Male Bunny “Bullies” Female Bunny

[Hannah]

Hi everyone,

I have a male Dutch bunny and a female Dwarf bunny who have been “bonded” for about a month. They are both neutered/spayed. I took them to a woman who bonds and boards bunnies and she just put them together and let them work out their relationship without really dating. She said that they were bonded and were doing fine, but it doesn’t seem that way to me.

At home, the male bunny nips and lunges at the female. He kicks her out of the litterbox constantly and chases her out from her hiding spaces while she is sleeping. I asked the woman who bonded them if this is normal, and she said it was fine. I’m concerned though because the female seems pretty scared of the male. She runs away whenever he approaches her and she often gets nipped or ignored when she puts her head down for grooming. I have seen him groom her a couple times, but it looks kind of liking a combination of licking and nipping.

The male bunny has always been pretty independent, and while he does enjoy attention from humans, he has nipped me as well.

Is this normal behavior for a healthy bunny relationship? Is this something that will improve over time? Is there anything I can do to encourage nicer behavior from the male?

Thanks

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Hannah on 6/21/2017 9:16 AM

Hi everyone,

I have a male Dutch bunny and a female Dwarf bunny who have been “bonded” for about a month. They are both neutered/spayed. I took them to a woman who bonds and boards bunnies and she just put them together and let them work out their relationship without really dating. She said that they were bonded and were doing fine, but it doesn’t seem that way to me.

At home, the male bunny nips and lunges at the female. He kicks her out of the litterbox constantly and chases her out from her hiding spaces while she is sleeping. I asked the woman who bonded them if this is normal, and she said it was fine. I’m concerned though because the female seems pretty scared of the male. She runs away whenever he approaches her and she often gets nipped or ignored when she puts her head down for grooming. I have seen him groom her a couple times, but it looks kind of liking a combination of licking and nipping.

The male bunny has always been pretty independent, and while he does enjoy attention from humans, he has nipped me as well.

Is this normal behavior for a healthy bunny relationship? Is this something that will improve over time? Is there anything I can do to encourage nicer behavior from the male?

Thanks

No, I’m sorry but that doesn’t sound like normal bonded pair behaviour. Well the nipping is usually okay but lunging and chasing that much is not. Neither is being kicked out of the litter box. It doesn’t sound like the woman did anything to actually bond them. How long were your rabbits with her? Did she tell you what to do when you got home? Even if they were properly bonded at the boarding place, you still need to take certain steps and precautions when bringing them home as its a different environment. Did she warn you of this?

[Hannah]

My bunnies stayed with her for a month. She said that they were bonded and were good to go once I got home. The first couple days I kept them in their pen the whole time and I noticed there was some nipping and chasing. I started letting them out into my bedroom during the day, but the nipping and chasing continued. 

[Mikey]

Nope, theyre not bonded. The fact your female is scared of your male is worrying. What exactly did this “bonder” allow while working with your bunnies? Since your female is scared, youll have to separate them. Scared bunnies will not form bonds with the bunny they are afraid of. Youll need to keep them completely separated (different rooms) for about 2 months. In this time, youll be hoping that your female forgets whatever your male did to scare her. After those 2 months, you can begin prebonding: same room, cages about 10 inches apart, swap their items every morning. Youll prebond for atleast a month. After prebonding, you can work on real bonding.

Note that rabbits can hold grudges, and since your female is already scared, there is a chance she will hold that grudge and never bond with your male.

If “scared” wasnt the right word, then I would suggest going to the prebonding step as this “bonder” clearly did not bond your rabbits at all. Prebond (cages close, same room, swap items, ect) for about a month or more. During this month+, they can alternate their free roam time, but cannot be out at the same time/no play dates. This time apart but near will help your female calm down and allow your male to adjust to sharing his territory. Dont rush prebonding. If they seem to need more than a month, thats ok; go at their pace. After prebonding, work on bonding. Bond in a neutral space (small area neither have been. many use their bathrooms). For bonding ideas, you can make another post with an update and ask for advice, update this post with an update and ask for advice, and/or read other posts here from people who are also working on bonding.

Good luck! Sorry the “bonder” wasnt as good as you thought. If they have a website or yelp or anything, it might be worth leaving a complaint review so other people who are new to rabbits dont go through this same problem

[Author]

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