Rebonding

We have had our female bun for almost ten years. She has had several male partners, who have died of various things (abscess, e-cuniculi). We rescued a three year old male recently and after two weeks they were bonded and living happily together.

The male wasn't well and spent two days at the surgery being looked after. He came home yesterday. I stayed with them when I introduced them again, but after a few minutes of licking they went crazy and went for each other (very nasty, not gentle at all). They are now separated.

Female is in the garden having a good run around, the male is in the hutch/run. She isn't even coming up to have a nose around, which is worrying.

Do you think I need to go through the slow process of rebonding them again? In fact, do you think it's possible. The elderly female was terrified, breathing so hard and shaking. They are both normally very gentle and friendy bunnies, I just can't believe this has happened and I'm worried they won't be friends again.

We have had the male about four weeks in total.

Is the male bun ok now? If he is under the weather still, then I would wait until he is fully recovered (and this will also give both parties a chance to forget their fight) and then try bonding again as if they had never met before - small neutral territory etc.

It could be that he came back from the vet smelling different, or that the other bun could sense he was unwell. If the first bonding was pretty uneventful, there is a very good chance all will work out.

Thanks Karen. The male bun is fine now, he wasn't eating or pooping, but now he most definitely is! He is back to his normal self now.

I have just managed to catch the female bun to put her upstairs in the hutch (I'm swapping them around right now), but as soon as we got near the hutch she started breathing fast and heavy and wriggling, she was quite definitely scared.

As you say, I'll take it slowly and hope they bond again, but after witnessing what they did yesterday, I think I'll always be scared to leave them alone.

In her life she has bonded with four males, and never once had a problem . . . until now.