Please help me with bonding!

[Rebecca0123]

Hi, Im totally new here so hopefully I’ve posted in the right place!

For a while now, I have been thinking of getting my 9 month old bunny a friend. 2 weeks ago, I brought home a beautiful rescue bunny. She’s very timid but also very loving. 

For a week, the new bunny was kept in a cage with a pen around it to stop my other bunny (who is free roam) from getting near her. 

In week 2, I have been putting them in the bath together. The first day, they ignored each other and that was that. On day 2 my existing rabbit started nipping the others back end for no apparent reason but usually a spray of water and some reassuring head strokes meant that they would go back to ignoring each other. 

By day 4, everything was going well although the nipping was still occurring, so I decided to feed them together. They both happily munched their mange tout without issue. After they had eaten however, the nipping fiasco began again. They also seem happy to groom themselves in front of each other. 

Today, I thought that maybe the nipping was happening because they were in such a small space so i moved them to the bathroom floor and gave them each their greens. They ate happily but the second they finished the nipping begun again, I sprayed them with water but it seemed to become a fight so I pulled them apart and crated one of them.

What can I do to make this situation better? I’m starting to wonder if I have done the right thing. Everything I have learned about bonding has been online. Is there such a thing as a person who can help me to do it? I don’t want to upset either of the bunnies.

Thank you for any help that you can give me.

[Clarajb]

Hi there,

Oh man, I could’ve written this post! I have a 2 year old bunny (I’ve had him for 1 yr). He is free range and has been for several months. Exactly 2 weeks ago I brought home a 2 yr old female bunny from a shelter. I had introduced them at the shelter and the intro seemed to go well enough that I was comfortable bringing her home. I had them in cages side by side for 2 weeks – during that time I had to keep extra barriers up when my little guy was around her so he didn’t bite her through the bars. I also had to wash my hands after I touched her before I touched him so he didn’t attack me! Today was the first day I introduced them in my house in neutral territory. It did not go so well. Lots of chasing, fur pulling, and territorial behavior from my male – even in neutral space!

I’m sure there are others on here with more experience from me, but from what I understand, having both bunnies spayed/neutered is important before beginning bonding to minimize the impact of hormones on the process.

Secondly, ignoring is a good thing! I had moments today when my 2 ignored each other and I was pleased, lol. I wish my male had done a little more of that, but whenever he remembered that the female was there he lunged at her.

I contacted the local house rabbit association in my state (they have someone on call which is fabulous!) and she suggested that I let the chasing go on a little longer than the 10 seconds I did before I sprayed my little guy with water. As I said my female lost a chunk of hair in the process- but no skin attached, which apparently, is also a good thing. The woman at the association said that as long as both rabbits were not fully ‘engaged’ with one another it was less likely that a significant attack would happen.

Tomorrow I’m going to give it a shot in a slightly larger space, with more to do (more veggies to eat, things to explore) as I left the playpen completely empty today thinking that it would leave less to be territorial over.

So now they’re back in side by side cages – my male scent marked the ENTIRE room where their cages are with poos before he went back in, ha. He never does that!

I am very curious to hear what others have to say about this post (and maybe my thoughts as well) – some of the things I was told on the phone were ‘new’ to me compared to what I’ve read.

I’m right there with ya, feeling like ‘did I do the right thing?’ I feel especially badly because the new bunny is so stressed out, and who knows what she was through before she ended up at the shelter! However they are both happily munching on hay right now in their respective cages, so maybe that’s a start.

[Baxter n Boos Mom]

I’m no expert either – but if the bathtub worked, I would go back to it. I’ve heard load noises (turning on vacuum) when the buns start to act up is helpful – as they will settle down when scared.

After a few months of controlled, short bonding sessions – we let the chasing go on in larger areas for longer sessions – as Baxter could never catch Boo (Baxter was always the aggressor)….and eventually he just learned to accept Boo in his space.

Even once he accepted Boo – he would still boss him around…like not allowing Boo to be in the living room. So we used to Xpen them together in the living room, until Baxter learned to accept Boo there as well.

Socializing buns is so interesting… Best of luck!

[Rebecca0123]

Well, tonight I changed their space again. This time I chose the hall which is a much bigger space. The rabbits at first ignored each other and then fur flew! The rabbit I’ve had longest was determined to be the dominant one but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen for him. We had tension for 15 minutes or so and then they went on ignoring each other for 45! If Florence (the new addition) did get too close to Zebedee then he removed himself from the situation and went back to where he felt comfortable. I think she is going to be the dominant one but, we’ll see how it goes! After 45 minutes of being tolerant, we decided that was enough for one night as its best to end on a high.

I’m so happy. Even though they were ignoring each other, they were relaxing (grooming themselves, eating, lying down) I feel like theres hope after tonight. Long may it continue!

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