There’s a new bunny in our house.

[berkua]

I’ve had Aesop, my Holland Lop, for about 2 years now.  He’s a great little guy … litter trained and all.  He is fairly small.  I’m not sure of the weight, but it can’t be much.  I just moved into a house, and Aesop needs a friend to keep him company while I am working, so I just adopted a female Lionhead/Lop mix yesterday.  

Aesop lives in a cage that is open into an x-pen at all times.  He has about 8′ x 6′ of space to hop around in.  I didn’t have an extra cage, and I am trying to keep costs down, so I put the new girl in Aesop’s cage, and I closed the door.  Aesop is in his pen and Piper is in Aesop’s cage.  The cage is attached right to the x-pen, so there is only one cage wall separating them.  

Yesterday, I just kept them in their respective areas all day long and then last night, I opened the door to the cage, and Aesop jumped in.  Piper was taken away from her daughter when I adopted her, and she is a lot larger than Aesop, and when he hopped into the cage, she lunged forward, but didn’t bite or scratch … she just kind of hovered over Aesop and then started licking his face.  When Aesop tried to leave, she intimidated him by hovering over him and started licking his face again.  

Aesop left, and I closed her in the cage.  They were alone together all night long.  This morning, while I was freshening everything up, I opened the cage door again.  It started well … they hopped around a bit.  She jumped into Aesop’s litter box and he sniffed her while she was in there.  She hopped into this plastic runner tube that I have, and he followed her through.  BUT, then she went into the tube one way, and Aesop went in the other way toward her and there was a confrontation.  She pushed him, but this time he pushed back.  I separated them, and because I had to go to work, I put her back in the cage and left them alone for the day.  

I don’t know how I would like to tweak this scenario, but any suggestions would be appreciated.  

Also, what are your thoughts on the size situation.  She is quite large and Aesop is a runt.  Will bonding still work, and if so … will Aesop not be the dominant one?

I will take photos tonight and post them, so you can all see the setup. 

Thanks!

Michael

 

[Elrohwen]

Their size doesn’t matter at all – only personality.

I would do their bonding sessions in a separate neutral area. Right now they both consider that cage to be their territory and it’s a bad situation waiting to happen. Take both of them out of their element and do bonding in a bathtub or small bathroom to start. The first interaction sounds very positive – keeping them to a neutral area for now will help them have more positive interactions which will build up trust between them. Don’t add in any litter boxes or other toys at first either – you don’t want them to get possessive.

[berkua]

Okay, so I am going to post 3 images of the setup I have for the rabbits.  Before I picked them up yesterday, I put the laminate floor down!  I did it in record time  … 1.5 hours.  Not too shabby.

So, I am gonna leave them alone tonight.  I know the new girl is confined to that tiny cage, but I think they both need some time to relax.  Who knows though … I’ll probably let her stretch her legs a bit. 

Let me know what you guys think of the setup.  I’ll keep you posted on the bonding. 

[Monkeybun]

The cage is far too small for her to live in 24/7. She NEEDS room to stretch her legs. If she is going to live in that cage for any length of time, you will have to let her out to run and play every day for a few hours.

[bunnyfriend]

I agree with Elrohwen about bonding in a neutral area where neither have the bunnies have gone. I think the chances of aggressiveness will be higher because you put the new bunny in Aesop’s home. Aesop is probably thinking “hey, that’s mine!” and Piper is probably concerned with making herself her own territory and she definitely knows it’s Aesop’s territory already. And yes, as Monkeybun said, that cage is definitely too small for Piper to live in. Minimum requirements for a rest area are usually about at least 8 square feet and the height tall enough for the bunny to completely stand up, the bunny will also need hours in a much bigger space outside of the cage to exercise each and every day. Congratulations on the new bunny!

[Sam and Lady's Human]

Well its good that the reaction so far has been positive, but a couple of things first. Are buns both altered? If not I highly recommend it for long term health and behaivior, and also they cannot be together or even that close or they will mate.
Second if one decides that the other is too close or whatever, they can and will hurt each other through those bars. I just saw pictured of a sad bun nose tore up from a similar incident. So you should look into getting another pen, because even if they are housed together once bonded they will need the space (16 sqft). Right now they are only 40 bucks on Amazon prime.
Congrats on your new bun!

[berkua]

 Okay, so I definitely agree with everyone regarding the living space.  To put everyone’s mind at ease, I just purchased another play pen.  It seems to be of fairly decent quality.  It isn’t as heavy duty as Aesop’s x-pen, but I don’t think there is any chance of escape *fingers crossed*. 

Secondly … tonight, when I get home from work, I am going to set the new pen up so that the bunnies are separated.  I’ve been worrying all day that my Aesop’s nose doesn’t get pulped!!  I shall keep you all posted. 

I’m not going to get a chance to go on a bunny date tonight.  I have to go home, set up the new pen, and run out to drive 2 hours round trip to pick up my car from the dealer … BLAH!

