Theodore & Ruscal – The names Bond – Bunny Bond (in photos)

[Alfiebuns]

Theodore & Ruscal are both 1 year old male, neutered buns. We have tried unsuccessful bonding previously (including car journeys, bath bonds, box method,etc.) and have had them living with a fence between them, so able to see each other, for the past 3 months. This is our final attempt at bonding the pair and have decided to go for a marathon session! 

We we believe the boys will be love bugs as we know them both inside out and just want them to give it a go. So, we have set up in the neutral space of the kitchen with a thin fence between the 2 and we are set for a 12 hour bunathon! 

So far we have had 2 sleepy buns and charging/biting through fence. I will try and update with photos regularly and would be grateful for any tips and suggestions. Fingers crossed!!! Here we go! 

[Alfiebuns]

[Alfiebuns]

[Alfiebuns]

[Alfiebuns]

Bunny bond come to an abrupt end due to Ruscal showing signs of being unwell. He is acting kind of depressed, it is really worrying us so we have put everything back to normal and we will see how he goes overnight.=(

[Alfiebuns]

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[Alfiebuns]

Take 2!

Ruscal seemed absolutely fine fine overnight and most probably just fooled us to get out of the situation so we have gone back to basics today with a bath session. This has not worked we’ll between these 2 before so hopefully this is a good sign!

Not really sure what to do after this though or how long to do this for.

[Alfiebuns]

Yesterday’s session went quite well, considering the bath has never made much difference to these 2 in the past. The bath bond lasted for about 3 hours, both buns groomed each other and everything was looking good until randomly Theodore nipped Ruscal’s bum out of the blue, luckily Russ didn’t react and he continued to munch hay. Today we’re gonna try the bath again then the bathroom floor.

[Alfiebuns]

[Alfiebuns]

Yesterday’s session ended quite quickly. The boys had a bath bond and cleaned each other but Theodore nipped ruscal again which made Russ very nervous. We tried them on the bathroom floor where they ignored each other, then tried outside the bathroom and they quickly got into scuffles.

[Alfiebuns]

Today we’ve gone for another bath session. Both boys have groomed each other but again Theodore has nipped Russ so Russ has backed himself into the corner of the bath and seems very nervous and unsure of Theodore. We don’t seem to be getting passed this stage 

[Alfiebuns]

Come on boys, it’s valentines day!!!! 

[Alfiebuns]

[Alfiebuns]

They’re both bubbling whilst asleep next to each other, they have to be best of friends now, surely!!?!

[Alfiebuns]

We had a 4 hour bath session and have now moved into our sitting room for the evening. Russ is being very territorial but they seem to be making progress so we are gonna try and do a bunathon overnight! Fingers crossed this is it!!!

[Alfiebuns]

The boys didn’t seem to take onboard the fact that it was valentines day and just bond :/ the overnight session ended with them being separated with a transparent fence as they were just scuffling too much. Today we have tried a box bond and then put them in the garden together under close supervision of course. So far we have had a scuffle but mostly Russ is just ignoring Theodore. Theodore, however, has really come alive bless him. He seems to look much younger and he binkies lots like a carefree little man that had found a new best friend (one that he creeps up on and nips his bum for no reason at all -_-)

So, we’re still not there just yet and they’re so unpredictable it is hard to know what to do next!

[Alfiebuns]

The boys have now been together for a while and seem at ease in each other’s company, like rolling over, grooming themselves and sharing food but if they get too close to each other it erupts into a mid air scuffle  So very annoying!! 

We are using the box every time they fight but to be honest they seem to be doing it just to be stubborn now. I have no idea how to get them properly bonded now but hoping time will help and a lot of bribery. 

[Alfiebuns]

We seem to have come to a standstill with the boys  They have been together now for the past 4 days but things appear to be getting very tense between the and the amount of scuffles have increased. 

It is so strange though as they will still choose to lay near each other and share food etc. so I don’t know if they are bonding just in a very boisterous way or if it just isn’t working. 

We’re not giving up just yet but we are struggling! 

[Alfiebuns]

Day 10 . 

 Russ & Theodore are no different. We’ve tried bath sessions, box wobbling, banana head smearing, car journeys,  bunathons, reverse psychology, bribery, creating loving atmospheres, creating scary atmospheres, threats, reducing their amenities forcing them to share and we don’t seem to be moving passed the lack of trust/scuffling. 

We have discovered a couple of cuts on Russ’s head even though we were sure Theodore was the less aggressive. Russ now just doesn’t want to give Theodore a chance, Theodore appears to be willing, at times, to try but then Russ reacts nervously – charges, lunges, kicks, slaps – so Theodore retaliates. 

We are officially stuck 

[Alfiebuns]

Banana head cleaning in the bath!

[Alfiebuns]

‘I hate you but I must follow you everywhere you go’

Bunnies on dining chairs

[Alfiebuns]

We have had to have a change of plan as Russ was just too reluctant to let Theodore anywhere near him, even in the bath, Russ would accept grooms from Theodore but then charge at him or nip him. Russ just seems far too nervous now and seems to have reversed back to how he was on day one.

