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Bonding Rabbits - Can anyone give me advice?

R

Rebhaw

New Kit
Hi, I have 2 rabbits Roxy (female) and Eddie (male), they have both been neutered. I am in the process of bonding and could do with some advice. They are in separate hutchs but during the day they play in a large area separated by a gate in my conservatory, so are used to eachother. Their 1st few meetings have gone well, 1st they were nipping and chasing but no major fights! Now (4th) date, they don't pay too much attention to one another. They eat and clean their selves (so i presume they are comfortable?) Roxy often bows when eddie comes over and he grooms her for a short period of time. Eddie has also just started to hump roxy (or try!) she will run off and he will give up so there is no confrontation between them. is this a good sign? and is them not paying too much attention to eachother ok?

I also don't know how and when to put them into the same hutch ? (this will be roxy's as its bigger)

I'd really appreciate some advice on their behaviour and the next steps to take.

thank you :D
 
Rebhaw said:
Hi, I have 2 rabbits Roxy (female) and Eddie (male), they have both been neutered. I am in the process of bonding and could do with some advice. They are in separate hutchs but during the day they play in a large area separated by a gate in my conservatory, so are used to eachother. Their 1st few meetings have gone well, 1st they were nipping and chasing but no major fights! Now (4th) date, they don't pay too much attention to one another. They eat and clean their selves (so i presume they are comfortable?) Roxy often bows when eddie comes over and he grooms her for a short period of time. Eddie has also just started to hump roxy (or try!) she will run off and he will give up so there is no confrontation between them. is this a good sign? and is them not paying too much attention to eachother ok?

I also don't know how and when to put them into the same hutch ? (this will be roxy's as its bigger)

I'd really appreciate some advice on their behaviour and the next steps to take.

thank you :D
Click to expand...

it depends on how big your hutch is i have 2 rabbits and i put them in a 2 rabbit floor cage and they have lots of room. how long have they been in different hutches:?:
 
It sounds to me, like it's going well. They need to spend as much time together as possible. try having them in an indoor run together over night the first few nights so you can keep an eye on them. Have a look at SKY-O's thread on bonding, she has lots of great advise and it really helped me. ( I have just bonded my three ) they have been living together now for three weeks.
 
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ellie5 said:
it depends on how big your hutch is i have 2 rabbits and i put them in a 2 rabbit floor cage and they have lots of room. how long have they been in different hutches:?:
Click to expand...

The hutch i want them to end up in is a 5ft 1 storey hutch, so fairly big.
 
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Mrs Cullen said:
It sounds to me, like it's going well. They need to spend as much time together as possible. try having them in an indoor run together over night the first few nights so you can keep an eye on them. Have a look at SKY-O's thread on bonding, she has lots of great advise and it really helped me. ( I have just bonded my three ) they have been living together now for three weeks.
Click to expand...


Thanks alot! i will keep bonding them and then try a night together
 
It sounds like your rabbits are fairly confident and happy with each other. My suggestion would be to plan a weekend when you are about all the time and can give the complete weekend up to supervising your rabbits, start as soon as you get home from work (or what ever you do) and put them together in their area, then supervise and leave them there for at least the following 48 hours. I would continue to leave them there for a further few days but slowly increase the space.

Then when you are next about and can supervise them put them both in their accomodation together which has been thoroughly cleaned with a vinegar and water solution to get rid of smells.

Personally I would consider looking at reviewing your accomodation as a 5 foot hutch, unless it is 3 foot deep is really too small for a pair of rabbits. It is recommended that rabbits have a minimum of a 12 square feet hutch (such as 6 x2 foot) with an attatched run whcih they have constant access to.
 
Thanks for all your advice everyone, eddie and roxy are now happily playing together during the day. They still sleep separate at the moment but are happy to run in and out of eachothers hutches :D everything is looking good. Thank you for all your help
 
ellie5 said:
yeh thats fine(!) its huge!!!
Click to expand...

On the subject of how much space rabbits need this a quote from the Rabbit Welfare Association:

Domestic rabbits are not fundamentally far removed from their wild cousins. They share the same need to run, jump, explore and share companionship with their own kind, so their accommodation must allow them to display these natural behaviours.

The RWAF recommends a minimum hutch size of 6' x 2' x 2', which allows rabbits some room to move, stand on their hind legs and enough space for the food, toilet and sleeping areas to be kept apart. It is commonly accepted that a rabbit should have space for 3 hops, but it is commonly underestimated just how far 3 hops is - our tests show that 3 hops from an average sized rabbit covers 6-7 feet!

A hutch should only be a shelter and not the only living space. It should be attached to a secure run of at least 8' x 4'.

Please bear in mind that these recommendations are all minimums - and like many things in life, bigger is better!

Their webiste is really useful about all things bunny.

Good luck with your rabbits
:D
 
Thank you for the advice on hutch sizes, the website is very useful. i miss typed before, my rabbits are in a double hutch. they are never locked in the hutch apart from night time. The hutch is contained in a 9ft x 9ft partitioned space in my conservatory and seem happy :D thank you for all your advice.

Beki x
 
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