Destined to be a single bun?

Hi,

Has anyone ever had a bunny that is just destined to be single and all bonds have failed?

This is the second attemp to bond Shiloh with Max and at first it was fine loads of grooming snuggling but it always develops into chasing, lunging for each other, going to nip eachothers genitals. They start jumping up in the air with the front legs up trying to fight..

first time we ever tried when it was max and shiloh ended up with two trips to the vets as max got bit in the private parts and shiloh on the cheek.
Sunshine has bonded fine with Max and they are totally in love in their new cage, shiloh was even starting to upset Sunshine.

I think I may have to give up on this one...

Max & sunshine are together and shiloh is now in a seperate cage next to them.

I will only ever have from a Friday night - Sunday to try again.
such a shame they could be enjoying this..

It might just be that those bunnies don't work together. Have you thought about getting Shiloh a friend of her own?

I had a girl I deemed unbondable after trying with about 10 different boys, but I found the right boy and after some careful work with them, they have now been together for 7 weeks Some bunnies are just pickier than others.

Another option for you might be asking a rescue to try and bond for you?

Hi,

Kris at starlights took them for a week and a half and all three were fine.
we got them home and kept them in the small cage for 5 days as advised. We then opended them up to a little bit more room. tention mounted between sunshine and shiloh so we put them back in the small cage for a few more days and now max and shiloh were starting to really go for each other in the small cage..got so bad that we took sunshine and max and put them in their new cage and they love it.. shiloh is in the extended bit which has been blocked off.

we can't afford another bunny for Shiloh (its a he BTW, there was some gender confusion lol) Max = Male Sunshine = Female.

Ah, I see, that's very tricky. Please pass on my apologies to Shiloh for confusing his gender.

In which case, maybe right now he is destined to be alone, which is a shame, but sometimes is the best option.

If they can see each other, then that is far better than being completely isolated, and in some cases, they are happier this way.

Also, great news that Sunshine is doing so well She really deserves that.

Thanks, I think I was maybe looking for a bit of reassurance that sometimes there is such a thing as a single bun.

when he was in the cage on his own he was binkying all over the place whilst the other two just cuddled in theirs.

well he can see the other two, infact it was weird I walked in the room last night and they were all grooming at the same time even though shiloh was in his own cage!

its been very stressful reading every single bonding story and trying everything possible! but i guess some times it just doesn't work.

Sunshine is beautiful! cant believe she didn't get taken before, Max luuuuuurvs her!!

Rabbits can be happy alone. You also never know what may happen in the future and maybe Max will take him in due course.

You might also find in due course they lie comfortably together through the mesh (if the set up allows that), which can mean they have some level of contact too.

An indoor bunny especially can be ok alone.

All you can do is what you think is best, and it sounds like you are.

My first attempt at bonding went absolutely terrible. They both lunged for each other at every opportunity, the rescue bun went back to the rescue and was swopped for another bun and to be honest I don't think i even needed to go through the whole bonding process cause they both took to each other straight away and I've had no biting, chasing etc at all with them apart from about half an hour when I first put them together and then it was only chasing. If I was ever to get another bun I would def let my existing bun pick their partner.

Yeah I think that defiantly sounds like a good idea letting them choose.
The rescue put sunshine in with Max and it just worked so I guess they picked each other.

I think if i ever got another bunny I would definatly let them choose or get in a pair. We live in a 2 bed flat so they have the spare room to themsleves, it has french doors onto a balcony which they love. no more room at the inn for any more bunnies!

we will make sure they are all made a fuss of

I think shiloh likes being on his own as I spoke to another member who has sally his sister and even they had a fight lol.

I think if Shiloh has snuggled with another rabbit before (even if it wasn't for very long) then it shows that it is possible and that he is capable of it. When I bonded my pair they were the same, lots of snuggling then lots of fighting. I couldn't bear to take one back to the rescue so I stuck with it. It was a slow bond and I felt so drained, I know you're not meant to separate them once they're getting on but I couldn't leave them together for long without a fight.
to cut a long story short, it was best for my 2 to put them together for really short amounts of time, stroking them both at the same time so they chill out. then separate them again on a good note (never just after a fight), so they remember each other as everything being fine. i gave them treats at the same time when they were in together too so they associated that with each other. (when they were separate it was actually 1 large cage with a partition in between so they could always see each other).

They'd still try and nip each other through the bars sometimes but each time they were together, and I wasn't letting them fight cos they weren't together long enough, they started to trust each other. the time i could put them together for got longer (you can tell when they are feeling more relaxed), and one day they totally got on! it was such a relief! it wasn't easy though. one of them actually got really stressed and had to have a gut stimulant but they get on really well now.

i think some rabbits find it hard to trust other rabbits so it can be a lot harder to bond some of them.

so, in my opinion, there's no need for shiloh to be alone, he has been happy in a pair - be it for 5 minutes! - so he just needs to build up trust etc so he can enjoy being in a pair for long amounts of time.

hope that helps!

Hi,

Do you think it would be ok to keep Max and sunshine together and Shiloh in the cage next to them until say Christmas time when I could try again? I have no more holiday to take from work and I do not think that 3 days supervision is enough with these two! Just seems that Max & Sunshine are nervous buns that dont like being picked up and like to chill and do things on their own time and come up to you on their own turf. Where as shiloh is crazy! doesn't mind being picked up and cuddled and is very lively and care free!

When the other two wanna chill he is running around startling them!

I know shiloh is happy as all he does in binky all day long!

