How to rebond Please help!!

[ZhuMo]

I first got ZhuZhu (Netherland Dwarf female) when she was 8 weeks old in June. I was worried she’d be lonely by herself so I got MoMo (Holland lop female) when she was 8 weeks old in October. They both free roam the whole house.

When they first met, ZhuZhu didn’t really pay much attention to MoMo and ignored her, but after a few weeks they became really close. But one thing I noticed was that MoMo would always ask for grooms but never returns.

Around the end of December they started to fight. They would only fight when they were alone but once someone walked in they would stop. That’s why we didn’t notice they were fighting until we started seeing chunks of fur all over the floor. We quickly seperated them putting them in different rooms.

At this time theyre both not spayed yet because MoMo was 6 months yet and I had wanted to wait until then to get them spayed together. But since they started getting hormonal I had to make an appointment for ZhuZhu.

It has been 6 weeks since ZhuZhus surgery and MoMo will be spayed next monday. As of right now Ive been trying to bond them by putting their cages next to each other but I noticed that MoMo still asks for a lot of grooming and when ZhuZhu grooms her now she would occasionally bite her fur off.

How should I be trying to rebond them after MoMo’s surgery? Is there anyway to get them to become bonded again?

 

tldr; Bonded unspayed pair had a fight, spayed one the other will be spayed next week. How do I get them to bond again?

 

Thank you

[DanaNM]

You should wait until both bunnies are spayed and their hormones have had time to settle before working on bonding them. At this point their hormones will keep getting in the way of the bond forming properly, so best to just keep them separated for now.  Unfortunately this is a common thing that happens when babies are put together. They get along until they hit puberty, and then they often start fighting. For now, giving them some cooling off time with no bonding sessions or pre-bonding is prob a good idea.

I think I would wait until about 4 weeks until after MoMo’s spay, and then you can do some pre-bonding (cage swaps) to help them get re-acquainted with each other’s scents. If they seem calm with cage swaps and living as neighbors, then you can start bonding sessions in neutral territory.

. . . 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.  

[ZhuMo]

Thank you so much for the quick response! I will seperate them as soon as I can. Also, since they free roam there isn’t much spaces that are neutral besides the bathroom. I saw online some people use the bathtub or the sink. Do you think that would be alright?

[ZhuMo]

UPDATE: MoMo has finished her surgery yesterday afternoon and has finally come home this morning. They will be serperated for the next month.

 

[DanaNM]

That must be a relief!

. . . 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.  

[Hazel]

Bathtubs seem to work well for some people. I wouldn’t use a sink though, if they jump out they would likely get hurt.

[HipHopBunny]

I agree with what’s been said above. 🙂

Bathtubs or couches both work. I did my neutral bonding sessions on a couch, but with a pee pad under them. 😉

[DanaNM]

Oh yeah, sorry I missed the question about the tub vs. sink. I think the sink would be too small, but tubs can be great. Or the bathroom floor if you want to give a bit more space.

. . . 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.  

[ZhuMo]

Thank you guys so much for the responses! Yea I will definitely try the bathtub, and I think I will buy a new carrier and after the prebonding I will take them for walks as a stress bond.

I was also wondering if it possible to create a neutral territory space? Like maybe leaving 1 room locked without letting them in at all and thoroughly cleaning the room with alcohol and vinegar. Since there is still 1 more month until MoMos hormones are settled and I will be prebonding hopefully for around half a month? or however much longer they may need. Sorry if it doesn’t make sense it’s a little hard to explain.

 

[DanaNM]

I think setting a room aside now is a great idea. And then on top of that, you can get a sheet of vinyl flooring or a plastic tarp, and put up an x-pen with blankets on the sides to be the bonding space in that room. That way they won’t recognize the floor or be able to see where they are. I know of quite a few members who have used that technique to create their own neutral space for bonding.

. . . 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.  

[ZhuMo]

Alright I will try that! Thank you so much

[ZhuMo]

NEW UPDATE: I have started putting them in pens next to each other. I have also found somewhere neutral to bond them.

QUESTION: There will be some construction work in the basement, we will be on the second floor, would the construction be too scary for the rabbits?

[DanaNM]

That’s great! Keep an eye on attempts to jump or climb out. I’ve never seen bunnies jump as high as when they are trying to “get at” a bun in another pen.

Are you asking if the construction in the basement would be too scary to do bonding sessions on the second floor?  It depends on the level of noise… but some stress from the noise might actually help the process. Of course you don’t want it to be too intense, but I imagine being a couple floors up it would be a bit muffled.

 

. . . 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.  

[ZhuMo]

Ah yea, I used to have the small pens and they jumped over that so now I got the 4ft pens haha. I left 2 inches between as well so they can’t fight through the bars.

For the most part, they have just been sleeping next to each other so maybe there’s still hope!! I also noticed they started to do the same thing at the same time again, like washing themselves or munch on hay or biting sticks haha it’s so cute!

Yea I was asking about that! Thank you 🙂 I was just worried if they’re constantly stressed would that have any health hazards? or what about the dust can it reach the second floor?

[DanaNM]

Behavior mirroring and laying near each other is a very good sign!

If the stress was very intense for a prolonged period of time, that could be harmful. I think the only way to know would be to try it out. They might get used to the noise if it’s not too intense. You could certainly try some shorter sessions in that space and see how it goes, or time the sessions so they are after the workers are done for the day. If you start getting into longer sessions (like more than 3 hours), even in a non-stressful space, you should make sure both buns are eating and pooping relatively normally.

Does it seem like there is lots of dust upstairs? Is this in a house different from where you live?

. . . 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.  

[ZhuMo]

I was going to borrow my friends house, she just bought it so she was going to let me use it for the bonding process. But I’ll have to ask her about the dust problem.

I was actually planning on trying the 24/7 bonding technique where I would watch them the whole time to make sure there’s no fighting

[DanaNM]

Ok gotcha!

I like the 24/7 method, but I usually like do at least a few short sessions first, just to get a sense of how things will go. And of course have back-up plans in case it’s not going well. There’s nothing wrong with taking some breaks if you need them (or especially if the bunnies need them). If you’re going to do it alone, it can be hard to supervise 24/7 for long periods because you eventually need to use the bathroom, eat, etc. But maybe you have a support crew? 🙂

. . . 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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