I give up on having buns free range in front room.

Hi folks - me again, sorry Ignore me if I am getting boring.:shock:

Lola n Lucy are fine in the crate which is in the front room. They are fine in the puppy pen which is in the middle of the front room.

But as soon as they get out of the puppy pen, Lola chases Lucy round and round and pulls her fur out. I have done the following.

Wiped everything down in white vinegar.
Put them in the crate and then the puppy pen gradullay increasing space.
Let Lucy out for some time on her own.
Sat with the broom telling Lola NO very firmly as soon as she chases Lucy, this was done for a small time each day.

They are fine in the garden, cupboard and crate (but do squabble a bit over beds etc) but I just cant get them to live happily in the front room.

I know you folks have given me loads of advice so far so apologies if I am chuntering, or been boring, I just want to get it right.

Thank you so much.

Andrea x

I'd say leave it a few weeks or months even and try again. Just need to let their bond get established and stronger and it might work then. Lola probably thinks it is still her territory. What about moving things around have you tried that as well? They are such a pretty pair.

Did you try the sheet idea?

How long has it been since they were bonded Cat? Speaking from my own (very limited) experience - one bonding haha :lol::lol: - it takes a while for the chasing to subside. Is it all the time when they're free range?

I would limit their space again for a while longer then try again and give them a couple of days with free run to see if the chasing stops. When Alfie and Bubbles were rebonded after her spay, they were indoors for a few days and were perfectly settled but we had a little bit of chasing when I moved them into the hutch and run again. It was quite a lot for the first day or two but very quickly decreased over the course of a week or so.

Hugo's There said:

Did you try the sheet idea?

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Yup! Threw loads of little ripped up pieces of cabbage all over it and some pellets and sat as referee in middle of sheet.

Lucy gets so stressed when Lola chases her - but its only in the front room.:?

Ty and Bru still chase each other in the garden and pull fur but I just let them get on with it as they never do each other any major damage. I think it's a dominance thing and Tyson still thinks the garden is his and we've had Bruno for 18 months!! I have got braver and braver and now just walk away and leave them to it. They soon get fed up!

Oh no! Sorry your not having much luck still Cat!

We have a similar dilema- we had moved Strawbs and Gray upstairs to the spare room when they were being bonded but now we have lost Gray Strawbs is up there all on his own. I have got a dog crate and would like to bring him downstairs in the evenings (crate open and just for litter tray really) to be with us. Problem is we are looking into getting a female bunny to bond him with and ideally would have them both in the front room when bonded. We therefore dont want Strawbs claiming the front room as his while we are waiting for a girlie! But we also dont want him upstairs by himself all evening!

Bonding is soooo stressful!

KarenM said:

How long has it been since they were bonded Cat? Speaking from my own (very limited) experience - one bonding haha :lol::lol: - it takes a while for the chasing to subside. Is it all the time when they're free range?

I would limit their space again for a while longer then try again and give them a couple of days with free run to see if the chasing stops. When Alfie and Bubbles were rebonded after her spay, they were indoors for a few days and were perfectly settled but we had a little bit of chasing when I moved them into the hutch and run again. It was quite a lot for the first day or two but very quickly decreased over the course of a week or so.

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I think its about 2 - 3 weeks now.

They free range in the "cupboard" and in the garden and there is none of this frantic chasing. The frantic chasing occurs only in the front room - and I am worrying that its a bit of a habit with Lucy now as as soon as Lola approaches her, she bolts.

I love having my buns with me - I dont want to have them in the kitchen. Going to go back a few steps (I wish I had some patience) :lol:

Is there any way you could rearrange your front room at all? Just so that it looks different to them? Maybe put the sofa against another wall?

Other than that, decorate! Im sure the smell of paint drying would be enough to confuse both bunnies! lol

rachie_j said:

Is there any way you could rearrange your front room at all? Just so that it looks different to them? Maybe put the sofa against another wall?

Other than that, decorate! Im sure the smell of paint drying would be enough to confuse both bunnies! lol

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I have just re-decorated after Lola scoffed all the wallpaper :shock::lol:

He he! She sounds like a monster!

My Molly still chases Milly, and they have been together since birth and they are spayed. It's just dominance, and I suppose all couples have this chasing, so it's probably nothing to worry about.

LionheadLuver said:

My Molly still chases Milly, and they have been together since birth and they are spayed. It's just dominance, and I suppose all couples have this chasing, so it's probably nothing to worry about.

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Lola doesnt stop though - she would happily chase her all day when they are out in the front room and little Lucy gets quite breathless.

Lola is very dominant, but seeing ehr snuggled up with Lucy now is lovely, shame she is such a hooligan out of the cage!

I'm sure you'll get there eventually.

Bubbles used to be petrified of Alfie and used to dart off when ever he ran near her - this seemed to make Alfie more annoyed and more likely to chase, which in turn would scare her more, so it was a vicious circle. As soon as Bubbles twigged that Alfie wouldn't chase her if she just sat still, things calmed down a huge amount.