My male bunny keeps biting my female

[Madelline]

Hi everyone. I have a male mini rex his name is Teddy. About a month ago I decided I wanted to get him a friend. so I took him to the nearest bunny shelter and they helped me find him a mate.the first bond we tried didn’t work out so we when back and tried another female. Their first encounter went really well and they both seemed happy. But on the third day of bonding the female decided she wanted to mount him and then they got into a big scuffle. Now all teddy wants to do is bite her and she wants nothing to do with him. I would really like this to work I just don’t know what to do ?

[Vienna Blue in France]

Hi Madelline and welcome. I understand your frustration and worry. Can the bunny shelter not help you with the bonding process?
Bonding is a sometimes very complex thing, and the ‘top bun’ domination ritual can change several times during the bonding process during a complicated encounter.
Your female has obviously had her nose put out of joint because the male is putting his foot down by ‘fighting’ back.
The most important advice here is “give it time”. You cannot rush these things, you have to go at the bunnies pace. It can take weeks of daily bonding sessions.
And they havent known each other for that long. Did they have a pre bonding period, where they could see and smell each other?

They should have room to run around and get away from each other if they are in the chasing period. Gradually this space can be reduced, in time.

Keep in touch and let us know how you get on.

Can you not leave the buns with the bunny rescue until they are bonded? that, of course would be the ideal solution.

[Vienna Blue in France]

Ps. It really is worth it to see it through (in the safest and best way possible for the buns)

PPS. I am presuming that both are spayed and neuteured and since atleast 2 months ago.?.. and the female ideally would be longer post spay…

[Madelline]

Thank you for responding!
The rescue helped me with the pre bonding by doing sessions and making sure that they were compatible but they won’t help me any further :/ both are spayed and neutered and have been for a while. I’m going to definitely keep trying.

I was doing sessions in the bathtub but I think that was causing problems because she couldn’t get away. Once I put them on the bathroom floor and she could run away when he tryed to nip her they both calmed down. Once that happened he started to groom her and then she groomed him a little. Im guessing that’s good?

[Madelline]

They are defiantly still fighting for dominance though. Will time help them figure that out or should I be doing somthing to help that? I just want to make sure I’m not pushing them in to somthing that they don’t want.

Thank you for your feedback. It’s really apriceated.

[LBJ10]

Is he biting biting or just nipping? If he isn’t causing injury, then I wouldn’t be too concerned. At some point, you’ll just have to let them work things out for themselves. But you always want to keep an eye, know when to step in and when not to.

It might help to mix things up a bit. If the bathtub isn’t working, then try something else. You could put them in a carrier and take them for a car ride, for example. Anything that is going to cause them a little stress.

[Yoyo]

Posted By LBJ10 on 2/24/2017 10:00 PM

It might help to mix things up a bit. If the bathtub isn’t working, then try something else. You could put them in a carrier and take them for a car ride, for example. Anything that is going to cause them a little stress.

^ what a sound piece of advice,.. a bit daring, but, I can see how that could possibly work for the greater good!

Good luck in your endeavors! I hope your buns can become friends.

[Vienna Blue in France]

Letting them have the run of the bathroom sounded good! yes she should be able to get away and they WILL sort things out you just have to be patient. And like LBJ says, step in only when necessary. Don’t make you the centre of attention.
Let them have the run of the bathroom again.

When you are sure they won’t really hurt each other in a carrier you can try a car ride to cement the bond.

But it will take time. I’m talking several weeks of daily bonding…..

[Madelline]

Thank you everyone for your advise. I feel much better. I’ll continue working with then and keep you guys posted.

[Madelline]

Hi everyone. It’s been almost a week since I posted and thought I would give a little update.

Teddy ( my male ) and twix ( my female) are doing a little better. Since I last posted they’ve calmed down a little bit and haven’t fought for a week. I’ve been doing the dates in my bathroom with both a of there litter boxes and treats. Teddy is still trying to nip at Twix and occasionally tries to mount her but she just runs away. He has been approaching and grooming her so I guess that’s good. She’s still a little weary of him though and won’t approach first. They seem comfortable and sometimes groom next to each other. All in all I think they’re progressing.

Appreciative of any comments or advice anyone might have.

[Madelline]

Hi everyone.
Since I last posted I have moved teddy in twix’s bunny dates to my living room and its going really well for the most part. There’s some nipping by teddy in the beginning of the date but he gets over it pretty fast. No fighting and I don’t have to watch them with a dust pan in my hand anymore haha. Some times there out for 2 to 3 hours while I watch tv or do chores. No problems.

How long should I do this? When should I try puting them together in one cage? How should I go about doing it?

[Author]

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