Nervous about bunnies fighting during bonding/through cage bars

[abbypetty]

Hello! 

I have a rescued lop rabbit (Ollie, male, neutrered) who is free-roaming and around 6 lbs. He is very well behaved, but was clearly sad and more destructive when lonely. I recently came across a big white bunny who was rescued from a testing lab (Luna, female, recently spayed). She is a super sweetheart and has warmed up to the family perfectly. Right now I have her in a gated off in a section of Ollie’s room. She has a pretty large space and is very happy here. Originally we had just one layer of fencing in between them, but they sniff each other for a second and then start to jump at the bars at each other. I think this is aggressive behavior, but I have a hard time reading bunny body language. 

I have a second layer of fencing now that separates them about 3 inches. This is where it’s confusing. They eat, groom, bunny flop, and lay down right at the cage bars next to each other (with the 3-inch space in between). They are constantly hanging out close to the connecting bars, and sometimes Luna will chase Ollie when he hops past the bars. I switched their used litterboxes back and forth, and they both will use each other’s fairly effortlessly. 

Does the jumping through the bars signal that they will be aggressive when they meet? What does it mean that they have been laying and grooming close to eachother? I really don’t want them to get injured when I finally introduce them face-to-face, although I plan to wait a while longer.

Thanks so much,

– An owner nervous about bonding

Some more info:

Ollie is a male, neutered, free roaming rabbit, 6lbs

Luna is a female, recently spayed (within 2 weeks), around 8-10lbs

They have been in the same room together for about 3 days now.

[Sirius&Luna]

So you should wait at least 4-6 weeks after her spay before introducing them, as it takes longer for females to stop being hormonal after surgery. I’ve heard it can take up to six months, but I’m sure these things get exaggerated over time.

It’s best to have double bars between buns that aren’t bonded, as they can give each other nasty nips through the bars.

The best thing to do is swap them between each others cages for this month while you’re waiting for Luna’s hormones to drain. Swap them every day/every other day so they lose a sense of what is their territory, as well as getting used to each other’s scents.

There’s no way of knowing for sure how they’ll react when they actually meet face to face, but if they’re flopping next to each other and grooming themselves near the bars, that’s a positive sign.

When you first introduce them face to face, do it in a neutral area, and for a very short time – then you can see how they’re likely to react and go from there. Be ready for the worst – to separate with oven mitts/leather gloves, but also, they might not need that at all!

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