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Hmm....tried Marley & Juno again.

Sooz

Wise Old Thumper
If anyone remembers last time we tried the carrier method for bonding but Juno was too aggressive to even put them in together let alone go for a walk with them. Today they had half an hour together in the hallway and armed with a spray bottle I pretty much followed them everywhere.

Both were washing and binkying but the problem keeps occuring when they end up face to face and Juno becomes scared and 75% of the time digs and nips at Marleys head, Marley will retaliate but won't start a squabble.

They are living side by side currently and I think they really are the type that will benefit from a slow bonding, I feel more hopeful after today but it isn't love at first sight by any means.

I do have plan B which is to try Juno with the very submissive Fiver after his dental if things are not progressing between her and Marley, as unlike Marley, Fiver will not fight back.

I'm not really a fan of slow bonding by any means but wondered if some people have found a tricky pairing successful using his method?
 
Cant offer any advice as the very word 'bonding' gives me the heebie-geebies !!

I hope things work out OK eventually :D
 
I've come to the conclusion there is no set method for bonding. Some seem to bond themselves, others I put in together with minimum supervision, others take weeks of swapping round cages etc, some like a small space some prefer a big space.

thats not much help really, is it :lol: Good luck though :)
 
Are they now at the point where they are just going to nip each others faces...
That alone can lead to a full on spat, but if monitored and they don't end up circling they are best left to sort it out, supervised of course. I had to slow bond teddy and Phoebe for that very same reason. They were comfortable enough to eat and wash in each others presence, but as soon as they were face to face one would go to nip the others face, then the other one would do it and so on. I used to try and distract them every time they did it by clapping loudly, I would physically seperate if the circling started. It took a few weeks of this before the nipping stopped and they were ok with each other. Took two months before they were best friends but they have a far stronger bond than any of my other rabbits that were very easy to bond.
 
we attempted the slow method with Lily and Paddy, it didnt work for us personally, but I believe thats more because the buns werent compatable with each other, as I have heard that this method can work really well :)

good luck hun, keep trying..it sounds better than ours ever did cos we had constant fighting with Lily and Pads. and at least you have a good old plan B. :wave:
 
Are they now at the point where they are just going to nip each others faces...
That alone can lead to a full on spat, but if monitored and they don't end up circling they are best left to sort it out, supervised of course. I had to slow bond teddy and Phoebe for that very same reason. They were comfortable enough to eat and wash in each others presence, but as soon as they were face to face one would go to nip the others face, then the other one would do it and so on. I used to try and distract them every time they did it by clapping loudly, I would physically seperate if the circling started. It took a few weeks of this before the nipping stopped and they were ok with each other. Took two months before they were best friends but they have a far stronger bond than any of my other rabbits that were very easy to bond.

This is exactly what is happening, they end up face to face, both on the defensive and neither backs down so unless I distract them with either a spray of water or a loud clicking noise (that works quite well and I normally end up with at least one periscoping at me) then most of the time it will result in a nip. Bum nipping dosn't bother me but head nipping is just nasty and once it goes into a nip then circling is guaranteed if I don't step in.

I'm trying very hard not to end these sessions on a negative note (i.e. stop immediately after a scrap) so that they are not immediately defensive for the next session. I am also having to stay away from Juno as much as possible because she likes to sit between my feet, and she can be possesive, which is a hinderence.

I'm pleased to hear it worked for you, I've had a similar bond before but one of the bunnies was incisorless, so the risk of a full blown fight & injury was dramatically reduced.
 
This is exactly what is happening, they end up face to face, both on the defensive and neither backs down so unless I distract them with either a spray of water or a loud clicking noise (that works quite well and I normally end up with at least one periscoping at me) then most of the time it will result in a nip. Bum nipping dosn't bother me but head nipping is just nasty and once it goes into a nip then circling is guaranteed if I don't step in.

I'm trying very hard not to end these sessions on a negative note (i.e. stop immediately after a scrap) so that they are not immediately defensive for the next session. I am also having to stay away from Juno as much as possible because she likes to sit between my feet, and she can be possesive, which is a hinderence.

I'm pleased to hear it worked for you, I've had a similar bond before but one of the bunnies was incisorless, so the risk of a full blown fight & injury was dramatically reduced.

It is nerve wracking when they go for the face.... my two were very sly. Teddy would go for Phoebe's face any time she went near, and she would get annoyed and do it back. I think if he hadn't been so nasty they would have been friends straight away. Phoebe would go and sit next to him, then out of the blue take a swipe at him and then it would all kick off!
I would distract them and they'd both sit staring at me for a few mins, looking innocent and then it would start again. Gradually the time between the spats grew longer so I had more confidence. Initially Phoebe wouldn't let Teddy move anywhere, and if he did she would launch herself at him. I don't know what happened to make it work, I just persevered and one day she just let him hop around (although he was limited as to where he could go :lol:) and a week or so later I found them sitting together in the hall. They are so close now so I have no regrets. It's very easy to give up if it doesn't work immediately, but I think if you have an inclining that it could work it would be worthwhile sticking with it!
 
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