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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.
› Forum › THE LOUNGE › WELCOME ! › I’m back after soo long…with 2 new friends
hi everyone i am back after a long absence…took some time to get over the loss of Whiteout.
i got 2 new buns today. they are just about a year old a male and a female and both are fixed!!! (so DEFEINTLY NOOOOOO babies!!!)
okay, about each one:
Stu-n-Tatoes, Stu for short (it was a joke from my brother, please dont get offended by his name. He is not going to be that. I had fish named “Fish n Chips”, ”Tartar Sauce”, and “Lemon Wedge”)
He is a VERY large lop cross…so one ear stands and the other lops. He is white with brown spots, his name used to be Freckles….
He is the boos and even though when i met them he was very cuddly and liked to be held…DEFINELTY not soo much here. barley lets me pet him.
And then there is Onyx, is bonded girl.
She is a mini rex and is black with white highlights…very pretty girl. she isnt as forward as stu, she is the quieter one and more shy. but she does like to be held, well she did when i met her but same goes for stu, not sooo much at all here and wont go anywhere without stu. this is their first nite with me so they are in their large cage…actually its a dog crate, the very large cage i had for whiteout, 4ft long by 2ft wide i felt was too small for them. so as much as i would love to let them out i read in a book and online that they should be left alone for 24hrs.
i hope to get pics soon. thanks guys
Welcome back! Can’t wait to see your new buns
Pictures!
Welcome back! Congrats on the new pair! I’d love to see some pics when you get a chance!
Hey! Nice to see you back and with bunny company. An adult bonded pair….all there is to do now is sit back and enjoy. Ok, there is feeding them, cleaning litter boxes, petting them on demand… but no toilet training or hormones to deal with. I hope you enjoy this new journey.
well it hasnt been all smiles, thats for sure! i got the buns on friday and my friend got one as well but she got a baby.
they have been fighting a lot and the female bit me when i went to pet her so i havent interacted with them very much but have just sat looking at them and talked to them. i built them a run that is 10ft long by 4ft wide. they are a lot happier and not fighting anymore….but he does mount her…a lot! i was told they are both fixed so is him mounting her and “doing his thing” normal? i REALLY dont want babies!
since they have been in their new area, they havent been fighting at all. thye seem a lot happier and dont mind the cats at all. i cant wait to get pics posted, im tyring to find out if my old camera works. lol
The male could just be expressing his dominance over her. If they are fighting alot though, I’d suggest separating them, and rebonding them.
ok i swear my buns hate me!!! how do i bond with a bonded pair? i know i have only had them for a week but they wont let my really go near them and i hear of everyone and their woderful stories and i got nothing other then onyx biting me and just tonite stu tried 2 times when i pet him. makes me very sad.
anyway i have posted a pic of them below. stu usually has one ear up and one down but oh well. i know it isnt the best pic but its all i have for now. they dont like me so getting a nice pic isnt going to happen
their area is a working progress, it is 10ft x 4ft and very few things in it at the moment. they wont let me pick them out to let them run around out of it so until that happens… if anyone has a simple good ideas to give them entainment, please let me know. they are only on hay and pellets at the moment for i have only had them a week and i have no idea if they were fed veggies or not and dont want to rush them into things so im just taking it easy. any suggestions on what i should give them first and how much and whatnot!?!? PLEASE
Don’t be too worried about them hating you after a week, it takes them time to trust us Monkey just recently starting sitting still for a pet if we make it quick lol. And we’ve had her since June
I’d start them out on something simple for veggies, like green leaf or romaine lettuce, and just a little bit to see how they react to it. Introduce a new veggie maybe once a week, no more than that.
here a few decent pics of stu and onyx
Welcome back!
Very cute pair.
I agree with one new veggie a week & only a little bit of it the first few days.
Can you sit on a pillow in their cage with them? Read a book, mostly ingnoring them, talking softly to them – let them come to you. Don’t reach out to pet them yet, just let them crawl over you.
Stu is already really pretty comfortable & safe – you pictured him flopped – that’s a happy bunny position.
you mean with him laying on his side? he does that all the time. i see him lay like that several times a day.
yes on his side – they usually only flop when they feel safe
That is a beautiful set up you have! It seems to me that your bunnies are being territorial of their cage. This is very normal, and I’ve noticed it seems to happen a lot with rescue bunnies, I don’t know if this is true but it seems to me they are so excited to have such a nice place to live that they become very territorial of it. Like Furface mentioned, you can build up the trust by just sitting with your bunnies and allowing them to approach and sniff you without petting them. Just sit very still and that shows them that you do not pose a threat to them. It seems like they are very happy at your house, they look very content in the pictures, so I hope that you can develop a good relationship with them!
