vanillacake
New Kit
I thought I'd share with you guys the (long) story of my bonding experience to hopefully help others.
Ginger is an 8 year old dwarf lop and I had my doubts as to whether she'd ever bond with another bunny as she'd lived alone her whole life. My vet and the bunny expert at my local shelter encouraged me to give it a shot though as they have bonded rabbits in similar situations to Ginger. I wanted Ginger to have a friend to snuggle with especially in winter so decided to give it a shot
Date #1
Half a year ago I took her for a date at a local shelter (the rabbit expert there is fantastic) and we chose a young (under 1 year) desexed white lop as they circled but there was no fighting and they sat nicely together at times throughout their date. I took them home in the car in the same carrier and then I let them into a neutral area outside (approx 8mx3m). The boy was quite nervous and was more interested in exploring than interacting with Ginger. Ginger however was intent on chasing the boy in between resting. The boy didn't like this so the chase was on and Ginger often ended up falling over and I could see she was getting exhausted. Things didn't seem to improve over the next 3 days. I tried them on the lawn in a pen (maybe 4m diameter) too. They just wouldn't stop running around and around (no fighting or humping though.. although I'm sure Ginger would have humped him if he stayed still). So I ended up taking this boy back and waited until I was next on holidays to try again.
Date #2
This time I was more determined to do everything properly and try a few different techniques. The rabbit expert selected another desexed lop but she believed he was 2-3 years old and knew he was one of the quietest of the lot she had up for adoption. They had their date and things were fantastic. They didn't chase each other but there was a small amount of circling. The boy showed a fair bit of interest in Ginger and they both put their heads down for grooming (although I don't think they obliged at this point). So I took them home and this time I had them inside in a neutral bathroom (a smaller area). They were great, they groomed each other and they slept side by side. I was thrilled.
I figured they couldn't stay in the bathroom forever so I stupidly tried them in Ginger's small indoor hutch that I had cleaned out. Ginger unfortunately become very territorial and they began circling and biting (he actually broke the skin on her back during this fight which only lasted a few seconds before I separated them). Disaster! I had them in separate areas overnight and then tried them back in the original bathroom they were in the next day. They fought again! Ginger would usually be the one to initiate the fights and would urinate all over the place. I tried them in another neutral bathroom and they fought there also. I took them on car trips prior to dates from then on - they were usually fine in here although the first time they fought so had to separate them, drive for a bit longer, then put them back together. When I released them into a neutral area afterwards they usually fought although there was one occasion in which they didn't but they mostly avoided each other. I was at a loss as to what to do. I made a set up with a double wire (they bit each other through the wire) between them so they could live side by side in between dates.
This all occurred over a period of about 2-3 weeks. I was in correspondence with the bunny expert and my vet to gain advice this whole time. My vet was suggesting a slow approach in which they lived side by side for weeks before trying dates again but the rabbit expert suggested I bring them in to the shelter so she could judge whether things were going to work. So I decided to see what the expert had to say. During their time at the shelter they reverted back to their original lovey dovey state! No fighting at all right from the beginning and they were grooming each other like nothing was ever wrong. We brought them home and put them together in a new set up I had in our garage and they have been fine ever since (3 weeks+). I let them out on the lawn together and they run around fine. I haven't tried them in any of Ginger's old territory yet and will refrain from doing so for a while as they are fine in the garage at the moment (plus I'm too scared to ruin things). Ginger however does sometimes, on the rare occasion (maybe once a week), attempt to hump Noah and chases him a bit but he isn't too fussed with it although he does usually move away from her. It doesn't last too long either. I'm assuming this is normal and just Ginger wanting to be boss. Hopefully this will be established eventually and she won't feel the need to hump him anymore. For the most part they snuggle together and groom one another all day long
Ginger is an 8 year old dwarf lop and I had my doubts as to whether she'd ever bond with another bunny as she'd lived alone her whole life. My vet and the bunny expert at my local shelter encouraged me to give it a shot though as they have bonded rabbits in similar situations to Ginger. I wanted Ginger to have a friend to snuggle with especially in winter so decided to give it a shot
Date #1
Half a year ago I took her for a date at a local shelter (the rabbit expert there is fantastic) and we chose a young (under 1 year) desexed white lop as they circled but there was no fighting and they sat nicely together at times throughout their date. I took them home in the car in the same carrier and then I let them into a neutral area outside (approx 8mx3m). The boy was quite nervous and was more interested in exploring than interacting with Ginger. Ginger however was intent on chasing the boy in between resting. The boy didn't like this so the chase was on and Ginger often ended up falling over and I could see she was getting exhausted. Things didn't seem to improve over the next 3 days. I tried them on the lawn in a pen (maybe 4m diameter) too. They just wouldn't stop running around and around (no fighting or humping though.. although I'm sure Ginger would have humped him if he stayed still). So I ended up taking this boy back and waited until I was next on holidays to try again.
Date #2
This time I was more determined to do everything properly and try a few different techniques. The rabbit expert selected another desexed lop but she believed he was 2-3 years old and knew he was one of the quietest of the lot she had up for adoption. They had their date and things were fantastic. They didn't chase each other but there was a small amount of circling. The boy showed a fair bit of interest in Ginger and they both put their heads down for grooming (although I don't think they obliged at this point). So I took them home and this time I had them inside in a neutral bathroom (a smaller area). They were great, they groomed each other and they slept side by side. I was thrilled.
I figured they couldn't stay in the bathroom forever so I stupidly tried them in Ginger's small indoor hutch that I had cleaned out. Ginger unfortunately become very territorial and they began circling and biting (he actually broke the skin on her back during this fight which only lasted a few seconds before I separated them). Disaster! I had them in separate areas overnight and then tried them back in the original bathroom they were in the next day. They fought again! Ginger would usually be the one to initiate the fights and would urinate all over the place. I tried them in another neutral bathroom and they fought there also. I took them on car trips prior to dates from then on - they were usually fine in here although the first time they fought so had to separate them, drive for a bit longer, then put them back together. When I released them into a neutral area afterwards they usually fought although there was one occasion in which they didn't but they mostly avoided each other. I was at a loss as to what to do. I made a set up with a double wire (they bit each other through the wire) between them so they could live side by side in between dates.
This all occurred over a period of about 2-3 weeks. I was in correspondence with the bunny expert and my vet to gain advice this whole time. My vet was suggesting a slow approach in which they lived side by side for weeks before trying dates again but the rabbit expert suggested I bring them in to the shelter so she could judge whether things were going to work. So I decided to see what the expert had to say. During their time at the shelter they reverted back to their original lovey dovey state! No fighting at all right from the beginning and they were grooming each other like nothing was ever wrong. We brought them home and put them together in a new set up I had in our garage and they have been fine ever since (3 weeks+). I let them out on the lawn together and they run around fine. I haven't tried them in any of Ginger's old territory yet and will refrain from doing so for a while as they are fine in the garage at the moment (plus I'm too scared to ruin things). Ginger however does sometimes, on the rare occasion (maybe once a week), attempt to hump Noah and chases him a bit but he isn't too fussed with it although he does usually move away from her. It doesn't last too long either. I'm assuming this is normal and just Ginger wanting to be boss. Hopefully this will be established eventually and she won't feel the need to hump him anymore. For the most part they snuggle together and groom one another all day long
