No luck & its been 10 mos

[MyPets1031]

I have a rabbit named Fobey who is a spayed female. Shes about 4 lbs and 2 years old. She’s very sassy and definatly the boss. I also have a holland lop named Toby who is a neutered male. He’s about 5 lbs and 5 years old. He is very nervous and timid and laid back. Ten months ago when I got Toby I put them together in an xPen and everything went great. Not knowing alot about bonding I threw them together in a cage and called them bonded. They groomed and snuggled all the time until I woke up one morning to a fight that I think was to the death. It was bad and if I hadn’t woken up when I did, I think one of them would have gotten severyly hurt. I seperated them and tried rebonding a lot. They fought every time I put them together so I decided to permenantly seperate them and put them in different rooms. I took them to the vet to see if either of them had medical issues. They were both in perfect health but we now know Toby is deaf. I left them be for a few months, they were together from March to July so they were what I thought was bonded for 5 months and seperated for 4. Tonight I tried stress bonding. I put them in a container on the dryer and they huddled close together. After maybe 10 minutes I put the container on the ground and watched them for a while. Then Fobey bit Toby so I put them back on the dryer. Things were going good again so I was about to end it on a good note when Fobey jumped out of the container and Toby followed. Once out of the container a huge fight broke out and we had to throw a blanket on them to end it. I’m almost wondering if Fobey will just be forever alone. She’s the one that always starts the fights. Toby seems like he wants to be with her… like he’s lonley, but three rabbits is not a possibility. Help? Thanks.

[Hokankai]

That…sounds like she isn’t looking for a companion. To lash out like that even in neutral territory (when they jumped out of the container) would make me question continuing the bonding process.

You can attempt going slow and steady again and see how it goes. Start off with two weeks with their cages side by side, then try adding bunny dates in completely neutral territory without a whole lot of area, like a bathtub. Continue this until you see improvement. Once you have at least a week of consistently good bunny dates, do a cage swap overnight and then a bunny date the following day in a different area. Continue to do cage swaps every couple of days with a good bunny date each day. After several weeks without incident you can start doing bunny dates in larger areas and see how it goes. Once you see grooming and submission from one of them, try leaving them together in a neutral cage (deep clean and rearrange once of them) while supervised and see what happens. Separate when unsupervised. If everything goes well gradually lengthen the amount of time until you reach overnight.

Every time there’s an incident, you need to jump back a step and start over. If after all that it’s still not working…I’d just let them be separated.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I would keep at it. Most bunnies will bond, sometimes it just takes more time and work.

Stress bonding is a good idea in this situation. It’s recommended that immediately after stress bonding, like a car ride, you put them back in their own space. I had a big problem when I was doing car rides with my boys and then immediately putting them back together after. They would lash out at each other, like they were taking out the stress of the ride on each other.

[Karla]

I quit bonding two males after having tried for 9 months…it was stressful for both me and the rabbits, and I couldn’t continue any more at that point. I do, however, often regret having given up. If I could have done it differently, I think I would have found another temporary home or paid someone else to do the bonding for me.

So, don’t give up just yet – but definitely give up the stress bonding. I tried that as well, and like LPT points out, then it can make it worse. I am quite sure it made the bonding worse in my case.

[MyPets1031]

I would defiantly be for not stress bonding. It is stressful for me as well. I could put them in the bathtub together buy what do you do with them? Just let them sit there or should I feed them? Also I have a hutch for one of my bunnies so the wouldn’t see each other if the cages were next to each other because its made of solid wood

[Karla]

What I have done most of the time, is a different approach than usually used:
I place an x-pen in the middle of the bunny room with the newcomer, so that they can see each other and interact – without fighting. And the rabbits don’t get to meet before all parties have settled down. For the first few days or even two weeks, there might be territorial behaviour. As long as there are any signs of this, I do not let them meet. Once they have settled down and are relaxed about each other, I let them meet each other. Bonding this way has then been easy and quickly.

Often, I have just been able to let the newcomer out in the room under supervision after a week or so.

This approach, however, does not work if the rabbits are mad at each other or hold a grudge – because then they might just continue to provoke each other.

Whenever I let my rabbits meet, I always make sure that there are tons of treats and hays for them to snack on. I want it to be a casual and happy situation. In fact, all animals relax once they eat. It is a simple way to make their stress hormones fall down – and also it sends a calming signal to the other rabbit. If you can make them eat in the bath tub, then try, although I am not sure if it is possible. But food is always a positive thing.

[Sam and Lady's Human]

Are you bonding every single day? Consistency and treats were a big thing in my bonding which I also thought would be impossible. For example, for awhile we did about 10 minutes a day and that’s when they got their veggies. They were too busy eating to be worried about the other, and the sessions always ended on a good note because of that. Eventually I made the times longer and longer.

[T.Bunny]

I know I don’t post a lot but my bunnies went through something similar. I found that my bunnies needed space to bond and the bathtub just didn’t work for me. I gave them my hallway and overtime they got closer together. It took 3 months but was worth it.

[MyPets1031]

The more space the more they fight

[Sam and Lady's Human]

Keep them in a small space at first, then over a long period of time expand the space. If you have an xpen, use that. Somewhere with no hiding spots (like behind the toilet of the bathroom) is best.

[Sam and Lady's Human]

When I started it was in a small space, about 2×3, I sat in their with them with jeans, boots, gloves, long sleeves etc. I kept a hamper within reach to toss over a bunny if a fight broke out. Mine were terribly difficult to bond, but doing daily sessions really helped.

[MyPets1031]

Thanks everyone- ill let you know what happens

[Author]

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