Stalled Bonding pt. 2

[Dabby]

Hello again friends!

I Posted discussion similar to this a couple of months ago that gives more background on our situation. I will link it at the bottom to save some space.

Since then I have moved Henry and Hazel into a room for pre-bonding with a xpen fence down the middle to have a large “contact area.” We switch them to the other side every day to get them used to each other’s smell. Hazel is very chill and doesn’t mark outside her box. Henry doesn’t mark either except for on Hazel’s favorite spot on one side of the room. We feed them treats next to each other with the fence between them so they can associate good things with each other. Henry has developed an intense love of food (esp. pellets) and will sometimes become protective through the fence if Hazel gets too close, but he never tries to steal her treats. Hazel has never been around bunnies so she doesn’t understand or reciprocate any of Henry’s behavior, she just minds her own business and runs when he chases. Semi-weekly I will have the bunnies eat their favorite treats together accompanied by me with no fence between them. I really want to do that more often but I never have time.

So, on to our real problem. About 3 months ago my family got tired of waiting for the buns to bond and I thought we might have to give Henry up. I had to try to speed up their bonding because I had grown fond of Henry. This was a mistake. I would let them smell each other and sit next to each other for a short amount of time every day. Several times I lost control of the situation and Henry chased Hazel and would bite her butt pulling off chunks of fuzz. Hazel is not assertive. Once we slowed things down and started the pre-bonding again, Hazel started to not mind him. Recently she has become more fearful of him and I don’t know why. She doesn’t stay close to him even with the fence between.  He has stopped chasing her when we give them snacks together with no fence, but if he looks at her wrong she will scamper off a short distance and then cautiously come back for her food. He will sometimes lunge at her or nip at her through the fence when there is no food involved. He recently pulled out her fur, nipping through the fence.  I think he might be trying to play. Any thoughts? Hazel doesn’t understand and thinks he still means her harm (understandable).

Honestly I don’t know how to remedy the situation. I understand that this may not work out; but I would just like to know if there is anything else I can do to save this situation. I realize that I have done things incorrectly to the bunnies’ detriment, but I do try my best to keep both bunnies safe. Please don’t pull your punches, I want to know what needs to happen. Thank you so much for your time and assistance!

Part one:

 https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/ta…fault.aspx

[DanaNM]

Hi there, welcome.

I just revisited your other thread to remind myself of the situation. It’s good that you’ve been doing pre-bonding and working to build up positive associations, but a couple of things seem to be hurting your progress (as you realized).

First, it’s very important that they are not able to nip each other through the fence during pre-bonding, as this can cause bad feelings to build. Nipping is not a form of play in rabbits, it is a dominance display. Lunging through the fence is also a dominance display.

When you let them sit next to each other, was this in neutral territory? At this point, they should not be allowed to interact at all if it isn’t in completely neutral space.

I wouldn’t be so sure to question Hazel’s interpretation of Henry. I think she understands more than you give her credit for. So far he has done nothing but chase her, lunge at her, nip her, and pull her fur, so I think she is right to run away!

Since Hazel is fearful of Henry, you need to adjust their enclosures so he cannot threaten her during this pre-bonding phase. One of the goals of pre-bonding is for them to realize the other bunny is not a threat. So this means they should not be able to nip each other through the fence or access each other in any way. If they are food aggressive, don’t feed them right next to each other, but do feed them at the same time within sight.

I will say, the fact that she is retreating is better than her turning and trying to fight back, but we don’t want her to be afraid of him all the time.

Have you done any formal bonding sessions since you did pre-bonding? If so, can you describe the length of the sessions and bonding area?

It’s very important for the space to be as neutral as possible, and it’s equally important that you do not let them fight.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Dabby]

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond!
I absolutely see what you mean about making sure Henry can’t nip Hazel and I am in the process of remedying their set-up.
I do have a very hard time finding a neutral space for the formal bonding. We live in a relatively small house and when Hazel was the only bunny, she had access to the entire house. For the last two years we have limited her to the upstairs only, but she never forgot about the downstairs. Since Hazel hasn’t had full access to the basement in years would that be a neutral space?

