The Bonding Diary of Miles & Winnie (with pictures!)

[Miles and Me]

 Miles got a girlfriend today!  Her name is Winnie and she’s a ~5 lb. grey and white dwarf mix.  I adopted her from Cottontail Rabbit Rescue in Northford, CT.  Mandy at the rescue wasn’t sure about her age, but said she’s probably between 1-2 years old.  She was rescued from a livestock auction and had probably been used for breeding before that.  She was spayed last month.  She was really scared when Mandy took her out of her cage and when I was holding her before introducing her to Miles.  Mandy said she was shy and that that might just be her personality, but that she’d also just come back from a foster home and was spayed a couple weeks ago.  

When we introduced Winnie and Miles at the rescue, neither of them was very active.  He peed on a towel and started falling asleep with his butt towards her.  I turned him around and he hopped over and asked her to groom him by putting his little face down, but she must not have known what to do.  After a while, she licked his ear for a second and that was it.  We decided it was going to be a good fit since she’s so submissive and he’s more or less indifferent, but will probably do better being the more dominant rabbit.

They rode home together in the carrier.  The carrier I have is too big, really, because they could both be in there but be completely separated.  He spent half the ride in the front closer to me while she laid in the very back against the wall.  They rode shotgun to be closer to the A/C vents, it’s hot out!  At home I gave them some time to hang out and get to know each other in the bathroom.  She laid down on the cool tile floor and he hopped over and groomed her ears.  It’s love.

Now they’re in separate sides of an area I blocked off in the room Miles roams around in during the day.  They both have about a 4×4′ space with litterboxes and toys and water bottles and food dishes and hay everywhere.  They were laying down on marble tiles on opposite sides of the divider for a while, it was absolutely precious.  I’m really excited to see how their bonding goes!

[Sarita]

Congratulations! I am going to move this to the bonding section – FYI.

[Miles and Me]

At this point I’m wondering what my involvement with them should be. I don’t want to inhibit their bonding but I want Winnie to get used to me. She’s really nervous around people, which is sad, and I want to change it!

[Miles and Me]

 Thanks, Sarita!

[Miles and Me]

Broke the rules and did a second session in one of theirpartitions. There was one short scuffle which I broke up. I put them next to each other and offered them both a blueberry. Miles ate his, Winnie was scared and froze. They were sort of arguing over space on the cool tiles, so I put a frozen 2-liter bottle of water in with them. The next hour proceeded like this:
 
 

Winnie got up to eat some hay in a litterbox, so I figured that was a good time to separate them again. Ending on a good note!

 

[Beka27]

They are so cute! It’s alright to “break the rules” a little if they are handling it well. All bonds proceed differently.

[Miles and Me]

I brought them on a 45 minute car ride today. I put a frozen 2 liter of water in the back of the carrier so there was less space. Within 15 minutes they were both huddled against it, and then kept rearranging themselves around it. When we got home, I put the carrier in the hallway and vacuumed the room where they live. Afterwards I put them, together, in the non-neutral space where they were yesterday. Almost immediately they were laying together and Miles was grooming Winnie. He stopped and after a few minutes she got up and started humping him backwards. He looked stunned for a second after she was finished, but then started chasing her. I heard one of them growl, so I broke it up, put them side by side, and offered them both some pellets. Winnie ate hers out of my hand, but Miles wasn’t interested. I backed off, and Winnie started grooming Miles! There’s definitely a power struggle here, which is bewildering me because the rescue said she was a submissive rabbit! It seems like she just needed an environment where she could be herself and take charge. A lady after my own heart

 

Eventually she flopped over and he groomed her, then he LAID DOWN ON HER HEAD (I loled).  They moved around a little bit and she ended up grooming him… But she licked his face maybe three times and then started humping him backwards again!  It’s been maybe an hour and half and there haven’t been any issues aside from the first one, so I’m going to go with it.  I’ll call it a day soon

 

   

   

 

[Beka27]

This sounds good. So you are flipping them between the sides of the pen each day? I would keep doing the sessions in the non-neutral space and reserve the neutral area in case they regress.

[Miles and Me]

I’m not flipping them, do you think I should? Yesterday after I put them in their respective pens they were laying next to each other, pressed up against the partition, and Miles was grooming her through the wire. I feel like we’re making progress really quickly!

[Elrohwen]

They’re so cute! So far it sounds like a pretty easy bond – they’ll need to work out their issues, but if they’re already snuggling and grooming they’re well on their way.

Sometimes the humping is confusing. Hannah is my much more dominant rabbit and humped the heck out of Otto, but the day I officially moved them into one cage together he humped her a couple times (she looked shocked! haha). There can definitely be a bit of a power struggle while they figure things out.

Looking forward to more updates!

[Miles and Me]

I honestly think they’re VERY close to being bonded, if they aren’t already. Did a 20 minute car ride after I got out of work today and then came back and they’re hanging out in one pen together. They’ve been laying together and Miles has been grooming Winnie. I really don’t think she knows how to be a rabbit other than making babies and sitting in a tiny cage all day. He puts his head down to ask her to groom him and she humps his face. He’s stopped trying to retaliate, I think he’s accepted that yes, Winnie, you’re the queen of everything, now please love me back!

I might try having them in the same cage overnight depending on how their being in the same pen goes today.

My only problem now is that Miles seems to be shunning me when he and Winnie are in the same space. He used to come say hi and be cute for attention any time I was in sight. What’s up with that?

[Miles and Me]

Now I’m really worried. He’s acting lethargic, even after I separated them. I thought giving him some time outside of his pen would help, but he went under the bed and won’t come out. What do I do!?

[LittlePuffyTail]

How is Miles today? Is he still eating normally?

ps. Winnie is very cute. Congrats!

[Elrohwen]

Sometimes bunnies become completely interested in their new partners soon after bonding, so it could be a normal part of that. Mine wanted nothing to do with me for a couple months and just followed each other everywhere. After a while they went back to their previous personalities and weren’t so attached at the hip. As long as he’s still eating and pooing he’s probably ok.

[Miles and Me]

I was seriously panicking for a little bit, but I think he’s okay. Thank you!

[Miles and Me]

Miles won’t eat anything besides hay and Winnie hates/is terrified of me. I did something wrong and I don’t know what it was or when it happened!

[T.Bunny]

I had a similar problem with ninja and i thought it was because he didnt bond with myself or my partner before we started bonding the rabbits. I found sitting down on the bathroom floor (which was neutral) with the rabbits and petting Berry (our previously owned rabbit) and giving her a raisin helped with ninja’s aggression towards me. He soon hoped up to me looking for a riasin the first few times he grabbed it and ran away then after a few days he would let me touch his head then I was allowed to pet him.

As for miles have you tried herbs or his favourite food? When ninja wouldnt eat I would shake Kale in his face, he would get angry with me and tear it off me eating a bit in the process he then realised he liked the taste and would nibble a bit more.

Im not a bunny expert though these things just worked with my buns, I think its trial and error mostly. Best wishes to your buns

[Miles and Me]

I switched their pens last night and he started eating, then rearranged everything back to the way it was day one and he was voracious. All better on that front.

Their bonding is basically stuck, but that’s okay. I need to be patient! She is determined to be in charge and humps Miles backwards and he pulls out a mouthful of fur. Every time. She makes noises and stomps her feet. If they’re in a close space, like in Miles’ old cage (40x20x18) they’ll fight for a second, separate themselves to opposite sides, and then end up close together. In the carrier, they’re like best friends. I don’t understand them. Any suggestions are absolutely welcome.

[LoveChaCha]

Oh no. If there is any backwards humping, I would discourage that.

[T.Bunny]

I have the same problem with my buns at the moment. They are being really good outside the cage but if i put both of them in one cage they fight. I had a lady come in and look at my buns and she said that she thought it was because they are both very dominant and protective about there own cages they need a neutral one so Im borrowing one for the weekend to see if that makes a difference. Though I have had this week off work and it has had a huge effect on my buns. No fighting etc.

I have found one thing that is a little strange with my bond is that they seem to get on much better in bigger spaces but once enclosed in smaller spaces they fight. So for this week I have been allowing them to roam and explore together and they are starting to really bond. I can get them into a small x pen but not in a cage yet. Ill let you know how the other cage goes too. Best of luck to your buns

[Monkeybun]

If one space works better, stick to it for now. My girls were great in the living room pen, so I kept them int here til they were bonded. Do longer and longer sessions if you can, the more time they spend with each other the better, if they do well in the space. If you can get them to be bonded in one space, chances are higher for them to not fight in another.

[Miles and Me]

Thanks for the words of encouragement and advice, I really need it! They had the weekend “off” – in their separate pens with no bonding attempts – because I was house sitting in Boston. My dad took care of the goobers. I’m only working two days this week, so I plan to spend a lot of time working with them. I hope we make some progress!

[Miles and Me]

I took them on one car ride this week and did two sessions in a neutral area. I randomly put them together in a pen with a bowl of veggies two nights ago. They shared like old buddies! I wasn’t expecting it to go well, but there was only a little nipping and one short chase after the veggies were gone.  Now they’re inseparable, and Winnie even grooms Miles more now!  Safe to say they’re bonded

 

[jerseygirl]

Oh how sweet! Congratulations on the bond. So they are living in the same pen now? It’s a good idea to keep them in it more initially just so they iron out any little issues they have with one another.

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