are the new bunnies going back to the pet store or humane society if I can possibly avoid it. It’s still early days yet so I’m hopeful they can at least tolerate one another’s company.

[Beka27]

many people have two separate pairs for their entire lives very successfully. it is definitely doable. and i agree, i’d hate to see them have to be returned somewhere where they won’t have a good life. 4 bonded buns *would be* nice, but it is not worth the possible risk of undoing the pair you already have. anything you do, take it slow.

[2buns2luv]

Day 4 of the bonding. Luna and Shadow are still as close as ever. I think it’s mainly due to Luna being the ultimate peace-keeper. Whenever Shadow has her tail up ready to fight, Luna bravely licks her head and it seems to be calming Shadow down.

Clyde (his new name) is still a loner bunny and prefers to hide out in his new “castle” Bunny (Bonnie) is out at the moment and cruising around the living room exploring. She seems quite content to be out on her own and has even jumped on the couch to nudge at my arm for a pet. She sniffs at Luna and Shadow through the x-pen wire and Shadow has not nipped her butt so far today. the tail is still up but she seems a bit more tolerant of Bunny’s prescence.

Poor Bunny has a few thin patches of hair on her back for this weeks bonding,hopefully it will grow back. Does Bun hair grow quick? OOO She just binkied for the first time

[MooBunnay]

Well just to answer your last question, yes, bunny hair grows back pretty quickly!

When trying to bond multiple pairs of bunnies, it is important that you establish bonds between all the bunnies, so you’ll want to do individual bonding sessions with Luna and both the new buns, as well as Shadow and both the new buns (but just one-on-one sessions). You’ll have to be careful when putting the existing pairs back together after each session as the jealousy issue could spring up again.

It sounds like you might want to take a couple weeks before trying these individual bonding sessions. For awhile, try to get each pair familiar with the other pairs scents by doing things like switching litterboxes. Sometimes it can cause fights between existing bonded pairs when they see an unbonded bunny, it happens between my pairs all the time so I have to keep a sheet between the cages so they can’t see each other because it is a pretty normal occurence for your existing pairs to have some tiffs if they can see the new bunnies. If you start to see some bad fights between Luna and Shadow, put a sheet between the cages so they can’t see each other.

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