Shelter Bonding?

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This topic has 17sd replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 10 months ago by Deleted User.

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- 01/15/2010 at 10:48 AM
  FluffyBunny
  Participant
  1263 posts
  One of the rabbit shelters near me offers a service where you pick out a bunny from their shelter, drop off your own bunny, and then you leave them there for a couple weeks, then pick up your then-bonded bunnies. Thinking ahead, there’s a good chance I’ll have an opportunity to drop him off to get that done in July or August of this year.
  
  I’m just wondering…Has anyone on BB had their bunnies bonded at a shelter? Did you like the job they did, etc? It certainly seems easier than going through all the bonding at home.
- 01/15/2010 at 11:00 AM
  Sarita
  Participant
  18851 posts
  Is this the Colorado Chapter of the House Rabbit Society?
- 01/15/2010 at 11:19 AM
  MarkBun
  Participant
  2842 posts
  Was the only way I got Maryann and Dono together.
  
  SaveABunny usually requires non-experienced bonding people to leave their bun behind so that they can bond them properly. It does cost a little bit but seeing as how they did in 3 days what I couldn’t do in 4 months, I think it is well worth the investment. The trouble is that with us being slaves, that usually means our bun is the alpha in the house. So we can’t tell them that they have to accept this other rabbit. Placing them into a shelter with people not in their pecking order to do the work definitely helps things along.
- 01/15/2010 at 12:21 PM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  Posted By MarkBun on 01/15/2010 11:19 AM
  Was the only way I got Maryann and Dono together.
  
  It does cost a little bit
  
  So how much?
- 01/15/2010 at 12:40 PM
  FluffyBunny
  Participant
  1263 posts
  Posted By Sarita on 01/15/2010 11:00 AM
  Is this the Colorado Chapter of the House Rabbit Society?
  
  Yup, actually. It is.
- 01/15/2010 at 12:47 PM
  Sarita
  Participant
  18851 posts
  I think SageCat has or does volunteer with them as well. I would go for it – they have been around a long time with some very knowledgeable respected board and volunteers.
- 01/15/2010 at 1:21 PM
  Monkeybun
  Participant
  10479 posts
  I couldn’t imagine leaving my babies at a shelter for that long.. I need my hourly bunny visits at the minimum!
- 01/15/2010 at 1:26 PM
  Elrohwen
  Participant
  7318 posts
  The rescue I’ve started volunteering at offers this and I’ll be happy to take them up on the offer when the time comes! Though it would be very hard to give up my bun for a few weeks.
- 01/15/2010 at 1:58 PM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  Posted By Monkeybun on 01/15/2010 01:21 PM
  I couldn’t imagine leaving my babies at a shelter for that long.. I need my hourly bunny visits at the minimum!
  
  What if you had to board them anyways; wouldn’t it be great to come home to a bonded pair??
- 01/15/2010 at 2:03 PM
  FluffyBunny
  Participant
  1263 posts
  Posted By Petzy on 01/15/2010 01:58 PM
  
  What if you had to board them anyways; wouldn’t it be great to come home to a bonded pair??
  
  That’s actually why I’m thinking of getting it done this Summer; we’ll be on a trip so why not get him bonded in the time he’d be at a petsitter anyway?
- 01/15/2010 at 3:53 PM
  Monkeybun
  Participant
  10479 posts
  Hmm thats a good point.. my local rescue that I got Moose from does petsitting, and well.. they’ve bonded buns for people that wouldn’t adopt anythign but bonded pairs
- 01/15/2010 at 6:48 PM
  MarkBun
  Participant
  2842 posts
  The boarding and bonding was $35/day at SaveABunny – I actually don’t think it was anymore than the boarding costs as the major bonding issue is to keep them in the same pen all the time and make sure they don’t fight – so it’s not a lot of extra work for them.
- 01/15/2010 at 6:51 PM
  jerseygirl
  Moderator
  22345 posts
  Posted By MarkBun on 01/15/2010 11:19 AM
  It does cost a little bit but seeing as how they did in 3 days what I couldn’t do in 4 months, I think it is well worth the investment.
  
  haha! Of course, it was easy for them after you did all that prep work.
  
  Fluffybunny, I’m curious to know, did Mr Bunny heal ok from that weird fur thing?
- 01/16/2010 at 9:11 AM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  I would first try bonding myself. It’s good that they have the option, but keep in mind that once you bring the “shelter bonded pair” back to your bun’s home turf, that bond may not last… and it’s possible that it would still require some further bonding sessions on your part. I guess if you were planning on boarding your bun anyways, that would be okay, but I wouldn’t do that exclusively unless you tried and were experiencing major problems. Most buns can bond with daily sessions in a short length of time (under a month). The key is to do it every day, read the bunny signs, do not give up, and do it right.
- 01/16/2010 at 6:40 PM
  MooBunnay
  Participant
  3087 posts
  That sounds like a really great service, and at a minimum a really great way to get the bonding started (if not all the way done). To Beka’s point, I think you need to discuss with them what to do when you get the bunnies home to give the bond the best chances at doing well. You’ll probably need to build a brand new cage so that it is a completely “neutral” territory, and so that your bunny doesn’t get territorial as soon as you get him home
- 01/16/2010 at 7:44 PM
  katiep
  Participant
  222 posts
  Ok, so two questions…..If you have someone else bond your bunnies whether for 4 days or 4 weeks, couldn’t they resort back to their old habits and not get along back at home? Has anyone had any issues/experiences with this?
  
  Also, is there anywhere in Ohio that does this???? This would make my life so much easier with stubborn rabbits!!
- 01/17/2010 at 6:27 AM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  Posted By katiep on 01/16/2010 07:44 PM
  
  Ok, so two questions…..If you have someone else bond your bunnies whether for 4 days or 4 weeks, couldn’t they resort back to their old habits and not get along back at home? Has anyone had any issues/experiences with this?
  
  Also, is there anywhere in Ohio that does this???? This would make my life so much easier with stubborn rabbits!!
  
  They can absolutely fight once they get home. Something you could do while they are “on vacation” is completely overhaul the bunny area… new caging (or clean it very well), new blankets, rugs, litterboxes, maybe change their shared location. Once a pair is bonded, you want them to have a 2-week “Bunny moon” where they are kept together at all times. This helps to cement that new bond.
  
  I’m not sure if anyplace does that in Ohio… maybe check the Buckeye and Columbus HRS?
- 01/17/2010 at 6:03 PM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  Posted By Beka27 on 01/17/2010 06:27 AM
  
  They can absolutely fight once they get home. Something you could do while they are “on vacation” is completely overhaul the bunny area… new caging (or clean it very well), new blankets, rugs, litterboxes, maybe change their shared location. Once a pair is bonded, you want them to have a 2-week “Bunny moon” where they are kept together at all times. This helps to cement that new bond.
  
  The habitat overhaul makes all the difference; I would do it for any new bond, no matter where the bonding sessions took place.
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