Difficulties with bonding females.

Hai,

I just got 2 females last week.
They were staying in a all-female group of 10/12 bunnies.
Initially i was going for the albino female, but the lady suggested me to take a companion with her to keep them as a pair. So i gladly picked another female and took them both home.

They were fine in the car, but when i put them in the cage, Nina started nipping and biting Sophie. I thought they were resettling the hierarchie thing, so i let them together that night. Next day, i went to check on them and Nina was going at it again. A lot of bedding was laying next to the cage so it must've been a rough night for Sophie. So i seperated them.
Nina lives freely in the conservatary? room and Sophie is in the cage, placed in the same room. So they are contact, they can see and smell eachother.
I thought i'd be better that way, cause Nina is very active so she could use the free space and Sophie is very quiet and i want her to claim and own the cage as hers so she can defend it against Nina.

I want Sophie to stand her ground against Nina, but she rarely ever defends herself, Nina gets away with biting and nipping at her.
Sophie is a shy girl, she needs to open up more but that's not going to happen if Nina keeps dominating her..

Though they get along fine when i let them both out in the garden.
Nina only gets agressive when there isn't much space and Sophie get's too near.
So Nina is the problem.. she is too dominant and aggresive.
She has also bitten me twice, i think her hormones active.. springfever? xD

So they've been seperated for like 5 days orso, they still have contact, they see and smell eachother.

So what should i do to get the girls to like eachother?
I'm afraid they'll never get along.. my mom tells me to bring Nina back where she came from, but i still want to keep her.
I'm getting more cages and a hutch soon, untill then Nina has the entire room for herself.

Sophie



Grooming?


Nina

To add to the story:

I just got a new femaly baby bunny.
I thought Sophie and the baby could bond and be friends.
But i was wrong.. i introduced the baby to Sophie in my bedroom, Sophie was already familliar with my room so that was my mistake..
She didn't mind the baby coming up to her and snuggle with her, but later she once nipped at it.
I put them bot in the cage and watched them for a while, Sophie didn't like the idea and nipped her, obviously it's her territory so she defended it.
Although she never showed any backbone in front of Nina.. but i guess it's a female rabbit thing, they look sweet on the outside but they're a ***** on the inside, that mostly goes for Nina ahhaa.

Soo i cleaned the cage, i rinsed it with power water.
I put the baby in the cage and closed it.
Sophie and Nina are loose in the same room, so they can check the baby.

But i'm in a dilemma right now..
The adult females are together atm, the room is big enough for Sophie to run and hide so i i'm not worried. I just checked on them and they are sleeping seperate, Sophie keeps her distance and tries to avoid her.
Nina mostly ignores her so fingers crossed..

Idk really know what to think of the situation right now..
I'm giving them some space and time to settle and get used to eachother.
I will be getting a cage soon for each girl so there will no more nipping/fighting. Meanwhile i hope they'll bond.
Atleast i hope to bond Sophie and baby Disney.

The white one on the right is baby Disney, she has gorgeous blue eyes like a goddess


I will be posting more pics tomorrow : )

Hi

Are your rabbits spayed? If not, get them done and leave them seperate for a while (I think 8 weeks is recommended) so that their hormones die down. Then try to rebond them in a totally neutral area. It also prevents cancer.

Also, that cage isn't really big enough. A rabbits need a 6ft x 2ft cage at least for a pair :wave: No petshops/breeders ever bother to tell you that, though :roll: I have a dog pen for my pair

No they aren't.. atleast not that i know of..

I will be getting new homes for them soon enough, meanwhile the adults have the whole room for themselves, and i'll also let them out in the garden.
I hope they'll get used to eachother by then or i'll just keep them seperate in the future. : )

Unfortunately spaying rabbits in holland is very expensive, so i can't afford that right now. But i'll keep that in mind before summer starts.

Disxey said:

No they aren't.. atleast not that i know of..

I will be getting new homes for them soon enough, meanwhile the adults have the whole room for themselves, and i'll also let them out in the garden.
I hope they'll get used to eachother by then or i'll just keep them seperate in the future. : )

Unfortunately spaying rabbits in holland is very expensive, so i can't afford that right now. But i'll keep that in mind before summer starts.

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They will keep fighting unless you spay them, also female buns that are not spayed have 80% chance of developing cancer of the uterus, they need to be done. How much is spaying over there?

I would keep your baby bun seperate until she is old enough to be spayed too, the downside of pets is they cost alot of money, especially rabbits but we have a responsibilty to ensure their health and happiness and its something that has to be thought about before purchasing one

Between 70 and 120 euros. I seperated Nina to another room, so there will be no more agression towards Sophie. I won't be bonding them untill they're fixed.

Thnx for the help.

Good, keep them separated. How old are the adult bunnies? You could get them spayed now and bond them, then when the baby is old enough spay and bond her to them.

In the meantime look at previous posts so you know how to bond properly when the time comes

P.S, spaying doesnt sound more expensive there than it is here.

I went to the children's farm today, where i got Nina and Sophie.
I asked a few questions about their history, age, etc but she'd didn't really know anything about them. But she told me to keep them together and that they'll eventually bond, but i doubt that.

Disxey said:

I went to the children's farm today, where i got Nina and Sophie.
I asked a few questions about their history, age, etc but she'd didn't really know anything about them. But she told me to keep them together and that they'll eventually bond, but i doubt that.

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Rabbits can kill each other through fighting. Not worth the risk

I'm aware of that, but they don't fight. Nina is only dominating her.
And they were living together before too so it isn't that bad, she told me that they were only settling out who's boss and that they would stop after a few days but i'm not sure of that.

I'll keep them seperate most of the time, only letting them together when they are in the garden.

