Grimlock and Alahna (Now Samus) - How they met (Plus Pics) U/D post 9,12

I went to Manchester to pay a surprise visit to my mum and I had to take Grimlock with me so I could give him his medicine. I was so excited about picking up Alahna that I arranged with bunnymadhouse to pick her up from Sheffield last Friday...

As I was at my mum's in a completely neutral environment I decided to introduce them straight away and they just took to each other. I was amazed as I was told she was really bossy and she just let Grim mount her and then they snuggled. But after a few hours Grim pushed his luck, mounting her again and again and she turned round and gave him a good beating.

I broke them up as I decided that was enough stress for her for one day and let her spend the night in a spare hutch. In the morning before travelling back to Yarmouth I let them have a run in my parents big garden. They had a bit of a fight again, fur pulling and flicking pee. I just let them. She was fine hopping around until Grim tried to mount her and then she'd go for him and he'd run off... only to cautiously hop back and try again. :roll:

They were both amazing on the train journey home and both slept (in separate carry cases).

My friend picked me up from the station, and for some reason she decided to bring her rabbit over. I was really annoyed because that just complicated everything and she wanted to put her in the hutch where I was planning to put Alahna to let her settle in. So I put them both in the bedroom and they began to fight again. She was so annoyed with Grim she gave him a right seeing to and actually scared him so much he was hiding on the bed and wouldn't come off! :lol:

Her bossiness started to show and as she had settled in fine and was eating and relaxing I decided to take Grimlock downstairs so he could get a break. It turned out to be a good thing that my friend's rabbit was round as she really calmed Grim down and cheered him up (they're friends).

After Alahna had made her self so comfortable in the bedroom I didn't have the heart to put her in the hutch when my friend went home so I decided she could stay the night in the dog crate bunny house (so I put the door back onto it) and Grim could free run in the room. However I woke up in the morning to find them both lying next to each other. I let her out and they started to scrap again... I let them get it out of their system for a while then moved them one at a time downstairs so I could keep an eye on them. The back door was open and they both went into the hutch and up to the top level where Alahna let Grim hump her and then they snuggled.

He followed her everywhere downstairs as she explored and snuggled up to her when she lay down. He really wants her to clean him so he kept on shoving his head into her and under her but she just ignored him. :lol: They snuggled for hours so I put them both in the bedroom while we popped out, but when I came back, Grim was on the bed again and tufts of fur were on the carpet. Alahna was asleep under the bed.

So I moved them downstairs again and again they're snuggling.

So, so far so good. I'm a bit worried about the fact that they fight in the bedroom, I think Alahna has claimed it as her own lol. But anywhere else and they're practically inseparable. The only thing I can think to do is let them spend a few nights in the hutch together to strengthen their bond before I bring them in. But I'm going to see what they're like in the bedroom tonight as obviously I'll be there so I can intervene if anything happens. Wish us luck!!

Here are so pictures sorry about the quality they were just taken on my phone:

Alahna on the train from Sheffield to Manchester




Grimlock and Alahna snuggling at my parent's house






Snuggling at my house under the coffee table

Aww yay they look so inlove!

Been waiting for this!! Pics are bit hard to see (my eyesight...Im getting on a bit!!)....but it all sounds good..Not that I know about bonding!!! Its all snuggles!!
Paws crossed they fall in love and remain that way.xxxxx

Grim already loves her I'm sure, just waiting for her to come round to him. :lol:

Sorry about the pics my phone isn't very good. I'll steal a camera and get some good ones some time soon I promise.

Awwww, coming along nicely me thinks

You've gotta give it to Grimlock for perseverance. He just wants some lurve

Sending you some successful bonding vibes tonight xxx

have my fingers crossed for you xx they do look lovely together.
was nice meeting you :wave:

Give Alahna a cuddle from me this morning ...and tell her aunty Angie says she has to be good

hope they are ok this morning ..:wave:

They're fine this morning... because Grimlock slept on the bed with us all night.
Alhana definitely owns the bedroom. :lol:

I'm going to pop them in the hutch for a bit I think. And I've given her lots of hugs from you. She's a very huggable bunny. They'll be fine I think it'll just take a little bit longer than I thought, but that's what you said to me in the first place.

Little bit of an update:

I noticed Alahna had caught Grim on his ear and he's got a tiny bite mark there, which would explain why he's so scared of her. He's naturally very scared of everything, but as all the rabbits he's met before have been much smaller than him he's easily dominated them. I thought getting a bigger bun would be a good thing for him. :roll:

He's now so scared of her he won't come off the bed and last night he peed on my boyfriend's pillow because he was too scared to jump off the bed and go in his litter tray. My other half wasn't too happy, lol.

