How to tell when they’re bonded

[MissyBunny]

so my bunnies seem to be ok together, but there have been a few signs that contradict that. 

They were housed separate for 2 months of gradual bonding till we got to a point where we let them run together in our living room, a space where both had spent time individually and no fighting occurred aside from occasional brief chases or nips. We then left their gates open over night twice and no fighting occurred. They ate together no issue and in all this time there was occasional grooming. My boy will occasionally groom my female, I’ve never seen her fully return the favor though. They now live together in their permanent space and seem to be ok and tolerant of each other but I don’t get a loving bonded couple vibe from them. They will sit together and eat, sit in the litter box together and eat, sleep in the same huts. My girl thought not grooming him will flop and binky beside him. They both demand grooming and often have “head butt fights” where they both just keeping pushing their head underneath.

 

The reason I have concerns is mostly because they will have occasional spats that seem to be random and without cause. Typically one or the other will nip and then they will chase but it is always breif and neither seem to get hurt aside from the occasional fur tuft in the mouth. In over a week I’ve never found any injuries or woken up to fur all over but this behaviour still worries me and I’m not sure what I should do or if I should do anything at all and just let them figure things out??

[DanaNM]

It sounds like they are almost bonded, but not quite there (with the fur pulling).

How do they do in completely neutral territory? Can you move them into a 100% neutral space for 48 hours or so and see how they do? I think that would be a safer bet for making sure they fully cement their bond. The bickering might escalate since you are in less-neutral space. It also might not… does it seem like things have gotten better over the course of the week? Or are there little spats every night? If things are improving, I think it would be OK to just keep monitoring. But if it’s staying the same or they start to seem more distant, I would do some more sessions in a neutral spot.

. . . 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.  

[Bun-chan]

I agree with Dana. Same thing happened with my buns when I was bonding them. At some point they stopped fighting/humping and seemed to get along, minus the occasional nip and chase. They aren’t 100% bonded yet. I basically spent more time with them together and tried to prevent them from nipping by saying “No” loudly and firmly just before they’re about to do it. You can kind of tell when one of them is directly behind the other.

[MissyBunny]

It’s never happens daily, it has only happened randomly. It actually first started when a friend of mine and I started a small rescue and I now have 2 babies at home in a separate room away from my bunnies. The little spats started happening when my mom held my boy bun after holding the babies and my girl started chasing him, I threw a towel with his scent on him and rubbed then she stopped. Since then it only happens occasionally, I’ve only seen it happen if I’m in the room cuz I’ve never walked in and seen clumps of fur anywhere. I bring them back to our living room where they did really well together and they never fight there. The room they’re in now is 100% neutral cuz neither bunnies were allowed in it before they were “bonded” and no buns have lived in there since my last bun.

[DanaNM]

Oh I see, yes the smells of the other rabbits could upset things for sure, especially in a new bond. I would be very careful about washing hands after handling the babies etc. When the new bunnies hit puberty be especially vigilant.

I’m a little confused on the timing, do you mean the spats have happened occasionally over the last week, or over the whole 2 month period?

. . . 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]

I avoid being around the babies as a result and leave their care to my mom.

 

During their bonding my male would often nip at the female and she commonly reacted in fear and would run away. She is half blind and easily startled. As they grew closer her stopped nipping at her and moreso occasionally “prunes her” where he started with licking then gradually began nibbling which often scared her away. There were times during bonding and continuing still where occasionally when he approaches her she will flatten herself to the ground with her ears back and lay still for a moment and then move away or relax if he moves away. This behaviour is confusing to me as she will often lay down and even fully flop beside him without issue.

 

The reason I refer to these skirmishes as spats is because she has never nipped at my boy before even during bonding (with the exception of basket bonding which scared her and stressed her so they did fight and we stopped that method) and it’s only been since the first exposure to the babies that I ever saw her chase or nip at him. Again it never lasts and the worst that happens is she gets a small chunk of fur in her mouth but moments later they go sleep together in their house and that’s almost always where I find them.

[DanaNM]

Sometimes it seems like one bun will get a little more brave over time, and they will still continue to work out the terms of their bond over a longer time period.

I think if they are immediately going right back to cuddling, then I would just keep an eye on things. If you start noticing more fur pulled, or things increasing in frequency, then some sessions in new territory might help.

. . . 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 so I put both buns in an xpen in my bedroom for almost 3 days and it went fine, my girl even did a bunch of binkies every morning. I put them back in their room and after a day I saw them go at each other again! I’m not sure if they snuggled but I do always find them together under the same house. They seem fine all the time except these occasional moments.

[DanaNM]

Hmmm…. Did you do any cleaning or rearranging of their home room?

 

. . . 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]

I vacuum almost daily, neither bunnies lived in here prior. Only my first bunny lived in here but it was almost 3 month before these guys got moved in. I haven’t rearranged anything since they lived in here. They will sit together and eat no issue, they will sit in the same house no issue but whenever I spend time with them I catch them having these mini fights. No injuring but she lunges at him, he nips back and sometimes they chase but neither ever gets hurt.

[DanaNM]

It’s really perplexing.

Even though it was neutral before, I think I would still try to make it as neutral as possible again. Remove old toys and hides, clean the carpets (you can sprinkle baking soda on them and then vacuum it up), put a new litter box, spray down surfaces with vinegar solution.

Sometimes I think if the bunnies are more reactive or excitable, it can take them a longer time to settle into being bonded, so it could just be that more time is needed. Making sure they have plenty of space to sort out these little chases will help make sure they don’t turn into something worse.

My most recent pair was like this. A very easy bond over all, where they never fought, but my boy Cooper is very reactive to stimuli (food, noises, etc.), and sometimes when he got too excited he would chase Bonnie around. This increased when we moved, but now after about of month of being in the new home he is much more calm and isn’t chasing her when he gets excited. They are also cuddling and grooming a lot more. So sometimes things just take more time than you would think to settle, depending on the personalities of the bunnies.

. . . 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]

I do clean their litter boxes with baking soda every second day, I’ve been meaning to rebuild the hidey house that they’re usually in cuz they chewed it up (it’s basically a 2 story cardboard condo ha) the last few days I haven’t seen any of the chasing and nipping but I also almost never see grooming. I don’t think I’ve seen much grooming since they started loving together. Maybe once or twice but that was it. They definitely have lots of room to figure things out, they get a whole large room to themselves. I hope they settle in and figure things out soon.

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