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Squabbling In The Garden!

C

CHH

Warren Scout
We're in the process of bonding our single bun Honey (m) with an established pair, Sandy (m) and Sooty (f).

They're fine when they're in the house. No problems at all, except that Sandy likes to hump them both every so often!

We've started letting them out into the garden under close supervision. There is an area that is fenced off so they're only getting a small part of it just now. Generally they're ok, but at some point Sooty will have a go at Honey. It might take 20 minutes or so to happen, but it always does. I always step in and don't let it develop into a fight and then bring them in straight away.

Is that the right thing to do, or should I let them get on with it and only stop them if it develops into a proper fight? Sandy has established himself as the boss fairly quickly and keeps out of it!
 
difficult to tell without seeing what is going on but if its chasing and fur pulling id let them sort out the pecking order themselves but if they stare biting, circling,attacking then break it up immediatly could you fence an even smaller area s you can build it up more gradually if the current area is being found as too big? also is there toys and food to distract them in the new garden area? x
 
She's certainly circling and getting set to kick off until I step in. I'll reduce the size of their space and see if that helps.

Unfortunately there isn't anywhere in the garden that's neutral.

Thanks.
 
is it lawn or patio? you could try hoseing down the garden to try and enutralise the area more adn clean and neutralise any toys
 
Having just moved the fence it's now mostly patio and a very small bit of lawn. There's no hosing required given the amount of rain we've had :lol:

They're out just now but I could spray the slabs with vinegar and then hose it if you think that would help??
 
CHH said:
Having just moved the fence it's now mostly patio and a very small bit of lawn. There's no hosing required given the amount of rain we've had :lol:

They're out just now but I could spray the slabs with vinegar and then hose it if you think that would help??
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i dont know for sure, but i guess its worth a try? maybe moving things around in the area they are in too? ie putting a tunnell and a box in there so it doesnt feel the same territory? x
 
Will try that, thanks.

They're more interested in the strong wind than each other just now so it's hard to say if reducing the size has helped yet.
 
CHH said:
Will try that, thanks.

They're more interested in the strong wind than each other just now so it's hard to say if reducing the size has helped yet.
Click to expand...

good luck it does sound like its a case of perserverance for now!!!
 
So are you seperating then putting them back together ?

From what i've seen/read and in my very limited experience, bonding should be done, all at once, in a neutral area in a small space, 100% supervised for at least 48 hours before any space/area should be changed.

I'd think that'd cause all manner of bunny brain confusion?

Someone kick me if im wrong :)

Good Luck though :)
 
GrahamL said:
So are you seperating then putting them back together ?

From what i've seen/read and in my very limited experience, bonding should be done, all at once, in a neutral area in a small space, 100% supervised for at least 48 hours before any space/area should be changed.

I'd think that'd cause all manner of bunny brain confusion?

Someone kick me if im wrong :)

Good Luck though :)
Click to expand...

oh i had read it that if they fought she was bringing them back inside into a bonding pen they were fine in? so they werent being split its just when she trys moving them outside the problems begin? x
 
bunlover said:
oh i had read it that if they fought she was bringing them back inside into a bonding pen they were fine in? so they werent being split its just when she trys moving them outside the problems begin? x
Click to expand...

Think perhaps i read too quickly, but i'm going to ask questions anyway!

OP:

How long did you bond them in the house for? with what sized space?

How big is the space you are giving them in the garden?

:)
 
GrahamL said:
Think perhaps i read too quickly, but i'm going to ask questions anyway!

OP:

How long did you bond them in the house for? with what sized space?

How big is the space you are giving them in the garden?

:)
Click to expand...

yes you are right why on earth didnt i ask those before!?!! v.good questions and could explain a lot!!!
 
They're not being split up. As soon as they come back inside they're fine.

The dog cage they're in is 3ft x 2ft. They also get the run of the lounge some of the time and it's about 30ft x 10ft. We never have any problems in the lounge. The garden space they had was smaller than the lounge, but moving the fences today has made it much smaller. The garden space is probably about 8ft x 8ft now.

It's too wet and cold to go out and measure it exactly :lol:
 
CHH said:
They're not being split up. As soon as they come back inside they're fine.

The dog cage they're in is 3ft x 2ft. They also get the run of the lounge some of the time and it's about 30ft x 10ft. We never have any problems in the lounge. The garden space they had was smaller than the lounge, but moving the fences today has made it much smaller. The garden space is probably about 8ft x 8ft now.

It's too wet and cold to go out and measure it exactly :lol:
Click to expand...

is the garden neutral?
 
I would suggest stopping access to the garden. I think the space is being increased too fast. I would say get them in an area that is say something like 5-6ft by 2ft, or so and keep them there for 24 hours and keep gradually increasing the size. If the next size up does not work, then go back down a size for another 48 hours and then try again.

I do think that outside it would be worth spraying with vinegar and hosing it down, just to try and do everything possible.
 
bunlover said:
how is the garden time going is it any better for being smaller?
Click to expand...

Yes, there's a noticable change in behaviour in the garden today. When Sooty chases Honey he takes to his heels and gets out of the way.

GrahamL said:
is the garden neutral?
Click to expand...

No, all four of our buns get the run of the whole garden. They just get out in their separate groups.


SkyO said:
I would suggest stopping access to the garden. I think the space is being increased too fast. I would say get them in an area that is say something like 5-6ft by 2ft, or so and keep them there for 24 hours and keep gradually increasing the size. If the next size up does not work, then go back down a size for another 48 hours and then try again.

I do think that outside it would be worth spraying with vinegar and hosing it down, just to try and do everything possible.
Click to expand...

Because of the layout, and the fencing we have, it would be tricky to make it any smaller! Things seem to be getting better though so I'll leave it as is just now. Once they've settled properly it's not too difficult to increase their area by very small bits at a time.


Thanks for the replies folks :)
 
Yes, I could put some boxes down I suppose. That would make it a wee bit smaller.

I'll give that a go.
 
They've been in the lounge for 2 weeks now and it's really time to get them out of here. Apart from anything else it's getting a bit smelly!!

We're hoping to move them into the conservatory tomorrow. We did that a week or so ago and got a bit of a reaction. Sooty and Honey had a disagreement and they both lost a bit of fur!

We'll be in there with them all day making sure there's no trouble. Anything else we should do?

Their access to the garden will also change and we'll be able to give them a small area that we can increase gradually. Would it be ok to let them into the garden tomorrow too, or would that be too much change at once?
 
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