Keep trying or not a good match?

[Mimzy]

I have had my foster rabbit since June 2018 & got my Holland Lop in September. The foster is fixed & my girl is not yet fixed…she will be fixed in Feb, but aside from some very mild digging/scratching occasionally, she’s not even showing half of the typical hormonal behaviors I experienced with my first female bunny, Mimzy.|
For the most part,Dax & Runa have only been in contact through a gate & do pretty well. I did have to double gate it to put more space between them because my foster, Dax, will nip at her through the bars & Runa will scratch at his head through the bars(but he seems to like it…go figure.) Other than that, they seem to do well, not really any aggression. I also put them together whenever I go somewhere with both of them. They’ve been in the stroller together several times & I’ve done a few photo shoots with both of them with no issues.

Dax *has* shown some litter box territorial behaviors but I don’t think that’s a big deal in pre-bonded pairs of course, Dax has not been adopted out because I’m trying to see if he’s a good fit for Runa, so I basically have permission to not have to take him to adoption events.

While they don’t seem very aggressive to each other, every time I do try to put them together in a room, there seems to be little to no interest? Dax will run from her, find a corner to bunker down in & if she comes near him, he will either lunge, (which she’s totally oblivious to & doesn’t care) or he will bow his head for grooming since she ignores his lunges. However, she also ignores his request for grooms & just carries on about her business. She’s just 6 months old so I’m assuming she’s not quite sure how to do the whole grooming thing. Dax always seems really annoyed after she ignores him & irritated that she’s still around & not grooming him. They almost show more active interest in each other when there’s a gate between them than with no gate?

I’m wondering if the age difference has anything to do with it? She’s still young, active, & wants to explore. & he’s pretty chill & just wants snuggles & grooming. This has all been unofficial bonding since September/October really. Is there a point when you decide that even though they don’t fight, that they just aren’t going to be “in love” & wonder if it’s not the best match?

[jerseygirl]

They almost show more active interest in each other when there’s a gate between them than with no gate?

That is pretty typical!   Their behaviour can be completely different once the barrier is taken away. For better or worse.. 

Ignoring is not a bad thing, in my opinion. I think some time in closer space could work. A large space early on can be overwhelming or even distracting, for some rabbits during bonding. Ive seen this when Ive tried my older “single” rabbits together recently. In a small bathroom, they couldn’t avoid each other and actually sat close together much of the time. There was even some grooming at some point. In my larger, spare bedroom, they were both more interested in checking out the space individually. And when they came head to head during their explorations, they were reactive to each other.

It sounds as if the stroller could be a good tool for you when you start proper bonding. I think a bond could develop. It just takes lots of opportunities of them being together and learning each others ways. Letting that trust build.

Grooming is something that doesn’t always happen. Ive known of long term bonded rabbits that never do that. Many rabbits might want to be close to the other but that’s the only “affection” you’d see. It can change over time also. Ailis took to grooming Rumball more in his last year. <3

You can see it during bonding, and one may do it more then the other, but in the longer term, the roles reverse, or they just don’t groom each other so often.
The main aim is getting them to live together amicable and share resources.

You might see more territorial behaviours from Dax as Runa starts to mature. And some from her, of course. It sounds as if you are lucky on that front so far!

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