Unorthodox bonding process

[Lagomorpheus]

Hi, I have been bonding my two bunnies together for a few weeks now and just wanted to share how I have made progress. I have read everything there is to read on the internet about bonding, but surprisingly many of the tactics described I did not find especially effective.

I familiarized the buns by having them take turns out of their cages, they would of course go to the other’s cage on opposing sides of the room and sniff and were very curious. After a week I moved their cages side-by-side.

I then started letting them out together for extended periods of time, supervising closely. There was some chasing, demands to be groomed, nips, and a fight or two, but after a few days they were tolerating each other nicely and Vicky (with some firm guidance) stopped nipping at Brambles for not grooming her (and subsequently starting a fight).

In trying to place them in a small "neutral" territory (bathtub) they either fought or avoided each other or tried to get out! I found that providing them both with space to run away from the other if needed made them feel more secure, and being in familiar territory meant they weren’t preoccupied with escaping.

They are now living together very peacefully in the NIC condo. Vicky still insists to Brambles for grooming, but he refuses almost always. However, they often sit and lie very close together if not touching and seem to be growing closer by the day! They appear to be quite fond of each other.

 

[FredsDad]

congrats on finding your own way. I only have 1 critter, so I havent had to do his process yet, but its good to hear that you are finding something that works well for you.

[Lagomorpheus]

Thanks 🙂 I really didn’t have the space for a 2nd rabbit, but I work all day and felt so guilty leaving Vicky all alone for 5-8 hours a day (depending on if my gf would be home and let her out or not). Now with Vicky’s giant bunny palace and her new bunny boyfriend, I think she is very happy while at home.

[Beka27]

every rabbit is different, so every bonding will be different.  there are folks here who bonded their bunnies in a day or so… others it was a long drawn out process…  good stories like that give me hope tho for when Meadow gets a friend in the future.

[Sarita]

That’s great. Every bonding is different and I’m glad you took a chance to try something different and that worked for you!

[MarkBun]

I heard of one person getting a very large pet carrying case (Like for medium dogs) and suspended it about 6 inches off the floor in the garage. He attached it to the roof at each corner via some bungee cords. He then would put the two bunnies into the cage. As long as they were nice and calm, the cage barely moved but the moment they started anything aggressive, the cage would begin to bounce and swing slightly so they’d stop what they were doing and wait for things to calm down again. Soon, they realized that by being nice meant that the earth stopped shaking.

[Tracy]

kinda like when you take them for a car ride toghter…scares them into bonding.

[BinkyBunny]

I commend you for sticking it out and finding what would work for your two. Bonding can really be tricky. And actually though the typical neutral space works for the majority, you are the third person I know that found that the stress bonding and neutral territory actually seemed to make their bunnies more difficult to bond because the stress alone made them too anxious to bond. Now with that said, that has not been the norm, but it just goes to show that we really need to be observant about what works and what doesn’t for each bonding pair or mulitiple. So kudos to you for figuring out what worked for yours even if it didn’t go along with the regular tried and true.

[Lagomorpheus]

Short update: Vicky has now started grooming Brambles!!! It is the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen. I’m a little surprised because Vicky has been soooo insistent to Brambles for grooming and he has hardly asked at all, but it looks like she just wants to love and doesn’t mind if she has to be the one grooming him and not the other way around! Thanks for all your responses, too 🙂

 

p.s. this behavior started after we took them both to the vet for Brambles’ checkup, it seems like the stress of the car ride really solidified the bonding that was happening with them and after Brambles had a very scary nail clipping at the vets he needed a lot of comforting and bunny kisses from Vicky

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