New to Bonding – Need some tips for my girls

[SuperNova]

Hi all! I just got into rabbits with my two girls, Nova and Mischa. I got the two littermates as babies and of course, they started fighting as soon as they hit puberty. They were promptly separated and spayed. I didn’t spend much time trying to bond them after this, but they established a pretty good relationship when they’re on opposite sides of the cage bars since then.

The girls are now two years old and I’ve had them in a pretty good setup, with two x-pens side by side in their own room. They have to take turns outside the cage, which was frustrating when my husband and I were going to work every day, so it was hard to get them what I felt was enough exercise time. When one of them is outside their cage, they spend a good amount of time cuddled next to each other between the bars of the cage and grooming each other, which seemed like a great sign that they could be bonded again. Now that we’ve been working from home, I’ve been trying to work on bonding them so that they can benefit from bunny friendship and have more time outside their pens.

I’ve done a little bit of bonding before in the bathtub, as well as switching cages regularly. I don’t have many neutral spaces, since they each have free roam of the bunny proofed parts of the apartment. The bathtub isn’t ideal, as I worry about them injuring themselves and it really gets quite warm in there, so it’s uncomfortable for all of us. I have had some success in the kitchen when it’s fenced up. They will their salad together pretty easily unless Nova gets nervous or is particularly irritated and me having picked her up and moved her. Nova is the shy one and typically hunkers her back against the lower cabinets on the floormat by the sink. Sometimes both of them cuddle up together on the mat and it’s great, other times they have some minor spats where they box each other. I notice things start to get tense when one bun gets behind the other. There has been no humping yet.

After about a week of some pretty consistently good sessions in the kitchen, I tried to let them roam the living room while closely supervised. I stayed close by with a spray bottle and an oven mitt to separate any spats. They did fine for a while, with just a couple instances of them putting their ears back when close but then they would each kind of roam the room. Mischa would show off some binkies, and even flopped in one spot with Nova about 5 feet away. Nova eventually worked up the courage to go see what Mischa was up to and they broke into a bunny tornado. I checked both girls over before separating them again for about 15 minutes, then let Mischa back out to play since it was her turn. Within a few minutes they were cuddled together between the bars of Nova’s cage and grooming each other again. What the heck!

I guess I’m confused about how to move forward. Do I keep trying in the living room or go back to working in the kitchen? Maybe I should start adding litterboxes in the kitchen or just going for longer sessions? I really only spent about 30 minutes or so with them in the kitchen, eating breakfast on the floor with them. I’m curious to know if anyone has experienced something like this. I’ve also been seeing posts about doing “marathon bonding” — maybe this could be an option to try over a weekend? I appreciate the help.

[DanaNM]

It sounds like it was going fine, but you just moved a bit too fast. I would go back to the last place they did well, so that would probably be the kitchen. If the kitchen doesn’t go as well as before, you can try a car ride first or the bathtub first. You’ll want to work up to long sessions with positive behaviors and no negatives before moving to a semi-neutral spot (like the living room). I like to even get to the point of doing an overnight in the neutral spot before moving to semi-neutral. I don’t like to add litter boxes until they are doing very well together for several hours. Litter boxes can cause some problems as they can get a bit territorial over them.

What about your full bathroom? Would that be more neutral and easier to work in?

 

 

. . . 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.  

[SuperNova]

Thanks for the response! It would probably be more neutral, but Mischa has a tendency to get behind the tub. I worry about them getting into a scuffle in a place where I can’t easily stop it. It’s also quite narrow, so sitting on the floor with them would be a bit cramped. I guess going back to the kitchen would be the best bet, I may take your advice and work up to a full day or even 24 hours in the kitchen.

[TeddyBun]

I have had the exact same issues! We started in the bathroom and bonding went great, lots of mutual grooming, flops and snacking together. After several bathroom successes, we moved to the kitchen where we spent a few 1-2 hour stretches and again, did wonderfully. Then I tried allowing them to free roam together in the living room and within 5 minutes a fight broke out. Yet when we go back to a smaller area, they are perfectly fine with each other again! Glad to hear I’m not the only one in this boat! Looks like I’ll just continue to extend their time together in the kitchen.

[DanaNM]

Yes when things go badly in a new location, it usually means you just moved too quickly. So going back to the place where things went well and extending the time usually does the trick!

. . . 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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