Problems with Bonding

[msolorio]

I am having some issues with a newly bonded pair. My girl (4) Kensi, lost her partner on christmas eve this past year and we sent her to some bunny dates at a local rescue. When the bonding expert found a match she took them for a little over a week for bonding camp. Now that they are home in an enclosed play pen, we have noticed that the new boy Basel (4) has been picking fights with Kensi. He will come up behind her and nip at her back and once he even nipped her head. 

Kensi is not the kind of rabbit who will fight after ever altercation, she kind of haunches up in a litter box with her ears back almost like she is bracing for more punishment from Basel. He seems to like to nip at her at random times and it is concerning because I am away during the day and don’t feel comfortable leaving them alone. I don’t really want my old bun to be in a bonding where she is constantly getting picked on, this was not the experience with her old partner at all. I don’t really think she likes it based on the way she behaves around him. 

Basel is very timid and seems to be very emotional. He does a 180 about 3 times day where he just all of a sudden out of nowhere starts to nip and chase. He gets in funks and I am scared that as this bonding grows and they become more unsupervised I will have a bunny who will chase my original rabbit all day or randomly. 

I am very concerned because this was not my experience at all with my first bonding. Kensi’s former partner was very sweet and though they would chase or push each other I felt confident that they weren’t going to terrorize or hurt each other. Any thoughts on this from the message boards? I feel terrible about returning him to the rescue but I feel I have to take care of the well being of my original rabbit. 

We have tried super neutral territory (which sometimes just makes Basel madder, and sometimes Kensi) and car rides (which do calm them down for a good while afterwards). 

[Azerane]

I’m not really sure what to suggest bonding wise, however for me the priority would be the welfare of my previous rabbit. I would ring the rescue who matched them and tell them about your concerns, I’m surprised they called them bonded given the amount of nipping he’s doing, while they certainly could still potentially bond, it also may not improve. I would just discuss your options with them. There is no harm in returning him if you are then potentially going to be giving a different rabbit a home instead, and if both rabbits end up happier in the long run it’s probably the best thing.

[msolorio]

Thanks for responding Azerane! I feel crazy for asking this question as some forums say to let them work it out, and I just get a bad feeling about the bonding. Sometimes I feel like I am too close to the situation to know if this is alright behavior or not. He seems to want to mount and she keeps running away. He also seems to be interested in nipping her butt, though he nipped her head once before. She doesn’t fight back but just haunches like she bracing for it and runs away, her personality is non-aggressive, she has only fought once during a date and that’s only when pushed extremely far during the interaction. Thanks for your input Azerane it really helps. 

[vanessa]

I wouldn’t cal them bonded. Especially after only 1 week. You could try a different rabbit, or you could take them a step back, and do bonding dates and continue the process your self. If he is still trying to hump and nip, they are not yet bonded. It’s not to say that it won’t work out, but there is no guarantee that it will or won’t.

[Azerane]

Posted By msolorio on 2/04/2016 7:42 PM

Thanks for responding Azerane! I feel crazy for asking this question as some forums say to let them work it out, and I just get a bad feeling about the bonding. Sometimes I feel like I am too close to the situation to know if this is alright behavior or not. He seems to want to mount and she keeps running away. He also seems to be interested in nipping her butt, though he nipped her head once before. She doesn’t fight back but just haunches like she bracing for it and runs away, her personality is non-aggressive, she has only fought once during a date and that’s only when pushed extremely far during the interaction. Thanks for your input Azerane it really helps. 

Well I think there certainly are times when you need to let them work it out, but at the end of it you know your rabbit better than anyone else. The fact that she’s running away and not fighting back is a good thing, but if she never lets him mount her to show dominance then it could perhaps escalate from that too.

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