Pinky and Muffin’s First Bonding Session

[Moonlightbunny66]

 

Spay/Neuter
Are your bunnies spayed/neutered? both neutered
If so, for how long (for each)? Since August 14
If not, why not?
Are you aware of reproductive cancer risk in females? If not, please read about it here. yes

Housing
Please describe your bunnies’ current housing set-up (living together, as neighbors, etc.). Separate x-pens next to each other

Bonding background
Did you allow the bunnies to “settle-in”? Yes, about 3 and a half weeks before prebonding
How would you describe your bunnies reactions towards each other (answer for each bunny): shy, scared, curious, calm, aggressive, excited, affectionate, etc.? Curious
Have you done any “pre-bonding” (cage or litter box swaps, etc.)? Cage swapping, stunt doubles, toy switching, sharing playtime area
If so, for how long? About 3 and a half weeks (been able to see eachother for 3 weeks I think)
Have you started sessions yet? I started today
How long have you been working on bonding your bunnies? Since starting prebonding September 9th
How frequently do you have bonding sessions, and how long are they? Just started today and did 10 minutes
Have you tried any stressing techniques? No

Just started the first bonding session today with my boy bunnies! It went surprisingly well. I recorded about the whole thing with a camera so the footage is on an SD card right now. Hoping to share it with you guys soon.

Started in the bathtub with towels down. Released them at the same time with help from my dad, then he exited the bathroom. They started out curious of each other and scared in the neutral territory. I started by petting them side by side and they snuggled together. I did this for a while then let them be. There was no nipping or fighting. Pinky even licked Muffin’s ear for a second.

They of course haven’t decided who is dominant yet, they kept putting their heads down waiting to be groomed but I don’t think either one gave in. Pinky may have licked Muffin’s head once, but I’ll have to look back on the footage to see if he really did.

I ended on petting them side by side again for a bit then shoved them gently into separate carriers.

I’m relieved that they didn’t fight today. We’ll see if this stays the same going into new sessions. Tomorrow they’ll go back into the bath tub together.

I’ll see if I can figure out a way to share the whole video with you guys (advice on that would be nice). I could see if I can upload it on YouTube maybe? Would that be shareable on here? Then you guys could see their body language and get a better idea of how it’s going.

[DanaNM]

That sounds like a wonderful first session! Way to go!

 

And re: the video, yes you could share to youtube or google drive and make it viewable to anyone with the link, then post the link here.

. . . 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.  

[Moonlightbunny66]

Thanks DanaNM! 🙂 I forgot to add that Pinky groomed his own face during the session and layed down on his belly.

I actually timed the session wrong, it was 20 minutes. Oops! It still went well, though. 😀

[DanaNM]

That all sounds like very relaxed behavior and is a great sign!

. . . 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.  

[Moonlightbunny66]

(don’t mind the tape, we’re redoing the tiles on that wall)

Second session:

Today’s session was about 45 minutes, then I started putting them in the carriers.

The behaviour was about the same as yesterday, but more snuggling. I think Muffin nipped Pinky on the nose, but no reaction from Pinky. I think Muffin wants to be the dominant one more than Pinky. He keeps resting his head on Pinky’s head or back. Not sure if he’s just using him as a pillow or if this is his way of showing he’s dominant. It might also be because he’s taller and when I start petting him he puts his head down, so it naturally rests on Pinky.

Muffin got bored or irritated after a while and wanted to leave. He was chewing and digging the towel in the bathtub.

As the sessions get longer, I want to move them into an x pen in my dad’s office for some more space. We also can’t have them in the bathtub for two days straight, cause we use it lol.

Pinky only looked around when I put him in the bath tub, then layed still on his belly for the rest of the session. Muffin looked around a few times. Most of the session was them snuggling side by side. I still pet them when they looked too scared, and at the beginning and end of the session.

Pinky seemed to look to Muffin for comfort when I started preparing the carriers at the end of the session (making noise).

Muffin may be sick, he had a sneezing fit when I took Pinky out at the end of the session. They’ve both been sneezing everyday. I thought it was hay dust, but I emailed my vet. The inner corner of his right eye is also very red. Waiting for a response now.

[Moonlightbunny66]

Waiting for my last post of the second session to get approved. This is the nip I spoke about: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xvhyHv6D_o0avd_PpZT068AwGPk-MHlP/view?usp=drivesdk

Definitely a nip but no blood drawn.

[DanaNM]

That sounds like another positive session. 🙂

Not sure about the sneezing. If it’s constant it could be an upper respiratory infection. Hopefully the vet will have some ideas.

. . . 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.  

[Moonlightbunny66]

DanaNM thank you! Yeah it seems to be going well so far.

I hope it’s not an upper respiratory infection! They were both finally healthy… I’ll keep an eye on them.

Thanks.

[HipHopBunny]

Sounds to be going well! 🙂

About the upper respiratory infection – how long has it been going on for? Does he have repetitive sneezes? OB had one of those at one point, you could definitely tell something was wrong with her too, for she had constant heavy breathing. 🙁 If it is that though, once my girly was treated, she was as sassy as ever and recovered in no time! 🙂

Wishing you answers!

[Moonlightbunny66]

HipHopBunny I think it’s been a few days that he’s been having some sneezing fits. Sneezes everyday from both bunnies. I haven’t heard a sneezing fit today, though. Which is good.

The email I got from the vet says it could be from allergies and dust. They said to keep the area clean. But not sure what to do about the hay dust. They said if they have any discharge in the eyes then they’ll give us some medicine. I think Pinky has been having a runny nose lately since it’s been wet every time I touch it. But I’ll keep checking on them to see if anything changes. They go to the non rabbit vet next week to make sure the ear mites are gone!

I’m glad your bunny got better! 🙂

[Author]

Messages