Hiya
I'd say yes it's fine, for the fact that you'll probably need a lot of time to do it - I work from home so it was easier finding time for me - and if they're next to each other for that long they might get used to seeing each other. It sounds like they kind of are already but there's a trust issue there when there's no barriers. Mine would lay together with the mesh divide in between so it looked like they were getting on but then once in together they'd fight, but seeing them laying together showed me they were probably comforted that there was another rabbit there and I should stick with it.
Is it Shiloh who starts the fights? Lily used to start the fights with Billy but that's cos he's so energetic if he'd suddenly move or get excited she thought he was going for her.
Keep swapping them around every so often so they don't make one side their territory and the other side Shiloh's. Swap litter trays etc.
I'm no expert though but I know how hard it is so I thought i'd try to help, I've bonded twice before, first one was easy, second one I felt was never going to work! (but it did) Also if you're going to try them together it's good to do it when they're tired, eg after a long run in the garden.

Hello

Yeah its Shiloh who always starts it lol he just has so much energy and always wants to run around and the other two don't.

We recently sent them both for bonding where they met sunshine.
Max and sunshine were a piece of cake! they are in love and are in their permanent home. Just the boys that are trouble, which unsettles sunshine.

I think you are right and it is definatly a trust issue as when Max comes out of his cage he always creeps around first to suss things out and then he runs around like a loony.

Well for now i will keep them as they are and i will swap trays and cages etc.. up until xmas where i will have 2 weeks to keep an eye on the little naughty fur balls.

I was so excited about their cage as it had a tunnel! but they can't use it until they learn to get on!

Thanks for so much, i feel alot better. who ever thought it would be so stressful for humans and the bunnies! I love those little furballs!!

xxxx

i know my friends and family were all surprised to learn u have to bond them first!
it's very dispiriting when they fight, especially when they look like they're getting on then suddenly they fight again (the fights are scary in themselves!)
I was so tired from it and there were quite a few tears but it's well worth it in the end. They used to fight also when Billy tried to hump Lily, he still does it now but she just runs off and shows no aggression. Oh that's another thing that helped actually, I took the bonding to the garden even though it wasn't neutral space cos I was worried they weren't getting enough exercise etc. Billy was put in the run and Lily could run around the outside of it. Again, aggression through the bars from Lily, but after a few days of this and once they were tired out, I put them both loose in the garden (I think this goes against all advice on bonding!) they sniffed each other, Billy tried to climb on Lily again but she ran off and they carried on sniffing around. I think this really helped them as I think one of the things was Lily was getting stressed that she couldn't get away from 'the excitable one'. After they were happy from the garden I'd put them together for 5 mins, never letting my hands leave them really, I think it helps if you keep them still to start with, just stroking etc.
Hope it goes well for you and feel free to ask me anything. As I say I'm not really experienced in this but I know how much you need to talk to someone in the process!

OMG... I dont know what to do anymore...I came home today and Max and sunshine had clearly had a fight... tones of fur everywhere! max has small bite mark and they started to lock on twich when i got home. I seriously feel like giving up

i seperated.. kept in cage next to each other... cleaned out small cage and have put back together but i cant stop the lunging..... max has got his ears pinned back permanently!! he just wont stop. i am sitting here trying to stop with the watle bottle but 10 mins later it just starts again!! sunshine was trying to lay by him and he even gave her a little lick but as soon as she moves he freaks out! they are both grooming seperate ends of the cage but this is prob the 10th time he has lunged in an hour.... someone please help me.

i cant have 3 seperate rabbits.... i miss the days it was just me and max having fun.

Oh dear Where is Shiloh, is he nearby? Sometimes bunnies can get 'referred aggression' where they really want to attack the other bunny but because they can't get to them, they attack their partner instead. If Shiloh is within sight/smell this may have kicked it off - I would suggest moving him to somewhere else and things may settle down again.

how long had max and sunshine been bonded?
the first pair i bonded were a really easy bond and i couldn't believe my luck - they got on straight away no fights or anything - but after 1-2 weeks they suddenly began fighting. i had to bond them for a week (moved them to a different neutral territory) and then it was all fine again, not actually sure why it happened.

maybe because there's 2 males in the room there's a lot of tension there?

could you pay a rescue to bond them? I know some do do that and they're more experienced and the space is defo neutral then. x

about two 1/2 weeks as they came from starlights all bonded. we followed all instructions, shiloh was taken out becuase of fights but max n sunshine were perfect... but today it was horrible when i came home so much fur.... i cleaned out the small cage to make it neutral so they could go back in that together but all hells breaks loose. shilohs cage was next to them.

the flat isn't really neutral anymore as they have been everywhere even the balcony.......

yeah it sounds like what happened to mine, i thought maybe it was cos they had got comfortable together and decided to sort out who was boss again. i think it took a week or 2 to bond them again, had to bring them into my bedroom to do it and just sit with them all the time. have they had much exercise? i think if they don't it can make them get a bit crazy!
i'd run out of neutral space so i took them to a patch of the garden in a fenced off bit to carry on the bonding. it is a hard slog especially when u read about people who have never had a problem! but this happened to mine and they were fine again not long after. i remember feeling like i'd done the wrong thing and made my rabbit's life stressful cos he was fine before the new one came along, but once bonded and u see how happy they are you know it's worth it.
don't be disheartened, i've seen it happen and work out fine maybe it's referred aggression like what santa said? although i didn't have another rabbit near mine and it still happened, so it might not be that.