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Have you had a bunny you thought would not bond but has??

kaths101

Warren Veteran
arggh Im going mad...

I just dont know what to do for the best - Originally planned was the group of 4 but Sooty and Oreo have been squabbling (referred agression) and Charlie has been a single for 3/4 yrs - he's seen Mittens through the bars and just tried to lunge at her!! (Dont worry not close enough for nipping through bars)!

So in a totally neutral area - do bunnies really behave differently??
I can just see this all going wrong and Sooty and Oreo falling out? or one of them getting hurt :cry::cry: Both Oreo and Charlie (2 males) I think will be the dominent ones..:?

Cheryl (spgrescue) has offered to help me with bonding (she lives very close to me) so I will take them there as I dont have anywhere neutral and I will have an extra pair of hands..

Im happy for them to stay 2 pairs - will be very happy if charlie and Mittens bond but the 2 pairs will be housed side by side - so Will I get a referred agression problem? They wont be able to see each other..

ohhhh what to do???? :? really panicking me - was anyone else like this?? Anyone got any hopeful stories of aggression to start with but eventually bonding - I really dont want to end up with 4 singles but sometimes I feel im making a mountain out of a molehill! Am i stressing too much? :lol:
 
Took me 6 weeks to get Brendan bonded to Maggie and Peggy, nearly drove me over the edge :lol: And Bundy and Immy took a fair while too but we got there in the end.

But this week I decided to give up on Frank and Dasiy as I just couldn't trust him with another bunny and I thought it would be a really easy bond. So you can never tell.

I am sure Cheryl will have great success with your bunnies, she is excellent at bonding :)
 
it took 6 months to get one of my pairs together i didnt think they would ever pair up. More recently it took 3 months to get my latest 2 together, yet i have had bus wher it was love at first sight (ironicly two males!). Dont give up, there was an exellent thread put on earlia today about bonding, i think it may have been by "rosiesmum" or a name similar.
 
Took me 6 weeks to get Brendan bonded to Maggie and Peggy, nearly drove me over the edge :lol: And Bundy and Immy took a fair while too but we got there in the end.

But this week I decided to give up on Frank and Dasiy as I just couldn't trust him with another bunny and I thought it would be a really easy bond. So you can never tell.

I am sure Cheryl will have great success with your bunnies, she is excellent at bonding :)


That reassures me a little :D
 
I could do with a bit of reassurance too. I am trying to bond and the agression totally seemed to have lessened tonight. But then there was a random fight out or no where which just makes you feel back to the start again.

I just don't know whether it's worth it or better to just realise some aren't meant to be friends and give up.
 
How bunnies react to each other through bars has no bearing on how the will react in a neutral situation so don't worry! If you are going for a four I wouldn't let the existing pair see/smell the other until you are actually ready to bond, as it can cause referred aggression :wave:

It's kind of like how you would react to someone you didn't know if you first met them staring through your front window!
 
:wave: Don't forget aswell they are so perceptive about picking up your vibes so no matter how much you try if you are stressed they are going to sense it Kath. I think your going to be surprised (hopefully) you certainly deserve it to go well and have a happy little 4 - I hope it goes well for you x
 
How bunnies react to each other through bars has no bearing on how the will react in a neutral situation so don't worry! If you are going for a four I wouldn't let the existing pair see/smell the other until you are actually ready to bond, as it can cause referred aggression :wave:

It's kind of like how you would react to someone you didn't know if you first met them staring through your front window!

Arent they going to react the same way when they meet though - or is the aggression just about them defending their territory :?
 
:wave: Don't forget aswell they are so perceptive about picking up your vibes so no matter how much you try if you are stressed they are going to sense it Kath. I think your going to be surprised (hopefully) you certainly deserve it to go well and have a happy little 4 - I hope it goes well for you x

Thank you Vicki - I promise I will be here for you when you bond yours like you have with me :lol: When will that be? I hope Ness is getting better?
Im hoping Im surprised too!! I would soooo love to be surprised :lol::lol:

Im stressing just thinking about it! :oops:
 
Arent they going to react the same way when they meet though - or is the aggression just about them defending their territory :?