The first sessions where they would sit together were usually in Hazel’s area because Henry was pretty territorial and Hazel didn’t seem to mind.
Also, we have one room set up where both of the bunnies “live”, which is split down the middle; we’ll call that the Bun Room. Then during the day we let one or the other out of the Bun Room to play in the rest of the upstairs. When they have their weekly snacks accompanied by me, it takes place in our living room. I give them each their own treat pile about 6 inches apart; then they will sit and eat. I let them eat until they are full so they (particularly Henry) feel content and aren’t still hyped up and searching for food. Then, if Hazel finishes first she will hop back to the Bun Room. If Henry finishes first he will try to sniff Hazel. I usually put my gloved hand between them so he can sniff her through my fingers; then I can stop him from biting/chasing. He rarely gets pushy or tries to bite because Hazel will run or I will notice his body language and stop him. Then either he or Hazel will scamper away.  Is this OK because neither of them really “own” the living room, or do they see it differently?
Just a note: In the Bun Room, Henry will often sniff at Hazel through the fence (Hazel sits out of reach), then he will flop right there against the fence near Hazel. What do you make of this?

Thank you again for your help!

[DanaNM]

I think the basement is probably your best bet if no bun has been there in years. Wipe down hard surfaces with dilute white vinegar to neutralize bunny smells. Just to clarify, are there three levels (basement, ground floor, and upstairs)? Or just the basement and upstairs?

Even though neither bun lives in the living room, because they each spend time there, it isn’t neutral, so stop having them interact in that space. Even if you don’t let them fight, I think it might be causing tension and aggression. That area would prob count as “semi-neutral”, but more on the not neutral side.

Think of it this way, if you met a stranger on the street, your first instinct is (usually) not to fight or fear them. When you make friends, it is usually in a place that is not your home. But, if a stranger just arrived in your home one day, and was like “I live here now”, you might be pretty upset, and maybe afraid. Even if that person set up camp in your backyard, you would still be pretty apprehensive about that!

So the idea is to give them an area that neither has ever been in, so they don’t feel like they need to defend themselves so much and don’t have to worry about their food being threatened. I think the treat thing would be better to do while they are in the split bun room, with each on their respective side and the fence between them.

The fact that Henry flops against the fence near Hazel is a good thing. It is basically bunny language for “I’m not afraid of you”.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[Dabby]

Our place is just the Ground floor and the basement, sorry for the confusion.

I see what you mean about the neutral space. Once it is set up what exactly should the bonding sessions look like? Should I start them right away, or wait for Henry to be less assertive and Hazel to be less fearful?

My concern is that when we put them together for the bonding Hazel will see Henry and run away. Then Henry will see her and follow her which then turns into a chase, unless I can manage to distract him. 

I’m sorry to seem so clueless! I have done plenty of research on this topic, but not all of it has been valid information. I would rather get advice from someone with experience such as yourself, rather than an internet source that could be anyone.

[DanaNM]

I think since there were some issues during the pre-bonding phase, keep pre-bonding for a bit more now that you are fixing those issues. I would see how they are doing after another week or two with just swapping sides, and no nipping or anything.

In terms of the bonding area, I think you would benefit from as large a bonding area as possible (2 x-pens linked up works great), with lots of neutral hiding spots (fresh cardboard boxes work great) with at least 2 exits, maybe even some tunnels or other obstacles (all neutral).

That way if Henry chases Hazel, she has somewhere to retreat to, and he will realize she is not going to challenge him. Part of bonding is allowing them to interact at their own pace and not forcing them together if they aren’t ready for that. Especially in the early stages I think it helps build trust.

For first sessions, set short time goals. Bring the rabbits to the bonding area at the same time, and place them on opposite sides. Stand in the area and observe. They will most likely spend a few minutes just exploring the area. If you reach your time goal and they haven’t interacted yet, that’s OK! Still end the session at your time goal. Them exploring means they are more interested in where they are than in the new bunny, which means they don’t think the new bunny is a huge threat.

No need to have any food in the area at this point, and no litter box yet.

If/when they approach each other, start petting them both and swap scents as soon as they are close together. This will help calm them both and start building the trust.

Repeat this plan for several sessions. If they are doing well with this, you can start increasing the session length, and start easing off the petting a bit. (Pause petting for a bit, then resume, and see how they react).

Very important that you do NOT let them fight. A brief chase of couple seconds is OK and light nipping is OK, but in the early phases things can escalate rapidly, so do not allow circling or all out chasing. Try to break up any negative interactions with a loud sound, or if you must intervene physically, press the chaser to the ground and pet them to calm them.

Try to always end the session on a good note (could be ignoring each other, being petted, or just relaxing).

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

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