What to do next?

[kendall]

I have 4 rabbits, and I have posted a few other topics regarding bonding them. I now have a pair (Theo and Calliope) and 2 singles, (Rosie and Gwen).

Theo- male Holland lop,neutered in march, everybunny loves him and he’s perfect, tiny, and sweet

Calliope- Female dutch, spayed in April, VERY shy and takes a while to feel comfortable around everything

Rosie- female Harlequin, Spayed in April, sass and hard for other bunnies to get along with but also sweet to people

Gwen- male french lop, Spayed September 1 (6 weeks ago), Uses his weight a bit, I don’t think they know their size. Sweet energetic ball of fluff that seems to be harder to get along with but not impossible

I will try to make this as short as possible,

Rosie and Calliope can’t be bonded, they are rescues and they were together, but there is no repairing that damage that happened before I got them. I have done a 2 sessions with Rosie and Gwen, they have both been under 5 minutes and Rosie has started fights every chance she gets. They have lived next to each other for 2-3 months and I have done prebonding for about 2 weeks just swapping cages every couple of days. I haven’t tried stress bonding but I could try it. There isn’t much hope there or at least it would be a very hard bond.

I have thought of a few options and would like some advice on which route to take

(my current setup is, Theo and Calliope in my bedroom, Gwen and Rosie in the room next door living next to each other in separate x-pens. They have all lived in the same room before, but that was a about 1-2 months ago.)

1. Keep trying with Rosie and Gwen and maybe get a bond but it would be a challenge.
2. Keep Rosie and Gwen in the room they are in, housed next to each other so they can get interaction without living together.
3. Try and make a trio with Theo, Calliope, and Gwen. (M,M,F). Then move the trio into the room with Rosie so she can get some bunny interaction without living with them, or move Rosie into my bedroom and give the trio the room next door. This is the option I am leaning towards if the three get along. I am thinking of speed dating these three first though to see how they get along before starting anything else. (How would I do this? As a trio, or two pairs?)

I would like to cause the least amount of stress on myself and my rabbits. I am open to anything at this point, I just started figuring it all out and am pretty open minded!

 

[DanaNM]

Hmmmmm, that’s a tough call. Have you tried Gwen with the other two? That might help you decide.

Rosie and Gwen might also benefit from a very long pre-bonding period and time as neighbors, based on your description. Is Gwen male or female? Sorry got confused since you said male, but spayed. If female, she could still be having some hormone fluctuations.

I do think that since Rosie will likely be a tough bond, I would lean towards one of the options that involves her having a neighbor. She might be lonely if the trio ended up in one room and she was alone in another.

If you do opt for the trio, there is a chance it can un-bond the current pair, so be prepared for that. Whether you chose to work with all three or individual pairings is your call. I’ve noticed most people on the forum seem to work with individual pairs at first, while they get a sense of how the rabbits are together, and then work with the full trio once they get past the very early stages.

. . . 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.  

[kendall]

Gwen is a male (we originally thought female, hence Gwen being the name 😆 ) I think I will give Gwen a chance with the pair starting with a at home speed date to see the relationships! Should I do the speed date with them all together or separate? Both?

My only concern is that my pair will reject each other because they smell different if they go separately. Is that an issue? I feel like it’s similar to taking them to the vet separately, but people do it with bonding so I am a little lost 😯

[DanaNM]

It’s hard to say how they will react. Have they currently seen Gwen at all? I’ve been working on a trio, and when I first brought the new bun home the pair were pretty upset about it. I ended up blocking their view of her with towels, and then slowly removing the barriers. Their bond didn’t break, but it might have if I hadn’t gone very slowly with the introduction.

If you date them separately, some people will take a towel an rub it on the bun who didn’t go on the date, and then rub it on the bun who was dating before returning them to their partner. Same thing can be done with vet visits.

. . . 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.  

[kendall]

I just finished with all of the bunny dates, and they were not great. None of them went well. They all reacted pretty much the same and a different bunny started a scuffle within the first few minutes. At this point, I am just going to let the pair be happy together and try and get Rosie and Gwen to be friends.

What I have done for prebonding so far is swapping their cages 3-4 times a week, putting their food in a place they can see each other, and they share a play space. They have made progress so far. At first they would attack each others blankets and stuffed animals, but now they just chin a few objects after the switch. What else can I do to build trust? Do they just need more time in the prebonding phase? Should I start doing 2-3 min sessions as often as I can?

[DanaNM]

Sounds like a good plan with Rosie and Gwen. I think more pre-bonding, and more sessions could help. Also not sure if you’ve tried stressing, but car rides can be really helpful. You have someone who can drive while you supervise to make sure there is no fighting.

. . . 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.  

[kendall]

I will keep moving along with them! Thanks for the help!

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