How many people’s rabbits received injuries while bonding?

[Dee]

Sorry for starting yet another topic, but I wanted to know how unusual- or common- actual wounds inflicted during bonding are. I kept telling myself before that they most likely wouldnt hurt each other, but now that comforting thought has been blown right out of the water ?.

[Bam]

They can really hurt each other, actually. My bunnies did their best and I’ve given up trying to bond them. One of them got an ugly bite through his eyelid (it healed fine, but was ugly for a while). They also did backward humping which is dangerous because a male can get his penis bit off.
So you can’t be at all sure that they won’t injure each other. Some people use a metal strainer to put between the bunnies in case there’s fighting. And a spray water-bottle should always be kept handy.
This isn’t nice to hear but it’s true and sth that you must watch out for.

[Dee]

Thanks for your reply, Bam! Sorry to hear about your bunnies not bonding. My first bunny, BunBun, bonded with Nelli, my female bunny, so easily- they never fought, just a little humping from Bun. Nell was so sweet to him, only occasionally she would leap on his head and hump him, usually after I had groomed her cuz she was feeling grumpy and needed to prove her womanhood maybe lol.

I should’ve clarified in this thread, that Luke has already given Nelli two bite/scratch wounds when he squeezed under the gate and got in with Nell. I’m really freaked out about it and more afraid than ever to bond them. It always looked like bunnies would tussle ferociously on bonding videos and never get injured, thus me trying to tell myself that they didn’t usuallyhurt each other. Obviously I was wrong! I now have a solid wooden 38″ gate between them so no more surprise meetings. But Nelli is really nippy with Luke probably because he hurt her, and I’m hesitant to push it took much cuz she has lost weight and is over 7, plus showing symptoms and being treated for E Cuniculi. Ugh, too much all at once!

[Dee]

Ps. I love the metal strainer idea- thank you Bam! I know I need to try to keep myself out of the bonding as much as possible, but no way will I allow them open access to each other’s faces ?. A strainer is perfect!

[vanessa]

My female left 4 pea-sized open wounds on the little male. Didn’t bleed – just broke through the skin to the membrane layer. Still – that made him nervous of her. Now he won’t eat his greens during their sessions, and he hopped away and turned his back to her. Now I don’t let her move around without my hand on her head. I only let up my hand once she is down flat and enjoying the cuddle. As soon as she lifts her head, back down goes my hand. It will be a while before I trust her again to move on her own. While in their pens, they still lie next to eachother separated by the fence. So it’s not aggression all the time – just need to handle the bonding sessions more slowly and carefully. Yesterday we did a bunny smoosh for 45 minutes. That’s a long time for me to sit still!

[Dee]

Thanks Vanessa! I’m gonna try that with my bunnies, just so they build some positive experiences. It seems that Luke is the peaceful one, but he’s quite a fighter. Good luck with your bonding! 45 minutes is a good accomplishment- I would be happy for 2 minutes!

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