So, after reading lots of threads on BB for ideas, we have decided to try and bond all 4 of our buns at once! Exciting!! (Completely terrifying) 

[Alfiebuns]

Day 11 – we have our first bath session as a foursome. Black bunny is our little lady Bloo, she is 11months old and bonded to the tan & white bunny next to her – Alfie, he is 2 in June and a very chilled out lovey dovey little man. Both bunnies are extremely friendly. Then underneath them we have Russ on the left and Theodore on the right, both bunnies looking a little grubby following banana smearing. 

The session lasted about 10 minutes. Theodore groomed Bloo, Russ nipped Bloo, Alfie nipped Russ for nipping Bloo and Bloo remained oblivious to all of this. 

We won’t be doing any bonding tomorrow due to my partner being away, it might be good to give Russ some space. Right now he is the problematic one, we could probably bond the other 3 successfully and are unsure whether to just do so and bond Russ in at a later date. 

[BunnyLady1989]

Aw such handsome boys! I’ve never bonded bunnies before but I definitely hear it is hard work! I’m assuming the boys are both neutered? Best of luck!!

[Alfiebuns]

Thank you! All bunnies are spayed/neutered and it is definitely hard work. 

Day 12 (missing out a few days of rest) we tried another bath session with the foursome. Russ proved problematic again and upset all the other buns in the process. The other 3 seemed calmer together so we have decided to try and bond the 3 and add Russ in once he’s gained a bit of confidence. 

White bunny book ends! 

[RabbitPam]

I just want to say that I think your buns are so adorable, and I love, love, love some of these pix.

[Alfiebuns]

Thank you  They’re cuteness gets them away with a lot!! 

Day 12 – video of Alfie, Theodore and Bloo in a bath session. This session lasted 3 hours. Bloo groomed Ted (in video) which baffled Alfie. He watched her with a kind of ‘I can’t believe your cheating on me with him in front of my very eyes!!!! And you never groom me!!!’ Kind of look. Alf and Bloo have been bonded for almost a year now and never been with any other buns so this is great for Bloo  both her and Theodore had a terrible start to life and didn’t trust a soul when we first got them (separately) so we’re delighted with this. 

Alfie, however, is acting very odd – as you can see from the charge he does into Theodore’s side. This is very uncharacteristic of him as he is our biggest love bun but I don’t think it is a very aggressive charge, just odd. 

http://youtu.be/GG4P8N65zTo

The session ended with all 3 being out into the garden to play, Alfie &Theodore stayed away from each other. Bloo humped Theodore a few times which he wasn’t bothered about and then we ended the session with some treats. We kept a fence up so Ruscal could choose to watch the buns I the garden but he instead chose to go up to bed. 

[Alfiebuns]

Day 13 – another bath session followed by a play in the garden for the threesome. 

As you can see, Alf is still miffed at Bloo getting along with Theodore so well. He charged Theodore a few times in the garden and then out of nowhere Bloo and Theodore erupted into a huge tussle. Both were unhurt but I don’t understand why it happened. Sometimes, alf’s charges are followed by binkies too and sometimes Theodore binks while he’s being chased. I hope this is just boisterous playing.

We’re gonna try a couple more days of bath bonding and garden play times then do a marathon session on Saturday and if we’re still getting nowhere I’m gonna crawl under a rock and stay there forever.

Ruscal is back to his usual self now and is never far from the action, we keep a fence between him and Theodore at night so hopefully he will be less freaked out when we do come to bond him in to the group. 

[Alfiebuns]

http://youtu.be/wsmEqDPUtCo

I hope this one works! Just a little update of Ruscal back to his old self playing with his new toy! 

[Alfiebuns]

http://youtu.be/GG4P8N65zTo

[LongEaredLions]

Looking good! Love this thread and all your buns!
Don’t get discouraged, you will get there!

[Alfiebuns]

Thank you!! This thread has been so helpful for us as it is so easy to get stuck and think we’re not making progress but when we look at this it shows we have come a long way… In teeny tiny tentative bunny steps.

We have continued with our bath and garden sessions with the threesome but have decided against the bunathon as Alfie has had a case of sloppy ploppies. The bunathon will go ahead as soon as he seems ok but I must say it is easy to get discouraged =(

We seem to just have confused-dominator wars now – Theodore has accepted alfie as the dominant male so he never tries to attack Alfie back when alf lunges at him or chases him, whereas with Ruscal, Theodore would fight back and get into huge scuffles. Bloo has groomed Theodore numerous times now but has also tried to hump him so not sure what is going on with that relationship but Bloo’s acceptance of Theodore is definitely the cause of alf’s hostility towards him.  

Onwards and upwards hopefully!!!

[Dwarf Sparrow]

I love the videos!
Whoever invents a device to allow us to hear and understand rabbit thoughts will make a FORTUNE hahaha
And you better keep a close on your Bloo; I’m gonna steal her away one of these days

[Alfiebuns]

Haha she is beautiful isn’t she! 

