Pre-Bonding Questions

[Peapod026]

Hi All!

Well, We’ve been thinking about getting a friend for our little Merlin. Our work hours have increased, and he’s alone most of the day, most days now. That being said, we of course spend plenty of time with him when we are home in the evenings and mornings. But, when he IS alone, we’d like him to be as happy as possible. We are going to take him to an adoption event the second weekend in June for some speed dating, but before we do, I am wondering what the best location for our new rabbit would be, somewhere for her to stay while they are bonding. We live in a studio that’s a loft, so there’s a long entryway, and then you go upstairs into an studio apartment. Merlin has free-range of the who studio upstairs (but never goes downstairs).

So, when we get the new rabbit, I was thinking of putting her in an xpen downstairs, that’s far away from Merlin’s territory. BUT, there’s also some space near our bed upstairs, that Merlin doesn’t really go near, although if he’s free range he would be able to go over there/near her xpen. If we put her xpen upstairs and in the area near the bed Merlin doesn’t frequent, would that be a problem? If we were to put her upstairs, we would deep clean the studio first so that there are no smells of Merlin anywhere (we would probably do that anyway).

Anyway, what location is best for setting up the new girl’s xpen? We were planning on doing bonding sessions in the bathroom/bathtub, since that is neutral territory for both of them.

Thanks!

[TheInsaneHyena]

Before you do any of this, Make sure they are both spayed/neutered. Without that, almost any bunny will be territorial. I would definitely put the girl somewhere in Merlin’s territory(if he is neutered he wont be territorial). But somewhere where you can block off Merlin from coming in. If she is stressed out by something then she should probably not be stressed by a stranger rabbit. After the new girl settles in, i would recommend letting Merlin and the girl to be outside of their cages at different times so they can find each others scent. Bonding with rabbits can be very tricky. Not every pair is guaranteed to get along, and there is a chance they could never be friendly towards each other. From rabbit owner to rabbit owner, -Hyena

[Elliriyanna]

The rabbits are going to smell each other and they are going to be curious about it. There is no need to completely cut off their territories from one another. However keep them from being able to actually come into contact with each other. Seeing and smelling is fine but contact is not a good idea immediately.

[LBJ10]

Having the new bunny in the entryway might be a good idea for the first few days, just to get him/her settled. After that, I think it is alright allowing them to be able to see/smell each other. You can get some exercise pens to fence off an area. You can let them play in the same area at different times. You can even do the litter box switcheroo. All of these things will get them used to each others’ presence before the official bonding begins.

[Deleted User]

I agree with TheInsaneHyena-make sure that both rabbits are fixed. You might want to wait a week or so before proceeding further with bonding. During this time, it would probably be best to keep the new rabbit in the area where Merlin will never see her.

After that, I would personally keep the rabbit in the bedroom in an x-pen. That way, Merlin can see, smell, and interact with the girl without actually coming into physical contact. This gives them a chance to get used to each other. Let them grow accustomed to each other’s smell and presence. This is a doubly good idea because you can monitor their progress (good or bad) and see if they’re ready to proceed to the next step-actual physical contact.

Good luck, and I hope this helped!

[Peapod026]

Thanks guys! Yes–Merlin is neutered and the girl we adopt will probably be too (if not, we won’t start bonding until after her spay).
We just bought an extra x-pen to separate them so they each have their own! I will keep the girl downstairs at first, then move her to our bedroom!
Merlin has a speed dating session this Sunday–I hope he finds a girlfriend!

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