problems bonding

[Steviebunny]

Hi Folks,

 

Im new here and after any advice you can give me on bonding my two buns.

I have a 3 year old neuetred lion head male (stevieG) and  8 month old french lop spayed female (torres).  I am in the process of bonding the pair.  They were kept in seperate rooms until torres was old enough to be neutered.  She was done in oct and then I  put their pens next each other and did the swopping over everyday.  At first they hated each other but Stevie has now started trying to groom torres if her large ears flop into his cage.  We have done 5 bonding sessions at my mums house each preceded by  a car ride, and two upstairs in the spare room.  I seem to be stuck in a rut.  Stevie  seems very scared and when he approaches torres he manages one or two licks then either runs away and hides behind me or he  jumps on her head and then runs away.  If torres approaches him he gets defensive lays his back and then runs away or bounces on her head.  There has been no all out fighting but a few lunges.  Torres does get annoyed after stevie has bounced on her a five or six times.  They are happy to lay down 2 feet apart and groom themselves and can stay like this for fifteen minutes.  I have tried putting food down and things for them to investigate but they just ignore it.  Is there anything i can do to help stevie get over his nervousness?

 

Erica 

[jerseygirl]

Welcome here!

It may just be a slow process with these 2. Personally I would continue with the sessions in neutral area. The more often they are together, the more comfortable they should become. My only advice is perhaps try sitting them side by side (touching if possible) and patting them both at the same time. Get them really relaxed and enjoying the positive experience in close proximity of one another.
These are useful bonding articles if you haven’t already read them: http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/bond.shtml http://www.rabbit.org/journal/4-4/tough-bonding.html
Is his jumping on her head an attempt at mounting? lol Just watch he doesn’t backward mount – normal mounting is ok by backward mounting may mean somebunny will come to grief.

[Balefulregards]

Bonding buns never seems to go quickly. I read once that you come to a point where you think “Oy – This has been going on FOREVER”, then suddenly – they’re bonded.

They may not need the stress bond car ride. I am unsure from your write up if the lunges or “head bounces” are aggressive or normal dominance behaviors. While I was super nervous about Jackson and Coco Doing their dominance moves on one another for fear it lead to aggression, I also know it is something that HAS to occur between the two. Perhaps your nervousness is causing them to both be nervous? Are you mis-interpreting the need for the two of them to sort out dominance as aggression?

Honestly, Coco ( my female) was so much savvier at what she would tolerate from Jackson ( my male) once I reflect back on it. She really wanted to love him, but she never allowed him to mount her willingly. I have seen her mount him recently. I worried that if he mounted her, she would freak out. She simply never let it happen. She would move away from him if he made an attempt.

They spent much of their bonding times having him chase her. Not aggressively, but constantly. As long as they didn’t become truly Aggressive, I would let them spend their full allotment of time together.

You are doing all the right things – switching pens, cages near each other. You are just going to have to be a super keen observer of their individual body language styles to sense if they are about to throw down in an unholy row – OR figuring out who is going to be the boss.

[Steviebunny]

Hi,

 

Thnks for your comments.  I have tried sitting them togther and petting them the last two days.  This does seem to make them calmer.  Stevie actually groomed torres qute a bit tonight whilst they were being stroked.  I think the boucing on torres head is a form of nervous agrression from Stevie, he dosnt box her or bite her just jumps on her head and then straight over her and run aways.  Sometimes he goes up to her as though he is going to pounce but then stops cms from her nose and then runs off and occassionally he will manage one or two licks and then runs off.  He has always been a very nervous rabbit – he is very wary of any strangers and as behaved aggressively towards strangers if they immediately try to pet him and he cant run away, give him ten mins to check them out and he is very friendly towards them.  Torres is the polar opposite – she is everyones friend.  I am going to keep trying sitting them together as this as been very positive. 

 

Erica

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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