Nope they won't act the same way...they are much more defensive if they are on their own territory, and can't interact with the other bunny how they normally would...don't worry ;)
 
Thank you Vicki - I promise I will be here for you when you bond yours like you have with me :lol: When will that be? I hope Ness is getting better?
Im hoping Im surprised too!! I would soooo love to be surprised :lol::lol:

Im stressing just thinking about it! :oops:

:lol: I will have to do what you did and have the laptop in with me :lol: Well Ness seems to be doing really well now :D she is back to being a greedy guts and circling mummeh while I do the brekkie's :lol: I have the little harlequin rex (foster bun) outside in his own hutch with the playpen round him to give him some more space and she has chinned him through the bars (he is finally calming down a bit, he is unneutered so was going a bit mad for while:roll: obviously smelling Ness, she seemed to realise it wasn't Gizmo and today 'Jungle's' the rex owner was in the kitchen - his partner was taken in again yesterday, I was with her all day but, she is very poorly and won't stop drinking :roll:) Anyway as i was talking to him and Ness was out free ranging I didn't realise the kitchen door was open and Ness was in the dining room laying next to Gizmo's area :love: She loves her boy I think, she doesn't want Jungle bunny :lol: Will keep you posted on when but, it's only been a week since her spay tomorrow so another few weeks at least I think, they have waited this long, they do get to see each other through the bars and there is only chinning now from both of them. :)
 
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Ok I believe you ;)

Bunnies are very strange little things, if done correctly the majority of male/female bonds do work :D

Cheryl wrote an excellent post on bonding, it was "no nonsense approach to bonding" details exactly how it should be done and why, it is great that she is going to help you :)
 
:lol: I will have to do what you did and have the laptop in with me :lol: Well Ness seems to be doing really well now :D she is back to being a greedy guts and circling mummeh while I do the brekkie's :lol: I have the little harlequin rex (foster bun) outside in his own hutch with the playpen round him to give him some more space and she has chinned him through the bars (he is finally calming down a bit, he is unneutered so was going a bit mad for while:roll: obviously smelling Ness, she seemed to realise it wasn't Gizmo and today 'Jungle's' the rex owner was in the kitchen - his partner was taken in again yesterday, I was with her all day but, she is very poorly and won't stop drinking :roll:) Anyway as i was talking to him and Ness was out free ranging I didn't realise the kitchen door was open and Ness was in the dining room laying next to Gizmo's area :love: She loves her boy I think, she doesn't want Jungle bunny :lol: Will keep you posted on when but, it's only been a week since her spay tomorrow so another few weeks at least I think, they have waited this long, they do get to see each other through the bars and there is only chinning now from both of them. :)

Aww glad Ness is doing ok - I think their bonding will be fine - they sound like Sooty and Oreo - theres was so easy really, as they were so used to each other by the time I bonded - they were just thinking "finally!!" :lol::lol:
Though they have now taken to taking big chunks of fur out of each other :cry: One minute loved up - next chasing and fur pulling - they have never been like this!! I think this 'spring fever' is a lot to do with it! along with the new arrival who I have now moved to a totally seperate room!
Flipping bunnies - so complicated!!

I didnt know you had a foster bun :love: you snuck him in quietly!! :lol:
 
Bunnies are very strange little things, if done correctly the majority of male/female bonds do work :D

Cheryl wrote an excellent post on bonding, it was "no nonsense approach to bonding" details exactly how it should be done and why, it is great that she is going to help you :)

Yes I read her post a while ago - Im glad she is helping me too :lol:

Thank you all - I feel a bit better now - Im going to give Mittens another week or 2 to settle in - shes doing really well bless her - she was having a lovely run round my bedroom earlier then I will take them all to cheryl - I will warn you all when I take them so you can all be prepared for my stressy posts :oops::oops:
(Ive changed my mind so many times - The man I am getting to build my shed/aviary is like a best friend now I have rung him so many times for quotes - changing it from one big one to 2 pairs etc ) - oops
 
When Delilah was a baby, and I let her roam about my room whilst oggie was in his cage, he used to go for her but when they were bonding they were fine and still are :D
 
Yes I read her post a while ago - Im glad she is helping me too :lol:

Thank you all - I feel a bit better now - Im going to give Mittens another week or 2 to settle in - shes doing really well bless her - she was having a lovely run round my bedroom earlier then I will take them all to cheryl - I will warn you all when I take them so you can all be prepared for my stressy posts :oops::oops:
(Ive changed my mind so many times - The man I am getting to build my shed/aviary is like a best friend now I have rung him so many times for quotes - changing it from one big one to 2 pairs etc ) - oops


:lol: He probably thinks your a loony toons :lol:
 
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