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Rescues and quick bondings...

Azraelm

Wise Old Thumper
I was just wondering :rolleyes: ...

Some people take their bunns to a rescue to choose a friend, then bunn goes home with them a couple of hours later. Do they go in the same carrier together on the way home? And how do you know they won't have a big fight when they get home?
 
I really hate those types of bondings.....they nearly always encounter some kind of problem once they get home (often caused by the owners panicing though).

If the owners have bonded before and are reasonably confident then I advise them to do a slow bonding at home, from scratch rather then stress the bunnies out here for a couple of hours.

When we do the bondings its a 3 days stop minimum now.

Oh and yes they do travel home in the same carrier in quick bondings.
 
I've done it a couple of times with bunnies from Bramcote Animal Rescue. Both times were introducing a doe into a buck's territory, so there was a little chasing and fur pulling at home, but nothing major.

I've done quick bondings by other methods too. Helps if you know the personalities of the rabbits well. You can usually guess which rabbits will work together.

I've bonded 3 pairs in the last few weeks :D

Amy
 
When i took Domino to meet Pebbles, they were put into a run together for twenty minutes, andthey didnt chase each other they just ignored each other for ten minutes and then she put her head under his and then she groomed him. We took her home and put them both into a new carrier, and i sat with it on my lap with the seatbelt round me and the box, so i could watch what happened. and they snuggled up together and have been loved up ever since! :):love:
 
Luuna and Bailey spent 1-2 hours together at the rescue she came from, then they went into the same carrier (a new one) and came home. They had a few small scraps (which i split up), couple of minor scratch wounds which I cleaned up, but mainly just fur pulling and humping. I guess you don't know whether a quick bonding will work, but then slow bondings done by the owners don't always work either. Personally I would rather not leave my rabbits with someone else for 3-7 days, which tend to be the times I have seen recommended by different rescues.
 
I took Nunzeo to meet Abbey at a rescue, she chased him, he ran away. They were in there for about an hour, then went in different carriers on the way home (was like playing tetrus in the car). And when they got home they went in the outdoor run for an hour or so, Nunzeo chased Abbey once and then they fell in love!
 
I had a number of rabbits from Sally Machell at Watford several years ago - she used to have the buns for 2 hours then you'd go back and take them home in a carrier together, with strict instructions not to touch them for 48 hours and leave them well alone in their newly rearranged housing.

The rescues I help out will generally only do bonding at their premises, and the buns do stay for several days. Obviously this takes a lot of time and some owners don't like it, but it does mean that the rescue can be fairly confident that the buns are in fact bonded and aren't going to end up as single buns which the owner can't bear to part with when they discover that they don't get along.
 
The majority of rabbits I bond tend to be ones which stay with me for a few days. If people are happy to follow instructions that are given to them and also have bonded rabbits before they do occassionally go home on the proviso if they encounter any problems they must ring either Donna or myself.
 
i suppose it depends how local you are aswell. if you live further away it makes sense to leave the buns with the rescue for a while, bu ti fyou live close by you can always pop back if there are any problems
 
I find its people further away that request us to do fast bondings or who want to do them theirselves.
 
I find its people further away that request us to do fast bondings or who want to do them theirselves.

Totally agree with this. I get the odd person from a distance who is happy to leave them, usually this is if they drop off when they are going away for a few days and they will collect on the way home.
 
The rescue I got Beau from said they would help me with bonding and then after I adopted him they said they couldnt help me :? So now Buu is still living by herself and I have Beau living alone too :( When I last spoke to them about it their rabbit expert said to me well just keep them apart :roll: Im not going to force them to bond if they dont get on but I have no idea what I am going to do if they dont after my next attempt. Im scared to try again and have been putting it off for a few weeks now because I dont know what I am going to do if they dont get along this time. My local rescue dont do bunny dating or anything so if I just go up and randomly pick another friend for Buu and Beau I will probably end up with four single bunnies who wont get on with each other :(

And I did do the bonding properly, they were on neutral territory for about 5 days at one point and the hutch was new when I did try them outside together :?
 
ive contacted louise at hopper haven about a wife for Alvin.... she says between 3 days and a week Alvin would stay with her while bonding (if i pass the homecheck and find a gal of course)...... im terrified about letting him go for a week :cry: but i know it would be foolish to try it here.. he has the whole house so no neutral ground anywhere.....
 
We do both quick bondings and ones where the bun stays..alot depends on experience of owner and personality of bun..
for example I went to meet a boy bun and owner was going to bond herself..but after me meeting the stroppy little:censored: ..the bun not the owner!!!......I bought him here to bond over 3 days..
 
Its amazing how many people cant be parted from their bunnies for a few days but in all honesty its the over attached owners who cause the most problems....they panic easier as they find normal bonding behaviour distressing and they tend to intefere all the time by stroking, picking up and feeding the rabbits treats.

I have unashamedly stopped bonding with owners present now as I find it was adding more tension to the situation and putting me and the rabbits on edge.
 
I would have thought people would be happy for their buns to stay with someone who runs a rabbit rescue for a few days while their bunny falls in love :shock: :? Its not like they are going to be staying with just anyone who knows nothing about them
 
I would have thought people would be happy for their buns to stay with someone who runs a rabbit rescue for a few days while their bunny falls in love :shock: :? Its not like they are going to be staying with just anyone who knows nothing about them

lol yeah i probably would have been happy but then i read marley with no name and im scared hell think im abondoning him, i keep hearing his little bunny heart breaking... and then if theres a fight and he gets injured itll be all my fault for letting him out of my sight for more than a day......when it happens i wont hound the rescue i know ill be contacted if my baby gets ill or hurt...... its my first rabbit and this forum has put all sorts of risks in my head sometimes too much research is a bad thing......lol

obviously until i meet the rescue owner and buns in their care im going to be more scared....plus i might not even pass the homecheck then i wont need to worry about it at all.... :shock:
 
Its amazing how many people cant be parted from their bunnies for a few days but in all honesty its the over attached owners who cause the most problems....they panic easier as they find normal bonding behaviour distressing and they tend to intefere all the time by stroking, picking up and feeding the rabbits treats.

Dunno what you mean... :oops: :lol:

My rabbits have always stayed over with the rescue for a few days to be bonded: the only time I'd be comfortable with taking a newly paired couple straight homeis if it were very clearly a 'love at first sight' bond. I think that's quite unusual though.
 
I'm hoping to bond my two with another and as a first time rabbit owner completely trust the rescue to try this for me. I'm happy to admit I wouldn't have a clue. I feel they'll be much safer there than if I attempted it. I suppose it depends how much experience you have. Claire
 
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