Not much grooming happening

[khushi2020]

I’ve seen both my bunnies groom each other, but it’s rather infrequent… I’ve only seen my bunny Yujin do it a handful of times when Khushi asked for a grooming. I’ve seen Khushi groom him just once. How long does it normally take before it becomes more of a regular occurrence between the bunnies?

[DanaNM]

Hmmm, remind me how long they have been bonded? Or in the bonding process? What happens with unmet grooming requests? Sometimes mine will just smush their faces together to ask for grooms and then fall asleep like that, even though nobody groomed. 🙂

Not all couples groom constantly. Some seem like they are good friends but not madly in love. Do they seem really relaxed around each other otherwise? Do they cuddle at times? If so, then I would think the grooming would increase over time.

. . . 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.  

[Wick & Fable]

I also want to highlight what Dana mentioned, which is some pairs are good friends that you do not actually observe a lot of reciprocal, frequent grooming. Outside of infrequent grooming, are there signs of tension in interactions?

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.

[khushi2020]

They have been doing the 24/7 bonding method, so haven’t been separated at all and are on Day 9. So when there’s unmet grooming requests from Khushi to Yujin, Khushi just proceeds to smoothing himself against Yujin and flopping. If Yujin asks for grooming and nothing happens he doesn’t do anything and just stays put.

They do seem relaxed around one another. Khushi is a bit of a food monster, and forgets that Yujin needs to eat too, and shoves him out of the way in the letterbox, instead of being accommodating at all times. I have seen them eat their greens and pellets together. They do cuddle sometimes, Khushi likes to smooth up against him, sometimes I see them face to face.

The closest thing I’ve seen to tension in the past little bit is Khushi shoving Yujin out of the way when he wants to eat.

 

 

[DanaNM]

That sounds like pretty much bonded pair behavior to me 🙂

If it seems like Khushi is preventing Yujin from using the box, you might need a larger box or two boxes. Some pairs do well with boxes side by side.

You can try a little banana on their heads to encourage grooming, sometimes that seems to “break the ice’ with grooming.

. . . 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.  

[Author]

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