Unbonded rabbit broke into other rabbits area and they’re fine?

[Jessy]

I have 2 two year old rabbits (both spayed/neutered) who previously were both solo rabbits to me getting them. The bonding process has not been smooth in the least. Each time they’ve been around one another there lots of grunting, lunging and them trying to attack one another. Today I came home after being gone for three hours and my male somehow found his way into my females area….I was terrified thinking the worst. However, neither was injured and they were sitting close to one another. I continued to supervise them and they kept showing more positive interest in one another. I don’t know what to make of this. Has anyone else had a similar experience?

[DanaNM]

Sometimes things work out OK! I have heard of this happening before. 🙂

If you have time to keep supervising, then you could see how they do, and separate if things get tense.

. . . 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.  

[Wick & Fable]

I’m sorry to hear the bonding process hasn’t been smooth! That ends up being a pretty common experience, so I imagine seeing them do well without injury is such an odd site!

During bonding, unless it is an extremely difficult bond, there is usually a good mix of positive, negative, and neutral interactions. It is energy-exhaustive and dangerous for rabbits to constantly be aggressive towards one another. It could be that since it was in the female’s territory (which both rabbits could definitely sense and were aware of), the male decided to not to aggress, and the female then did not react defensively. That being said, I would not recommend doing things in the female’s territory in terms of bonding– while there are no fights from this instance, you want them to figure out a relationship dynamic in neutral territory first. Developing the relationship in one’s territory may not translate well if you try to move them elsewhere or something.

Bonding isn’t cookie-cutter. Some rabbits do well figuring out their dynamics is larger space while others need a smaller space first. What have you been trying? There is a bonding template in this forum section (I moved this topic into the BONDING section) you can copy, paste, and fill out, and we can make recommendations based on our knowledge and experiences!

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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