Alahna on the other hand has been brilliant. I've never known a rabbit to settle in so quickly. She just makes herself at home wherever she is and she's so loving towards us and so snuggly. I'm so glad I adopted her.

I know she's perfect for Grim. How can he be the dominant one if he hasn't got the confidence to lead? She's definitely shown who's boss but Grim just doesn't want to accept it.

Even in a completely neutral environment all Grimlock wants to do is get away from her. He's stopped mounting her which means she's stopped attacking him but every time he sees her he freaks out. He shoves his head into me and my boyfriend, tried to climb on us, anything to get away. I tried a really small area, about a metre by a metre and eventually he sat by her for a bit, but I could see how stressed he was (Alahna just lay down, lol). As soon as I took away the boundary he ran and hid.

The other problem is, as she's been an outside bun she's really not litter trained. Usually I can work with them inside, but combined with the conflict with Grimlock she's also going to the toilet to mark and show dominance... so it's not really working that way.

I've decided to go back to basics. Alahna is going to have the hutch outside for a week or so. She has her winter coat and is used to being outside. That way I can put a litter tray in there to get her started. I've put some carpet in for her as well as that's what she's used to and lots of snuggly hideaways filled with hay.

Grimlock can have the bedroom back for a bit but I'm going to let him outside to play with her everyday. What I'm hoping is that Grimlock will calm down a bit and forget he's scared of Alahna and that I can monitor her litter training.

Has anyone else got any ideas?

It took me three months to bond my chinchillas and they used to fight properly. With lots of patience I'm sure my buns will love each other as much as my chinnies do. I'm just trying to understand their body language with each other to make the right decisions for them. At the moment I'm just cooling the room down to adjust Alahna to the temperature outside.

I can't wait until they're both in the bedroom together.

Sounds like they have too much space for bonding? Do you have a dog crate or indoor cage? I would clean it with vinegar to remove any smells, move it into a room where Grimlock doesn't usually go if you have one, and put them in it, there will be chasing and humping but you have to let them get on with it. Unless they actually fight leave them together. If you keep separating them they will have to re-establish the bond every time they meet?

That's what I did... but she scared Grim so much and I just wanted to give him a bit of time to calm down and start again. The small space looks like it's going to be the best idea, so I will definitely follow your advice there.

They've been separated for a night now and they're both much happier. Bonding will begin again on Friday night or Saturday when I will clean the dog crate, remove its shelf and place both of them in there until Grimlock learns that he can't be in charge but at the same time that's not a bad thing.

Oh, and my new bunny has a new name.

I promised my boyfriend that he could name the rabbit I adopted and he's decided on Samus. Samus is the main character from the Metroid games and was one of the first female main character in computer games ever. I think it really suits her as she's beautiful and strong willed. I hope bunnymadhouse doesn't mind.

She's had lots and lots of cuddles today. It's weird, I'm not used to having a rabbit that will sit on my lap for over 30 seconds. If I want to snuggle Grimlock I have to get down on the floor with him. Thinking about it I've probably spoiled him too much, I mean he's probably bonded to me and he's in charge... :lol:

More pictures soon.

Jenova said:

They've been separated for a night now and they're both much happier. Bonding will begin again on Friday night or Saturday when I will clean the dog crate, remove its shelf and place both of them in there until Grimlock learns that he can't be in charge but at the same time that's not a bad thing.

Oh, and my new bunny has a new name.

I promised my boyfriend that he could name the rabbit I adopted and he's decided on Samus. Samus is the main character from the Metroid games and was one of the first female main character in computer games ever. I think it really suits her as she's beautiful and strong willed. I hope bunnymadhouse doesn't mind.

She's had lots and lots of cuddles today. It's weird, I'm not used to having a rabbit that will sit on my lap for over 30 seconds. If I want to snuggle Grimlock I have to get down on the floor with him. Thinking about it I've probably spoiled him too much, I mean he's probably bonded to me and he's in charge... :lol:

More pictures soon.

Click to expand...

no ..i dont mind ...

im so glad shes being cuddly with you .....i told you she was a cuddle bun

i hope all goes well at the weekend... :wave:

I love her already. She's so confidant and affectionate. And you were right, she really does love her veggies. I gave her a carrot this morning, went to do something and when I came back about two minutes later it was gone, completely. I searched the hutch and it was nowhere to be seen. I can't believe she ate it so quickly!