Need HELP with bonding

[Kassandra]

So I have had my first holland sushi for about a year and a half and I have recently come upon another holland who needed a home and I believe this one is not a year old yet. I do admit I made mistakes. The first thing I did was take the new bun into my room where sushi resides. They are in seperate cages but in my room and not a neutral area as I have been reading. I decided to let my sushi out one day to stretch because I had just come out of work and the other bun was still in my room. Then BAM they started fighting and sushi scratched the other buns ear and took fur out. Now I feel like bonding will never be possible but I desperately would love to give this new bun a loving home. 

Sushi is fixed but I do not think the other bun is and I am working on that right now. How can I start the rebonding process so that I have a successful bonding experience and how to I introduce the new bun after bonding into my room (where she will be staying)? I also do not have very much space but I plan on using the bathtub as a neutral area for now. 

[BellaSimiLillianAndSnow]

That’s what happened with simi and Lillian they didn’t want to get along I kinda recommended getting her fixed and wait 2 weeks after the surgey and then make them get along but for know keep them distant

[sarahthegemini]

Definitely keep them apart til your 2nd bun has been neutered. To have a stable bond, both buns need to be spayed or neutered. This is because hormones can really shake things up and if two buns are together when one or both develop hormones, they can become aggressive towards one another.

It would be best if you can keep the buns in separate rooms for now. Then when 2nd bun has been neutered and has recovered, you can move him into the same room as Sushi and do pre-bonding for a month. This means swapping them between enclosures and swapping food bowls/toys/litter trays etc. Once you’ve done this for a month, you can start proper bonding sessions. As you’ve noted, it’s very important to use neutral territory (so a bath tub would be great!)

[DanaNM]

Hi Kassandra,

I’ve moved this post to the bonding section, where it might get more input.

Agree with Sarah, separate, neuter, and let hormones settle (and let them forget about the fight). One scuffle will not make a bond impossible, and after neutering he will smell different, so hopefully Sushi won’t even recognize him .

I made a similar mistake with my first pair, when I had no idea what I was doing really (aside from reading some articles online). Both were neutered/spayed, but after their first date in the tub (which went really well), we decided (dumbly) to let them interact in the main room. Bam, fighting happened! I eventually bonded them though (the pair in my avatar). So don’t lose hope!

The bathroom and bathtub sounds like a good starting spot as neutral. You might also reach out to friends to see if you could set up a pen in their kitchen or garage for if you need more space or need to change things up.

. . . 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.  

[ApollotheRabbit]

I AM IN THE SAME SITUATION BUT I CANNOT AFFORD TO NEUTER MY 8 MONTH OLD MALE . I HAVE A NEUTERED 4 Y/O MALE AND AN UNNEUTERED 8 M/O MALE IS IT STILL POSSIBLE TO BOND THEM😭😭

[DanaNM]

Hi ApollotheRabbit,

Welcome to the forum! We ask that members do not reply to old threads to avoid confusion. For help with your bunnies it’s best to start a new thread. But to answer you briefly here, it is very difficult to bond unneutered males, so it would be best to wait till you can afford to neuter them both.

I’ve locked this thread.

. . . 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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