Male/Female bonding

[KateM]

So I’m struggling to bond my bunnies, I feel like we’re at a stalemate and not progressing! I’ve had my female bunny since she was 8 weeks old, I got her spayed as soon as she was old enough and she’s just over a year now. She’s super sweet and affectionate. I recently adopted a male bunny who’s just a bit younger than my girl and also fixed. I don’t know much of his background other than he was abandoned outside and taken in by a sanctuary who I adopted him from. He loves to play and is so funny but is very skittish and shy. I started the prebonding by having them live next to each other separated by an xpen. They’ve always been curious of each other and would sit or lay by the gate. I then started swapping them and putting them in each other pens to get use to each other’s scent for a few weeks. I then started putting them together for small periods of time in a neutral area. At first it was terrifying and there was a lot of nipping on his part and she seems to just run away. They now seem to tolerate each other and will eat together and lay down or flop but on opposite sides of the room and not really close to each other. He’s quite a bit bigger than my girl bunny so I’m not sure if she’s afraid of him cause he’s bigger or from all the nipping. He definitely seems to be the dominate one but every time he goes near her, even if he doesn’t try and nip she still runs away. He’ll sometimes come up to her and she’ll freeze and he’ll shove his head under hers and just sit there waiting for her to groom him and eventually he’ll nip her, so I try and rub both their heads when that happens but still neither of them have tried to groom the other, I’ve tried putting banana on their heads and everything lol when I’m home I put them together and only separate them when I’m at work or can’t be there to watch them. I’ve had them together sometimes for 12 hours at a time now and it’s been a month and a half but I still feel like they’re not progressing.  They’re not fighting at all just nips from the male but I just feel like my girl is so afraid of him and I don’t know how they’re suppose to bond if she won’t even let him near her! Is this normal? I’ve never tried to bond bunnies before and maybe they just need more time but I’m starting to feel defeated!

[DanaNM]

Don’t give up! It sounds like you have made progress, but are just in a plateau. It’s really good they can spend 12 hours together and aren’t fighting!

What is your bonding space like? Sometimes experimenting with a new location, changing the size of the space, or doing a stress session or two (like a car ride) can help you get out of the rut. Like maybe you can take them on a car ride to a friend’s house and then try a long session there?

. . . 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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