Disxey said:

I went to the children's farm today, where i got Nina and Sophie.
I asked a few questions about their history, age, etc but she'd didn't really know anything about them. But she told me to keep them together and that they'll eventually bond, but i doubt that.

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Seeing as the advice she has given you on this is bad, I would assume everything else she said about diet, housing etc could be bad... I would take a look at the care reference section and read up on rabbit care, to be on the safe side.

Disxey said:

I'm aware of that, but they don't fight. Nina is only dominating her.
And they were living together before too so it isn't that bad, she told me that they were only settling out who's boss and that they would stop after a few days but i'm not sure of that.

I'll keep them seperate most of the time, only letting them together when they are in the garden.

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before I knew better, I had 2 female rabbits, not spayed. They seemed not to fight and would give the odd nip and chase but generally stayed away from each other, we didnt know about proper bonding back then. One day one bunny ripped the others ear off, with no warning. Be very careful and use caution if you are going to let them together, I wouldnt reccommend it.

Disxey said:

I'm aware of that, but they don't fight. Nina is only dominating her.
And they were living together before too so it isn't that bad, she told me that they were only settling out who's boss and that they would stop after a few days but i'm not sure of that.

I'll keep them seperate most of the time, only letting them together when they are in the garden.

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They either need to be together all the time or not at all, if you keep seperating them and putting them back together you may end up with a huge fight as it damages the bond. If they are biting eachother i suggest you seperate them until you have had them spayed, the quicker you do that the better, its no more expensive over there than it is here and is a responsibilty you take on when you get buns. Once you've done it and let their hormones settle they'll be easier to handle and bond :wave:

They are back together for 3 days now and they are getting close to bonding.
A friend suggested me to put them in the bathroom and to spray them with water when fighting or biting but that didn't happen. Nina has humped and chased Sophie the whole night but they didn't fight and Nina stopped biting and nipping.
I haven't seperated them since. They have also eaten cookies and veggies together so it's going good for now. I guess it just take a little time for them to be friends.

I'm not sure on spaying, even if i wanted to, i don't have the money right now.
So that'll have to wait.

Hello and welcome to the forum :wave:

I can't say I am an expert on bonding in any way but I think you are having more success in the bathroom as this is neutral territory and likely a fairly small area and these are the requirements of bonding. Really it is not advisable to leave the rabbits alone at all so best to pick a time when you can stay with them 24 hours a day until you are confident they are getting along, also you need to keep them in the same area - do not try to increase the area or move them anywhere else that either of them are familiar with. Any cages, equipment, rooms that have been used before need to be neutralised, cleaned with a vinegar solution to mask any original rabbity smells before they are reused.

Disxey said:

They are back together for 3 days now and they are getting close to bonding.
A friend suggested me to put them in the bathroom and to spray them with water when fighting or biting but that didn't happen. Nina has humped and chased Sophie the whole night but they didn't fight and Nina stopped biting and nipping.
I haven't seperated them since. They have also eaten cookies and veggies together so it's going good for now. I guess it just take a little time for them to be friends.

I'm not sure on spaying, even if i wanted to, i don't have the money right now.
So that'll have to wait.

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You are risking your buns health by not spaying them, also bonding them unspayed is risky so i hope they will be ok, makesure you monitor them and dont leave them unattended. Its wise to research the potential cost of animals before obtaining them really.

I didn't plan on spaying them. I asumed they would get along, since they lived together before.
And i heard rabbits not making it through the surgery, how can i decide to take such risk within so short of time?:shock:
I wasn't ready for this, but oh well.
They are still together and they have a lot of free space to run around or avoid eachother. there is little agression, only nipping. Other than that, they'll have to stick together for a few days.
But i will be getting a new cage tomorrow, so i can house them seperately by then.

A question.. does it hurt their relationship when the baby bun is within their territory? Will the presence of the baby affect their bonding-relationship?

Also a few new pics.






Trying to bond the Baby with Sophie, but it didn't work.










She was sleeping in my closet.. SO CUTE

Spaying isn't just about making them get on :wave:
Females, as a general rule, WILL get aggressive. The chance of a bun not making it through surgery with a good vet is something like 1%, the chance of the bun developing cancer without being spayed within a few years is 80%.
The risk is when you do not get them done.

It also stops them being frustrated, it should stop phantrom pregnancies, it'll calm down any aggression and it will make them easier to bond.

Even if they get on now, unspayed females will probably fight and if you're not there to seperate them, you'll be left with either a seriously injured bun or a dead bun.

I know it's a shock to the system when you realise how much bunnys cost to do it right (as no pet shops and very few breeders care enough to give you true info) but it is in your rabbits best interests to spay them. Even if it takes you a few months to save up, better for them to be done. Happier bunnys is always worth a tiny risk :wave:

Hi. Cant help much with the bonding, but looking at your pics, on some of them it looks as if you have the bun out in the open and not in an enclosure. I would advise against this cos if it gets spooked you would not believe how fast a rabbit can run. They dart from side to side making it near impossible to catch, as this is their only form of defence against a predetor. I would be scared of a stray dog, cat or even bird of prey getting my bunny and it will probably feel very insecure outside at such a young age. My opinion only. Oh and yes all buns should be spayed for health and behaviour reasons. (steps down off soapbox!)

No they aren't kept outside.
I took the baby bun to the park when walking my dog and made some pics there.
I'm aware of them escaping in scary situations, but i've always taken my bunnies to the park since i was little so i couldn't help myself.

The adults are kept in a room.. i don't know what that room called..
It's the room with the white doors and the orange/brown tiles with the black furnitures.
It's like a enclosed patio with doors, something like that.
The baby bun is kept in the same room as the adults but she is safe in the cage, so they can't get to her.