Tough bunny bond – am I going in the right direction?

[Rachel]

Hi, I’m Rachel and I’m new to bunny parenting.
About 7 weeks ago I adopted a lovely 5-6 month old male lionhead. He was signed over to an adoption charity after he had become sick in a pet store and grown too old for them to sell with the others. He’s very sweet with me – he lives in my room and will often follow me around want a pet and lay down with me – he only nips when he is feeling threatened (as in trying to get him into the carrier for the vets) but he still avoids hurting me but he will get pretty angry if I try to pick him up. He was neutered 6 weeks ago. 

3 weeks ago I adopted a year-old female mini rex as a buddy for him. She is also incredibly friendly,allows me to pick her up, will nip more regularly but is getting a lot better. All I know about her life before she was with me is that her previous keepers abandoned her after she had a litter. I had her spayed about a fortnight ago.

So onto the issue:
At first when they first met through cage bars they seemed quite taken with one another – nose rubbing and licking. After a few days there was a fighting so I had to separate them for a few weeks while she got spayed and recovered. I was then recommended to take them on a car journey and then introduce them in neutral territory – my male attacked her in the car so I had to separate them. In the neutral territory he ignored her for a minute and went at her again. I wrote this method off and implemented a new one. Now their cages are side by side in a neutral territory, and sometimes the male will try to fight her when he is out, when she is out she just leaves him be. I’ve put vanilla extract and treats on the bars where their cages meet and they lick the bars and interact quite amicably as they are doing that. Am I heading in the right direction?  I was thinking of taking them to a rescue and sitter that offers a bonding service – I was thinking of taking them there in case I’m the problem. Any advice or thoughts?

Happy binkying,

Rachel

[Mikey]

When you say he attacks her, what exactly is he doing? Some mild aggression is ok for bonding as it helps the bunnies involved figure out who the alpha bunny is and who the submissive bunnies are

I think the best course of action would be to call the rescue and ask for bonding advice, first. Through bonding with them, they also learn to trust you, so its better if you bond them over someone else. But if its not working and you cant find ways to make it work, having a professional there to do it is an awesome option to have

[Rachel]

He growls, bites and scratches. Neither of them have been injured because I just grab one straight away and stop it. He seems to go into a blind rage and attacks everything around him – he’s scratched and bitten me a few times in the process some accidentally but some definitely deliberately. I’ve got a pretty nasty bite on my stomach at the moment because he bit with enough force to go through my clothes and quite a few on my arms and legs.
I put treats between their cages where they meet and they will both nibble at the same time with no aggression at all, but they will fight through the cage bars if one is out.
I’m worried they will never bond, and I don’t really have the space to give two separate groups of bunnies the quality of life I’d like them to have.
I’ll probably contact the professional tomorrow. It just shocks me each time with how vicious it seems. I hate seeing them fight like that or this often really gentle rabbit just turn on me! I’m also fed up with the stinging pain from bites and scratches when its getting nowhere.

[Rachel]

Also the female rabbit is more timid and seems to be submissive. The professional is also a rescue so I don’t know if they would work as a trio?? I’m happy to try anything as long as they stop fighting, dammit!!

[Mikey]

I personally wouldnt add a third bunny into the mix until your little boy learns to control his aggression. I think going to the professional for help is a good idea, since you said he just goes into a blind rage

Have you tried prebonding aside from letting them sniff through the cage bars? One thing that may help your little guy out is the toy swap tactic. Get them both cheap little fabric dog toys and put one in each cage. After a week or two, the toys will be full of the bunnys smell; swap the toys between rabbits. Your boy will be forced to deal with having your girl in “his territory”. Let him attack it, mount it, whatever. Since he will be met with no response from the toy, he will quickly grow bored of trying to attack it. This tactic is supposed to help your boy learn that your girl is not something worth attacking, because she is submissive to him. Itll also help your girl feel more confident that your boy wont always want to attack her

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