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Bonding

make sure both bunnies are neutured, regadless of what sex they are. neutured male to neutured female works best, but many people have bonded neutured boys etc.

Make sure both bunnies are healed from their neuters.

bond them on a neutral space, ideally a place neither have been before. Dont give them too much space initially.

Chasing, humping, fur pulling etc is all normal.

xx
 
My main method is;

Take neutered buns, place into a disinfected (vinegarised) carry case.
Place in a moving vehicle for 30 minutes to 1 hour (depending on their personalities - fiesty or very confident buns I take for longer trips than nervous submissive buns)

Place neutered buns into a neutral space, in a disinfected cage/pen with several litter boxes and blankets etc. All new/disinfected/cleaned.

Add one huge mound of hay, several water bowls/bottles and sprinkle in a handful of pellets.

Leave to cool (from their journey) and monitor their behaviour.

Then;

Keeping ahead of their behaviour is important. Learning what is good and what is bad bunny etiquette helps to avoid fights.

Watch the tails and ears! Tail up is either having a pee or about to attack, ears up but turned back for uppy eared buns and ears lifted from the side of the head for lops is negative behaviour and also can lead to attacks/fighting.
Interrupt them whenever you see any of this behaviour if you can. Chuck in some more hay, a newspaper, cardboard tubes, anything to distract them or suprise them.

Never let them lock on fighting. And never remove one for a time out. Only remove a bunny if they are very upset or if they are injured. Removing them will undo any bond they have formed and will add your scent into the mix too.

When mutual head to bum sniffing is going on this can lead to fights so stop them. Circling and sniffing mid-back/creeping up is usually a sign that they are preparing to mount. This can be taken well or as an insult by the bun being mounted. Again I try to intervene the first few times to keep the mood light and distractions a plenty. Eventually mounting is inevitable to establish dominance. At the start I believe they need to be used to each others presence and mounting too soon causes a lot of early fighting.

Sleep with them (next to the pen) if you can.

Do not show either affection or stroke them until at least 2-3 days into the bonding period. Then approach when they are submissive. Do not approach them if they are nervous as they tend to be jumpy and run away - this can set off chasing by the more confident bunny, and then lead to them fighting.

After a couple of days the mounter gets fed up of being interrupted and doesn't bother unless it's a prime opportunity - then I allow them to do so but watch the bunny being mounted for any ear or tail signs of a fight! I do not let them chase a lot and will only allow minor fur pulling. Any prelonged negative behaviour gets interrupted before they turn on each other.

The mountee will sometimes just accept their friend can mount them as they have gotten over the initial stress of meeting their new chum. Their new chum has not harmed them yet so they trust them enough to allow them to mount but will then move away - this happens without any aggression signs.

All buns are different and all owners have different opinions - but these are the methods that have worked for me. I have bonded a difficult group which one got evicted but 5 remain, this was the method I used with them. You need to stay as calm as you can, and not worry about the outcome. Your worrying vibes can make their behaviour more negative. I would also say that perseverance is important - negative behaviour is stopped everytime day or night. It's teaching them how to behave around other buns and what is acceptable. Uptil now you are the top bunny (or should be :lol:) so your corrective action when seeing negative signs appearing should have some affect!

Without sounding mean - I find that if I am confident, unpredictable - popping extras in, intervening with a loud noise, sudden movement if things get negative or too boistrous, then the buns are more interested in what I am up to and accept each other sub consciously. Sounds a bit airy fairy ish but it's worked for me!
 
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