Getting to wit's end!

Hi everybody, haven't been on for a while, but I lost my lovely Dutch doe last weekend and am now trying to bond her 'widower' with a new doe. It's not going well!
I am good friends with the lady who runs our local rescue, so I went down and we picked out a doe who had come in to the rescue having been abandoned in a cardboard box in local woodland. She had a litter of babies the next day. They are all now rehomed, she is vaccinated and spayed and looking for a new home. She seemed quiet and had a really nice temperament, so home she came. I kept her in the garage (not as bad as it seems! I have my hay stored in there, it has electric light and is quite warm) and put him in a large sectional run. They seemed to get on OK, but when I let them get together in my kitchen she flew at him and they had a full blown fight. I managed to separate them without getting bitten, and let them hop around, but another fight ensued. Back in the garage! The next day the same thing happened, so she went back to the rescue, and I bought another doe home. She's young, very thin and seemed quite submissive. She had been bullied by her siblings, and is very underweight with chunks of fur missing. She is in the pen, with him loose in the garage. They sit quite close together and ignore each other most of the time, however if he runs round the outside of her pen she wees on him!
I've just got them together in the kitchen, she ignored him and hopped around investigating, but this time he started a fight. I separated them, but he wouldn't leave her alone, jumping on her and spoiling for a fight. Eventually the fight happened, with her biting him quite badly. The skin isn't broken but her teeth marks are obvious. Back in the garage!!
Where do I go from here? Is it worth persevering? I don't want him to be alone if I can help it, but what can I do now? Any advice would be most welcome.
Thanks in advance.:roll:

Hi Pippin's mum, welcome to the forum :wave: I'm sorry to hear that you have recently lost your doe but well done on putting your bun's needs first and looking for another.

It sounds like the doe is just marking her territory - this is my space, if you come near it I'll pee on you! Regarding your kitchen, is it a neutral space? Did you clean it from top to bottom before putting the two buns in it? Has your boy spent time in the kitchen before? As the fights have started there, I wonder if it smells like other bun and is setting them against each other. The best neutral space is a small space, somewhere where neither bun has been before, which can be easily cleaned. Too much space can also set off a fight, are you letting them have the run of the whole kitchen?

I think it's worth persevering as there are other options. Perhaps in your case a slow bond might be better, where the bond takes place over weeks or months rather than a few days. You start by putting them in housing beside each other, then swapping litter trays, bedding, and eventually housing, until they are completely used to each other and not fighting over territory.

Thank you!

Thanks very much for your reply - yes I did let them have the whole room, and she is quite skittish, and so they spent a lot of time galloping about, with him chasing her. I have now had them together two or three times, and although there have been skirmishes they are getting better. She tries to ignore him, hopping about and eating, but he's quite persistant. She will nip him when she's fed up. I'm hopeful now they will bond, but I'll take your advice and clean a bit more, and reduce the space they have to explore.

Thanks again, it's reassuring to have this help available, and to benefit from your experience. I'll post again when I get them in their accomodation. I miss my Dutch doe, Topaz, but hopefully we'll get settled soon.