Scared to bond

We bought a mini dwarf lop about 2 weeks ago that is now about 13 weeks old. She has never bitten, she really doesn't like being picked up and runs away when you approach her. For most of the day she will hide in places where she believes she is out of reach from us however when you do pick her up she kicks furiously. She does come to us sometimes and nudges us with her nose and will sit happily to be petted, but only when she comes to you.

Today we decided that we would buy her a companion, we went to the pet store and purchased another female rabbit thats also 12 weeks old. At first put the new rabbit in a bit of our living room that was cordoned off with fencing and our first rabbit was going crazy, running side following her when she moved.

After about 2 hours we decided to let them meet. We took them into the bedroom where the first rabbit has never been. We put them on the bed together and instantly our first rabbit viciously attacked the new one. When I grabbed her she was still holding onto her by the scruff and pulled a chunk of fur out. We left it a few more ours and tried again. My girlfriend held the new one and we let the first rabbit approach her, the ew rabbit would thump her back legs and our first one would try to go for her time and time again. We dont have a separate cage so we have had to make a space for her directly behind our first rabbits cage, the new rabbit is very reluctant to go near the cage, I suppose she senses danger but when she does the first rabbit we got is right up on her back legs as if shes ready to try grab her through the cage. We are constantly having to stand guard incase her ear goes through and she gets it grabbed by the first rabbit.

I am really worried that we are going to have to get rid of one of them because I have taken an instant love to both of them. Do all rabbits eventually bond or do you sometimes have to just give up and give one of them away?

thanks for your time. Im a first time rabbit owner btw.

Our first rabbit is called millie and we have yet to name our new one.

It's a bit late so I can't post a long reply, but as not many people are online I thought I write a quick one

Firstly- welcome to RU Congratulations on becoming a new bunny owner!

Secondly- there is basically no chance of you being able to bond your two rabbits until they are both spayed. They are both nearing the age when they start to mature (usually 3/4 months- 6 months), hormones kick in, and fighting is pretty likely even if you'd had them together from birth. You say 'viciously attacked' which sounds like some real damage could be done :shock: If you keep trying to put them together you may end up making them hate each other so it is never possible to bond them, and even worse you might end up with a badly injured rabbit, so DON'T put them back together again until they are spayed! There is also a chance they were mis-sexed, so until you've had a vet check or had a proper check yourself I'd be very careful in case you end up with baby bunnies... Instead, separate them, give them separate exercise areas- could you put them in different rooms? Try to find a rabbit savvy vet in your area for spaying them both, although they are probably a little too young atm. Once they are spayed they need to be kept apart for another 4-6 weeks and then you can attempt to bond again. People on here have lots of experience and can advise the best way to do it. Hopefully they will become best friends- rabbits, once neutered, really, really love to have another rabbit companion!

Thirdly- rabbits in general hate to be picked up. They are prey creatures so like to be close to the ground. If you want to build up a strong relationship with them I'd suggest just sitting in the same room as them (separately) and tempting them out with treats. Nose bumps mean she likes you :thumb: so you are obviously doing well!

Other people can give more detailed advice I'm sure, but I thought I'd post before bed just so you know not to put them back together for now.

Un neutered rabbits can be territorial and aggressive so I would say would be best to wait until you have had them neutered before you try to bond them. I got my neutered male a baby bunny friend and they loved each other until the baby got to 13 weeks, on hitting sexual maturity the baby started fighting so I had to split them up until after I had him neutered and now they are friends again but I was very worried they would never be friends again after fighting. If you can set them up so they can see and smell each other but not get to each other until they are neutered this will help but be careful as they can still do damage through a cage. On researching re bonding myself someone told me its possible to bond any rabbits depending on the time and patients you are willing to put in, people will probably disagree but I took comfort from that :wave:

Thank you very much for your quick replys and thanks for the welcome. We really don't have the money to have them sprayed and probably should of researched these behaviours before purchasing them. My girlfriend said when she was younger she introduced a new male to her existing male rabbit and they instantly had a very brutal fight tot he extent fur was flying and skin was actually broken on the new rabbit.

She said they separated them in the run with chicken wire and went out for the day then when they came back the first rabbit had actually dug under the wire to get to him and they were both lying cuddled into each other. They were both unsprayed which fills me with some hope.

as I type this right now my first rabbit is launching herself at the cage to get to my new bunny, I am going to have to put blanket over the cage tonight I think so they can both relax. The new one isnt getting any sleep as she is constantly keeping an eye on the other and I think my first bunny is getting really worked up.