I have a Stu too! Stus are awesome!
they are soo much happier since i have made them their room. they no longer fight at all. i dont know what it would be called with rabbits, but with guinea pigs they do what we call “popcorning” they jump and twist their bodies around, it is soo cute to see stu do it, him being soo big and all.
That, my dear, is what the site is named after. It’s a Binky.
Yes, a binky. It’s the happy dance.
Oh no! you mean some people do call it popcorning?!
I was at teh pet shop on the weekend buying stuff for the budgie (that did a runner the next day) and there were heaps of rabbits there and the lady told me how cute it was when they popcorn jumped. I’m like “thats a binky” Shes like “no, its a popcorn!”
Carl dragged me out of the shop laughing. Im such a geek.
i know for guinea pigs, it is called pop-corning. wasnt too sure what it was called for rabbits…but now i totally understand the site name binky buny. stu does it all the time and when i reach in their area to give them hay, water, pellets, he runs over and shoves his head in my hand to pet him.
i just want to report that onyx has finally flooped! i was sooo excited to see her. at the moment they are both flooped!!
When bonding our 2 bunz, we reverted to using potholders…it worked quite well. When they nipped at each other, we put our COVERED hands between them & talked very quiet & soothing. It took a little patience, but they were unseperable after a few days. We put their cages next to each other with about a 2 inch gap between & every day we inched it closer. Once the 2 cages were touching each other, in the morning we came out & they were smashed up against the sides of the cages snuggling with each other. From there, no more troubles. Good luck!
lol my bunnies are very bonded together, i got them that way, they just hate me but are getting better. i was in their area yesterday cleaning it up and stu ws sitting half on my leg and then he had his front paws on my backstanding on his hind. i love my buns that are starting to like me!!!!!
Oh aren’t they sweet! Bunny Binkies are awesome! It always feels like a “pat on the back” for me, to say, “Thanks, Mom! I am sooooo happy!” I am strange I know, lol!
I’m glad it’s coming together for you. I think that a lot of us with bonded bunnies found that once we had bonded the intial bun with another, we were ignored a bit more than usual. I think it’s like human relationships, you love having friends and interacting with other people, but at the end of the day you spend the most time with your partner. So getting to know a bonded pair may take a bit more time because they have each other for interaction as well as you.
Your being really patient, which is good. It took me forever to see Layla (my rescue bunny) comfortable and even now she wont always accept pets from me.
Oh and savour the binkies while you can! Once Layla got used to her new home, and realised that she was staying there, she stopped binkying. I guess the excitement wears off after a little while.
Congrats on your new bunnies and good luck! I love my bonded buns, Charlie is so much happier with Layla than he was alone and it’s really fun to see their interactions and uber cute snuggles.
Your set up is really nice!
One thing I would suggest…find a larger container for their hay because buns require access to unlimited hay 24/7. I have 4 buns and we actually put the hay in their litter boxes so they can eat and poop like they typically do. If you think this is gross what about a larger container for the hay or a hay “basket” that hangs on the inside that they can get hay from anytime they need it.
You could throw into their cage cardboard tubes from toilet paper or paper towels-they love these to chew on and play with. Just make sure there isnt a bunch of glue on them. If there is dont use them. You will find some companies never use glue at the end of the roll. If you use a paper towel roll I suggest cutting it down so they have a few to throw and play with.
Look into the Toy section thats under the Bunny Info tab at the top for more homemade toy ideas. Bunnies usually love anything that makes noise-like the jingle ball you have-just watch they dont get teeth or nails stuck in it.
Buns love willow baskets, apple twigs/branches off of apple trees that have not been treated, and baby toys are a BIG hit! Things that they can pick up and fling are big hits.
Hope this helps!
thaks for all the advice. i end up giving them hay 6-7 tmes a day so i am in the process of making a large hay feed, i buy hay by the bale from a farmer and not at the pet store, so i can just give them a flake at time instead of part of the flake 100 times! lol. it is going well and hopes it will be ready for the weekend. thank you
does anyone have anymore?
I thought I was the only insane city person with bales of hay in the house. LOL Maybe youre not in the city…
lol I have boxes of hay from Oxbow in the house. With four buns we go thru it so quickly.
lol no no furface im in the city too!!! i get odd looks when people come over and see a bale of hay sitting in the basement (i live in the basement of the house i half own) it is quite amusing i think!!
oh, good news though, i have finished the hay feeder to hold almost a flake of hay and it has gone over sooo well!!! took me almost a week to figure it out! but it is done and no more 6-7 times a day! wuahahaha
i buy by the bale too!haha i find it better priced.i mean it will last forever!the ones i by are humungous!
Can we see a picture of your hay feeder, please?
› Forum › THE LOUNGE › WELCOME ! › I’m back after soo long…with 2 new friends