I’ll take photos of the new setup once it is done.  The room is quite small, so I’m going to have to pull back Aesop’s space to make room for Piper.  It’ll all work out. 

Take care!

 

[berkua]

Oh, and yes … they are both fixed. 🙂

[bunnyfriend]

That’s good! Buying new stuff definitely sucks, but I think you’ll find it’s worth it (:

[berkua]

Today was the first real bunny date after having their cages together since Sunday.  I think things went fairly well!  No blood shed, no charging or biting or scratching.  There was, however, some humping from both Piper and Aesop!  Frontal humping occurred twice, and I put a stop to it immediately, and rear humping occurred and I let that happen as long as it had to.  They stopped on their own.  Both of them got in equal amounts and then it was done.  They got themselves into a funny little circular chase where their bodies were right next to each other … facing opposite directions … and they circled and circled and circled. 

The only other thing that happened was ome hopping around, and a very long and detailed cleaning session where Aesop got his whole face slobbered up by piper.  She pinned him and would not stop licking!  I found an opening when she stopped, and I ended the session on that note. 

So, what do you guys think?

Also, find photos of the new setup below:

 

 

 

One thing I am not fond of is Aesop peeing on one of his little pillowcase rest areas.  He is still using his littlebox, but he marks this one spot in the corner next to Piper’s pen. 

I’m sure it’s just a phase.  I am going to have to continue to monitor it.

Take care!

[Elrohwen]

That sounds like great progress! Grooming so quickly is a great sign. I bet you’ll have a bonded pair pretty soon.

[berkua]

Okay … bunny date numero dos!  I am sort of sad for Aesop.  He was dominated by Piper tonight :-(  She kept humping him! I had to pull her away a few times for humping his front, but I let the rear humping go until she stopped.  Aesop kind of just layed there the whole time.  She cleaned his face for like 10 minutes!  No fighting.  I’m worried about the face humping though …  I’m not sure if it is a semi-aggressive move on her part.  Also, everytime Aesop tries to move, she pins him and starts grooming him.  It’s almost like she’s not permitting him to roam around and enjoy himself.  I don’t know … we’ll see what happens.

On a side note … I think Piper has a bit of an aggressive streak as it is.  I was cleaning up her pen a bit last night, and she started growling at my hand as I was using a brush and dustpan.  Then she charged over to my hand to make me stop.

Then, this afternoon, I was pet her and decided to see if she enjoyed a bit of silliness, so I started tapping the floor with my fingers, pretending my hand was a spider.  I was making silly noises, and making my hand run around, and she started growling at me.  Then she lunged and bit me.  Broke skin, but it wasn’t horrible.

I have to feel it out, see what type of rabbit I can turn her into.  I adopted her, and I don’t know how she was treated before.  I’ve only had her 6 days.  Time will tell.

 

[Sam and Lady's Human]

Aww Piper probably isn’t used to human interaction. It might help to basically bribe her, make cleaning her pen a positive experience by giving a small craisen or the like while you do it. You’ve got to remember rabbits are prey animals, so you must’ve scared her if she bit to break the skin Trust can take a long time but its so worth it.

[berkua]

Bunny date number three, and I have photos!  Tonight was another decent date.  Piper and Aesop did the humpy dance again.  This time Aesop tried his best, but she didn’t let him get up there.  She’s just too big for him.  She kept pushing him away.  Piper didn’t get a good shot at Aesop either, so it was a draw!  Piper is still lunging at Aesop every once in a while … usually when he hops toward her to approach.  She thinks he is gonna do something to hr I guess.

Take a look at the photos though.  Lots of grooming (Piper licking Aesop, not Aesop licking Piper), and some snuggling.
 

[bunnyfriend]

How long ago was Piper spayed? She may still have hormones causing aggressiveness. They look so adorable together! You’re definitely making progress, they are just working things out right now. It may take them both a while to lean to trust and each other, and for Piper to trust you. It can take a couple months for this, but it will be worth it (:

[3 buns mom]

Aw, they are so cute. It sounds like they are both trying to be the dominate one. Eventually they will figure out the order and accept it. My rabbit Chomper used to do that grunting and charging thing whenever I would put my hands in his cage. He would never bite me though. He would just try to tell me to stop messing with his house and get out. He is not caged anymore and doesn’t do that anymore….much. He only does it if he is hanging out in a box and one of my cats try to climb in. He will do it to them to tell them to back off and they do. It’s actually cute because he doesn’t nip at them at all.

Now my other rabbit Gus, is a face humper. He was the last to be set free-roaming. He is 7 and the smallest. He is only about 4 pounds, while the other two are like 9 and 14 pounds. Gus was always trying to dominate the other two with his face humping. Chomper would run away, while Max, my 14 pounder would sit there and take it. Max is such a laid back bunny and more of a people rabbit. Gus doesn’t do it anymore, I guess they figured it all out. They are all neutered by the way.