I don’t even remember what day we’re on now but we haven’t really got anywhere. We have 4 grumpy bunnies that run away from us every time we get in the ‘catch position’. So, I’m unsure how to go forward. Ruscal has recovered fully so I don’t know whether to just go for it again with all 4 in the bath/box or try Theodore and Alfie together and separately try Russ and Bloo together. I know you’re not supposed to bond a bonded pair separately but I wondered whether it might be worth a try as Alfie only charges Theodore to protect Bloo and Bloo is the calmest of buns so would be a good little starting point for Russ? Or maybe just go for the 4some as that is what the ultimate aim is anyway?  

 Confusion!! 

The bunnies are most definitely winning. 

[Alfiebuns]

ANOTHER bath session with the boys. Russ doesn’t trust Theodore at all as he has nipped him too many times so we are back to basics trying to build up trust. As you can see, Russ is not convinced! 

[Alfiebuns]

So we brought in the heavies to try and hurry things along! Alf and Bloo being there seems to make the boys realise that they’re more comfortable with each other than they realised.

[Alfiebuns]

Russ seemed to snug into Theodore and Theodore became his protector! Russ then groomed him (once the heavies had left) but Theodore soon nipped him and put an end to it. 

So we have now tried a twosome, a foursome, a threesome and we’re back to the twosome! 

[Alfiebuns]

How do you know when it is right to give up? 

We are 1 month into the bonding process now (excluding the many weeks living side by side) and we just don’t seem to be getting anywhere. It is difficult to know what the problem is too so we don’t know how to fix it. 

So the boys have been kept together now for weeks and they are separated at night with a thin transparent fence between them. They seem to choose to spend time together, although never actually ‘together’, they will choose to be in the same room and follow each other around but will never interact except to fight. One day Russ will seem to really make an effort with Ted, flopping next to him or sharing food, and some days ted will make an effort but when one makes the effort, the other is extra mean and every day we have had scuffles and sometimes fights. Both boys now have small injuries, Russ has a nip on his nose and Ted has one on his ear. This come from a mid air fight. Neither bun seems to give in to the other being dominant and it is now at the point where I am at a loss as to what to do, I don’t know if I’m making them unhappy or if they will be unhappier in the long run being alone 

We we have also tried adding Alf and Bloo to the bond, this changes Russ and Ted completely. Ted submits to Alf and is very well behaved around him, although he doesn’t choose to be near him, Alf chases Ted. Russ panics and just tries to get as far away as possible from all buns when they are together. 

Aaarrrrrgggghhhhh! 

[Alfiebuns]

[Alfiebuns]

We are now at a stage where the boys can’t even see each other through a fence without trying to nip each other, so frustrating! 

[Alfiebuns]

Ruscal and Theodore’s bond has been given an official break! We have instead decided to try and bond Theodore with Alfie and Bloo as this dynamic seemed to show the most hope. Ruscal was just becoming more and more aggravated every day with the bonding sessions (box and bath) so we have given him a rest. He and Theodore just couldn’t seem to figure out the dominance factor so we come to a stalemate 

Now we have been trying Ted, Alf and Bloo. Ted seems to accept Alf as the dominate bun, he submits to him instantly every time. This is very uncommon to Alf as he is used to being bossed around (and face humped) by dominate ladies, so Alfie takes full advantage of his new top dog status and chases Ted quite a bit but always innocently. Bloo just ignores him then chases him if he gets too close. So all in all, this bond seems to be going quite well!  Hopefully once this bond is cemented we can introduce Ruscal too.

[Alfiebuns]

Alfie and Theodore sharing raisins 

[Alfiebuns]

Bloo joins the raisin party! 

[Alfiebuns]

2 months later from our first post…..

We gave the gremlins a bit of a rest after things come to a stalemate. We then started things back up again and we have ended up with one successful bond  Alfie and Theodore are now thick as thieves! This is not what we were aiming for at first but we are so happy to have at least one bond secured. 

Unfortunately, Bloo, Alfie’s wifey, is not as keen on Theodore so Alf has to split his time between the two, their bedrooms are side by side so he bops between the two. Bloo and Theodore were becoming indifferent to each other which was great but then a pretty big scuffle erupted and Bloo ended up with her ear torn in half. She has had to have stitches and is currently on meds so she is most definitely not involved in any bonding for a while. It seems Theodore had tried to jump over her and had scratched her ear and sliced right through.

Ruscal has also been left out of bonding as he became so aggressive, he would try to attack Alfie and Theodore through the fence that separates him every time he saw them so we have waited a while and will soon hopefully be trying to bond the 3 boys, starting from scratch again with bath/box/car sessions.

We might get there one day!

[Alfiebuns]

Alfie and Theodore – bonded! 

[BunnyLady1989]

Aw they look happy Congrats!! Good luck with the rest of the bonding sessions. And I hope poor Bloo’s ear heals nicely and that no more injuries occur during the next few months of bonding!

[Alfiebuns]

[LongEaredLions]

Aww so cute!

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