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Have you had a sucessful "difficult" bond? Please help? x

Fairy13

Wise Old Thumper
Ok. We tried about 3 weeks or so ago now to bond Willow (frenchie rescued by Kay) to Holly & Lilly (bonded pair) and Daisy (been single for a while since Wellie died)
It went badly. Willow attacked everybun, soon as look at them. Proper fighting ensued (rolling on side, locked on).
Diasy was absolutely petrified of him and wouldnt eat, Holly went much the same way. Only Lilly was still holding her own and after 2 hours we decided it couldnt carry on. (I should add too that on inspecting them afterward the only bun that seems to have any cuts was Willow, a smallone on his side and small one to his ear too. Both healed. Nothing horrific)
Willow had only been neutered bout 3 weeks ago prior to that. It's now been just over 6 weeks ago. All girls speyed months ago.
The space they had in the kitchen (which was neutral) was about 8ft by 4ft.
Now, weather allowing, all 4 have been out in the garden on grass at the same time in seperate runs but close. Willow and Daisy will have a pop at each other through the bars but it does calm down.
I would like to try bonding them again but am terrified!! :oops:
I think the girls would bond but its Willow :?
How should I go about it do you think? What have you done in a similar situation?
I should add that other than hormones we think Willow's aggressive reaction may be down to the bullying from the other frenchies he was initially with. Maybe he's constantly on the defensive.
Please please tell me of your methods that have acheived a bond even though difficult. And feel free to ask me questions and give advice on size of area etc etc or anything that may be of help.
Thanks so much x
 
Can you not just bond Willow with Daisy and have 2 pairs?

What if it all kicks off again and the bond between Holly and Lilly is broken?

I am not much use here :oops: I am not a fan of groups of Buns in a domestic setting. Hopefully those that are will be along soon to offer some advice

:)
 
Can you not just bond Willow with Daisy and have 2 pairs?

What if it all kicks off again and the bond between Holly and Lilly is broken?

I am not much use here :oops: I am not a fan of groups of Buns in a domestic setting. Hopefully those that are will be along soon to offer some advice

:)

Thanks Jane. I do know what you mean. However I'm not even sure if it'd work between Willow and Daisy. Willow seems to hate everybun! And Daisy's quite a quiet kinda girl and I'm not sure she has the strength of character to deal with him!!
I should have said, we have the shed that Daisy is in currently and have built but not erected a large aviary to go alongside, initially just for the girls but then we saw Willow and thoguht it'd do no harm if he was bonded in too.
I didnt quite realise there would be this problem :oops: silly of me I know.
My previous bonding experience consists of 2 pairs both male female and then my group of 5 all of which went textbook smooth so I've not encountered anything like this before :?
Obviously if it's a complete no go we'll have to revise our plans but I wanted to hear from some others more experienced in the realms of bonding before I write it off x

ETA I know that is a possibiliy between Holly and Lilly but they were fortunately very chilled with each other throughout the whole episode so I was fortunate there I guess
 
Maybe leave it longer & try again. My Chocolate, Smirnoff & Joey were a nightmare at first. A year later I tried again, & they were easy as anything.

Some buns just aren't suited to it though as they get left out/bullied. I've got a couple I would never try to get in a group & one who used to live happily in a group, but then got turned on. He's so much more confident now he is happy with just a girlfriend:D

You have to decide whether you are doing it for the buns or your own convenience sometimes:D It is natural for them - as that's how they obviously live in the wild, but it's often a shock for buns who've lived alone for years before:D
 
Thanks Angie. I think to be honest it's a bit of both. Partly covenience for me partly cos I think it'd be nice for them.
Daisy was easy to bond with Wellie and the girls Holly and Lilly were part of a large litter and have always lived together. Willow is also only a few months old but has had that bad experience I guess with the other buns he was with.
I thought there was a few people on here who have bonded bunnies that were initially a bit hair raising!
Thanks, I think we will give it one more go as a group and if not then try a pair with him and Daisy. Poor Daisy not sure she'll think much to that!
What sort of area is the right size do you think? Is 8ft by 4ft too big for bonding? Should it be smaller?
 
Hiya,

What happens with Willow? Does he immediately go for the others or is it when they move?

From his point of view he has come from the awful man, been to mine, then taken to Liz's, then had his bits chopped off and then gone to yours. I wonder if he is a just settling down at the moment?

My Arthur was like this for a few months after his op but finally calmed down. It also helped that I could house his partner Alice next to him so they could get used to each other. I introduced them in the bathroom a few times and each night I put them back in their own hutches. It was a long and slow bonding but it has worked and they are really happy together.

Just wondered if this was worth thinking about?
 
Hiya,

What happens with Willow? Does he immediately go for the others or is it when they move?

From his point of view he has come from the awful man, been to mine, then taken to Liz's, then had his bits chopped off and then gone to yours. I wonder if he is a just settling down at the moment?

My Arthur was like this for a few months after his op but finally calmed down. It also helped that I could house his partner Alice next to him so they could get used to each other. I introduced them in the bathroom a few times and each night I put them back in their own hutches. It was a long and slow bonding but it has worked and they are really happy together.

Just wondered if this was worth thinking about?

Hiya Kay,

Dont worry I am very sympathetic to little Willow. I had a chat with Liz and we decided it probably was partly that and maybe hormones too. He's had a difficult start in life :(

At the moment he does go out in his run alongside Daisy's. They seem to either ignore each other or have a little scrap through the bars. Or if one of them's feeling very naughty if one lays down by the other then the other will sneakily have a nip at their bum :roll: :lol:

So he is seeing other buns if you see what a mean. I am willing to spend however long it takes. Examples of different ways of bonding like what you have mentioned, doing it over a much longer period of time, is what I was after. Just to do some research and have some more alternative methods and ideas, cos i dont hink being thrown in at the deep end will work with him. This applies for him in a group or in just a try with Daisy.

With regard to how he behaved, well, he'd approach a bun they would go nose to nose and he would suddenly leap and box and bite. Occasionaly he would be approached which provoked the same behaviour. Its a shame cos I'm not sure that any other bun would have been aggressive in that way to him, but its almost like he felt he had to get in first with the aggression before it was done to him.

More info and detail on how you bonded Arthur and Alice would be much appreciated :)

Willow is a lovely bunny and has (I am extremely lucky to say :D) groomed my head once when he was out playing indoors :love: It's difficul cos I do feel he's lonely but has an issue (not surprisingly) with other buns. That said he does get to see Daisy etc so he's not completely without bun company. I ust want to help him so wanted to collect as many ideas as possible x
 
Oh and Daisy is in a shed at present so he cant very well see her when they're not out in the run for a few hours a day but I am having a move round so he's next to Holly and Lilly and can see them when he's home x
 
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