Sorry, I know I kind of went off track. Looks to me from your pictures that Aesop is trying to snuggle with Piper. Is Aesop a snuggler? Gus, the face humper, is also a huge snuggler. He is also an excessive groomer of the other two buns and the other buns seems to be fine with it.

Looking at the pics and what you say, it sounds like they are going to do just fine. Sorry if I rambled, I am going on hardly any sleep. I have been dealing with a sick bun all weekend. I may end up at the er vet today.

[berkua]

Hey, no worries about the rambling … the way I see it, the more we all talk, the more we all learn. To answer bunnyfriend’s question, Piper is said to have been spayed around 3 months ago. She shouldn’t have any residual hormones, so she is probably just getting used to me.

I just had another bunny date this afternoon. I let them interact a pretty long time. There was no humping or humping attempts this time. They hopped around a little bit, cleaned themselves, Piper cleaned Aesop, Piper flopped down a few times. Aesop doesn’t seem to want to groom Piper, but we’ll see how the relationship develops.

I introduced some hay and a litter box into the neutral area this time. I think what I am going to do is continue adding elements from their pens until it feels like they’re home together. I used a third litter box, and neither one of them jumped into it, so I might bring one of their boxes in next time to see if they use it.

No photos this time, but I will take some photos if I have another date tonight … otherwise I will post again tomorrow.

[berkua]

It has been a couple of days since I’ve posted about Aesop and Piper. Since that time, I have had 3 or 4 bunny dates, lasting around 1-2 hours each. I have plenty of great photos which I will share with you guys tonight. 2 nights ago, I was feeling daring, so I let piper out of her pen and opened the door to aesop’s. Things went fairly well considering how soon I let them bond in non-neutral territory. Piper still needs work …. There was a lot of chasing and some tension. They spent most of the time in aesop’s side. Missing took place and some ignoring, but piper was more territorial and wouldn’t let Aesop do much. At the end, there was a tiny fight.

Then, yesterday I had a very long, successful date in the bathroom where I usually have them. I layed down sheets, put a litter box, and hay. Aesop used the box two times. No fighting occurred, Aesop tried humping, but Piper pushed him. All in all, I think we are back on track.

[Elrohwen]

Sounds like great progress! When you’re comfortable in the bathroom, do you have another neutral area for them? I used a hallway they’d never been in to start ramping up the difficulty. I think when you change locations they sort of regress, but then get right back on track, so seeing a little more chasing or humping is something expected.

[berkua]

Photos have been a long time coming, so I am going to be adding a nice variety of the last week.  My bunnies graduated to a larger room, instead of just a tiny shower.  I began in the shower will nothing but a sheet, then I added a litter box and hay, then I took them into my living room with a couple of sheets on my laminate floor, and some of the items from their pens.  The transition has been great!  There was some chasing and nipping the first day in the living room, but yesterday … the second day in the living room was more mild.  Piper is still a bit strange with Aesop when he runs toward her, or when he digs near her.  She nips him or hits him in the side of rear end with her nose.  It sends Aesop running, but he comes right back and they are back to hopping around either together or by themselves.  Piper still is the one licking Aesop, not the other way around.  

I am pretty happy with how things are going.  I introduced them to such a large space because I felt bad that they weren’t getting any frolic time.  I work all day, and I was coming home and bringing them into a tiny shower and then putting them back in their pens.  I am so glad I can have exercise time together … it’s less time consuming than having separate play time. 

In terms of proper bonding, will a strong bond still form if they are able to hop away and do their own thing?  Should I be forcing them to spend time together in a smaller location?

I made a little canopy … take notice … Piper and Aesop are both in there together.  How cute 🙂

Thanks!

 

 

[mint]

oh my god how great! they are adorable! congratulations!

[Deleted User]

Ahhh!!!so cute!!!

[Mandyyy]

I’m going to steal them! HAha.
They are so cute!

[berkua]

I think I am going to do a few more bunny bonding dates in the shower. Piper and Aesop got into a bit of a fight tonight. Nipping and chasing. Some boxing, too. The space may be a bit too big. I want them to spend some quality time in close quarters. They ran together and played tonight, as well. There was only one fight. That’s not too bad considering how much time they’ve been spending together, but I am going to pull back and do a close quarters shower date tomorrow.

[berkua]

So, I had a tragic backslide tonight because of my anxiousness to get Piper and Aesop living together. I connected their pens into one big [en and it was not good. Piper has quite a possessive and aggressive streak. She immediately claimed the entire pen as hers. Her ears went back, she glared at Aesop. She nipped, chased, and boxed. I had to grab very fast tonight and hold her down … and now, of course, she is back to not trusting me. What a night. I am forced to go back to square one.

This is all my fault, and I know now that Piper needs to take things slow. I need to figure out how to get rid of her aggressiveness. I had Aesop since birth and he has no aggressive tendencies. He doesn’t chase Piper or bite her. He just wants to frolic and play … come on Piper, get with the program! haha

So, bunny dates in the small shower. No big room play together … I’ll have to exercise them separately.

Blah! I shall keep you all posted.

[Author]

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