You really should have them spayed do a bit of research into the benefits of it and you will see why it is important if you want to have your rabbits live a long, healthy and happy life also a successful bond! You also need to have them vaccinated! It would be best if you could section off the cage with something as the rabbits could give each other a nasty bite through the cage then you will have to have a trip to the vets! :wave:

No problem! At least you are doing the research now :thumb:

It sounds like they are getting so stressed I wouldn't even want to leave them in the same room... it mustn't be very nice for the new bunny to be moved to a brand new home, with new smells and noises away from her litter-mates and then constantly attacked through the bars only a few hours after moving If she gets too stressed she might stop eating, and bunnies need to be eating hay most of the time to be healthy. Hope the night went ok though, and they left each other alone

Spaying is a must even if a bun is kept single. 80% of female rabbits get uterine cancer before the age of 5 if they aren't spayed- scary figures! Some vets will let you do payment plans so you pay a bit at a time, if you are on benefits then the RSPCA may do a big discount on spaying them. You can give them a call/email and they can give advice. My rabbit was £65 for a spay, which I think is a perfectly good price considering it could add many healthy years onto her life! But I know someone who was on JSA got her's done for £35 through the RSPCA.

Have you thought of a name for the new bunny yet?

We are 100% getting them sprayed, just have to wait until my student loan comes back in so another month. They are only 12 weeks anyway so plenty of time.

Millie is binkying more today than I have ever seen before, she's like a bullet going through my flat, The wee one is very quiet and reserved, drinking plenty of water but not seen her eat anything yet except a few celery leaves from my hands.

We are going to try introduce them to each other in the car today, Il drive and my girlfriend will be in the middle set in the back ready to pull them apart if things get to heated.

Im not scared of the wee one getting nipped and my girlfriend assures me that millie won't try to kill her she's just trying to show her shes the boss, im not sure if I believe this. Im scared of the wee one being scared of her own home, I want her to relax and be able to be happy and not have to fear for her life, she's so cute and I hate to see her bullied.

I'm going to echo what others have already said and say you really mustn't introduce them again until they are both spayed. The resulting fight could not only do serious damage to one or both rabbits but will most likely destroy any future chances of them being bonded. Please please keep them separate and wait until they have been spayed and hormones have died down before bonding again.

Also, welcome to the forum :wave: we would love to see photos of your bunnies!

ETA just seen that you mention new bun is not eating, keep an eye on this and try to minimise stress (ie keep them apart) as she could get very ill

On the way to get a second cage now so the new one has a nice wee home just like millie. We will leave them apart for about a month until we get them sprayed.

Thanks for all your help, I just wanted to see millie look after her new little sister

Photos as promised.

Millie is the caramel and white one, she is our first.

New on in black and white, still unnamed

such cute bunnies!

Bonding should really be done a while after they've both been spayed, just to make sure they're all healed and that their hormone levels have decreased enough.

I know before I'd done my research, I tried bonding my 2 (male and female) a month after she'd been spayed and she was still acting like she hadn't been done! It's worth really reading up on it just to make sure - different people give different advice/times to wait etc.

Seeing if there are people in the local area that can help with the bonding process can be a good plan as it can get messy very quickly! That's what I did - I found it far too stressful

Good luck with it anyway! They really are both adorable buns!

Both beautiful!
Glad to hear you are getting them spayed, I hope bonding goes well :thumb:

Thank you,

We are in scotland and my partner is a Primary school teacher finding it difficult to get work so we are on JSA and council tax reduction as I am in full time education. Apparently we can have them spayed for free if you make a donation through PDSA.

Mille (first bunny) has had a dramatic personality change today. She is now following my partner and I everywhere and is rubbing her chin on absolutely everything, including the new bunnys cage. She has stopped kicking out when we pick her up and seems to all of a sudden LOVE attention. do you think this could be a jealousy thing or she's trying to mark us as hers?

jshieldsrfc said:

Thank you,

We are in scotland and my partner is a Primary school teacher finding it difficult to get work so we are on JSA and council tax reduction as I am in full time education. Apparently we can have them spayed for free if you make a donation through PDSA.

Mille (first bunny) has had a dramatic personality change today. She is now following my partner and I everywhere and is rubbing her chin on absolutely everything, including the new bunnys cage. She has stopped kicking out when we pick her up and seems to all of a sudden LOVE attention. do you think this could be a jealousy thing or she's trying to mark us as hers?

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Ahh I didn't realise you were in Scotland, I heard they do even better deals That's so great!
Chinning is a cute way bunnies say 'this is MINE!' as they have a scent gland under their chin. It's a much nicer way of marking their territory than spraying, bunny spray can reach really high! :lol:
My Foxie chins EVERYTHING :roll: