I've been introducing my male Trevor to his new girlfriend today... about 4 hours in so far and lots of sniffing, but really he just seems to be ignoring her and the two of them are nibbling hay in different corners of the room! I'm taking this as a good sign.... I'm keeping close watch out for any grooming of each other but none so far :-( just a lot of eating ...!
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keep me company while supervising bonding!
- Thread starter Harriet
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Santa
Wise Old Thumper
Personally I'd suggest making the space a lot smaller - many rescues use a space around 4ft*2ft for bonding, for this very reason. If they're ignoring each other and being in different parts of the room, they aren't taking steps towards bonding! It's great that they have been sniffing and haven't fought, but having them spending so much time away from each other isn't helpful to them to get through all the stages of bonding either. Good luck xx
hurricanhoney
Wise Old Thumper
Ignoring is good as it means they are happy in each other company. I agree about reducing the space. I used a 36inch dog crate. Hope it continues to go well. Merlin and Wesley did this for hours and I didn't think I was getting anywhere. When I went upstairs I came down and Merlin was grooming Wesley.
Thanks all! They are mini-lops - Trevor and Maggie. So far so good.... quite a bit of snuggling up together, but still some ignoring and eating hay! Have a question - now they have met and snuggled should they be kept together all the time or still seperated at night when I can't supervise them? Thanks
When bonding it is important to keep the rabbits together day and night and to ensure that they can be supervised for at least a 48 hour period of time where they have been together for this whole time together.
If they are ignoring each other dont worry as this is far better than fighting. Just keep them in a restricted space until they have been settled for a period of at least 48 hours where they have been constantly together, only then slowly increase their space.
If they are ignoring each other dont worry as this is far better than fighting. Just keep them in a restricted space until they have been settled for a period of at least 48 hours where they have been constantly together, only then slowly increase their space.
