please help bonding gone wrong?

hi

my two buns settled after two days together but this morning the were whirling in a ball and fighting....lots of fur around but no bad wounds....a couple of small nicks....i put a mesh divider in the run while i was at work so they couldn't hurt each other.......they were lying together by divider both this morning and when my husband came home for lunch so i cleaned run and removed it....they have been fighting again what looks quite vicious but so far no injuries.

what should i do now? should they stay apart? do i seperate them again tomorrow when i go to work? aaaarrrggghhhh they seemed to be grooming each other last night ,eating and playing together and suddenly it went pear shaped, any clue as to why?

will it be safe to put them in a carrier together and go for a ride to help them bond or are they likely to fight in the carrier?

thanks xx

Are they male/female? Spayed/unspayed?? Do you have any other rabbits they could have caught a whiff of??

male and female both neutered and i don't own any other rabbits....they've been together since saturday night. prior to that their cages were side by side for two weeks and they always sat near each other.

Maybe u shud keep them as u had them for a little while longer,and put them somewhere "neutral" x

Form your post, it sounds like you didn't introduce them on neutral territory. So each bun is defending it's own patch.

You're better off moving them to a different room, or different part of the garden for bonding.

There are some real bonding experts on here who will be able to offer more advice.

I'm afraid I'm a bit clueless when it comes to bonding because I always just put the rabbits together and it seems to work (touch wood).

hi thanks

they were introduced on neutral territory and apart from a few whirling fur ball moments they were getting on really really well, neither had a patch to defend.

i'd also swapped litter trays around and put them in each others cages on the two weeks prior to intro's.

i'm tempted to just go back to keeping them seperate if it's safer for them.

i no longer have anywhere totally neutral with five dogs in the house it's not possible for them to go anywhere downstairs now.

You definately need to put them both in neutral territory where no bun has been before and observe them, at least for a few hours.

Chasing, humping, fur pulling is all completely normal because they need to figure out who's boss. If they clamp their teeth onto each other or fight seriously, just seperate them. Either clap your hands, use a broom or squirt them with a bit of water.

Some pairs go together really quickly, I bonded Billy and Emily in 2 hours. Not all do though, so you need to be prepared for a long haul.

Before you put them in the hutch and run together you need to clean it out with white vinegar to get rid of their scents.

Radish said:

hi thanks

they were introduced on neutral territory and apart from a few whirling fur ball moments they were getting on really really well, neither had a patch to defend.

i'd also swapped litter trays around and put them in each others cages on the two weeks prior to intro's.

i'm tempted to just go back to keeping them seperate if it's safer for them.

i no longer have anywhere totally neutral with five dogs in the house it's not possible for them to go anywhere downstairs now.

Click to expand...

sorry i was typing while you posted.

I'd be tempted just to try again if they were fine. My two does Moonshine and Flopsy have had a big scrap before. All I did was pull them apart for 5 minutes and then put them back together.

If you seperate them it breaks any bond they had and you have to start over.

Good luck!

hi

they are in a brand new run in my spare room and there is a brand new hutch for them in the garden for the spring.

they were in two dog cages prior to intro and will not be going near either again.

they are back in the run now and she is chasing him....they've had a few whirling furry moments...can i put them together in a carrier and take them in the car to help them bond or will they fight in the carrier?

You can take them out in a carrier, do ensure that it is washed if one or both of them have used it before.

The chasing is very usual and you should do nothing apart from watching. If they are circling, I would use a broom to pull one away from the other, do not remove one from the pen you are using for bonding. After counting to 10 release the rabbit which has been pulled away from the other and let them interact with each other. Again only interfere if they are circling each other.

Do not stroke or do anything else to touch them as this will slow down their progress. Ideally step back away from the bonding area as soon as you can so they can get on with things without you totally watching them, they often respond differently when they are feel they are being watched.

hi

i've decided to seperate them....whatever set them off this morning has completely broken down their relationship and Maisie still persues Benjamin and he is petrified..his little heart is racing and i just removed him from the run because i've found a few bite wounds on his side....i may try intros again at Xmas time...possibly in the bathroom but he needs time to feel better and it's breaking my heart when my clucky little man is so scared.....i can't take the chance that he'll get really hurt so i'm dividing the run and giving them a couple more weeks of living side by side....right now they are both too tense and its cruel to keep them together...you can hear their heart beats it's horrible.