Does bonding HAVE to be done over a few days???

Had I of got a bunny from the rspca they would have popped them in a carrier, then a pen for 45 mins, then sent them home as the lady didnt see the point in seperating them as it was 'like starting all over again'. She had bonded many bunnys. Im just wondering why people choose to bond slowly and do you feel like it has to be done that way x

When my bunnies were bonded for me at the rescue they were put together i a neutral pen for half an hour then brought home together and lived in a neutral area together for a few weeks before I put them in ferns old shed. Think it depends on how easy the bond is?im certainly no expert!!

I bond slowly because I don't have a block of time where I can spend 24-72 hours supervising a pair if rabbits. Instead I put them together in blocks of time when I can manage it.
I also believe that trying to quick bond Benji, our first rabbit when he was 8, was what killed him.

Some people say it's better to leave them together if there is no problems with constant supervision which obviously isn't practical for some people.

I'm bonding 2 boys next month and i'm just using the bunny dating method (putting them in neutral territory every day for a longer amount of time) , then putting them back into the shed on a night with a divider in between. And once I feel they're bonded I can neutralize the shed and take the divider down!

There are different forms of bonding, there is the 'date' option where bunnies meet and are then split. This works well for people who don't have the time to do it in one go.

Then there is the 'stick em in a pen and watch' option where the bunnies do not get split but also cannot be left unattended. This is only really advisable if you can stay with them non stop and even sleep next to them for a couple of days.

What you described sounds like the initial meet, it's long enough to be fairly confident that they will bond but is by no means enough to guarantee that they are fully bonded.

Of course it's not that simple, everyone and everybun is different and your bonding technique will show that.

In my opinion constantly separating is not a good idea. They should be put together on neutral territory and monitored very closely for a few days. Anything else is going to stressful for everyone involved and they will be constantly reforming their relationship.

Stator said:

In my opinion constantly separating is not a good idea. They should be put together on neutral territory and monitored very closely for a few days. Anything else is going to stressful for everyone involved and they will be constantly reforming their relationship.

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I haven't found that with mine and I've done about 20 odd bonds this way.

Ive done 3 bonds and they've all been 'stick em together and see what happens' ...... Then this time I am bonding a pair to a single to make a trio and all hell broke loose so they've gone for bonding this weekend.

I think its down to the personalities of the rabbits and also I already had the female and needed a male to come on to her territory which I think may be a little easier, perhaps, maybe.

Then again maybe Ive been really lucky up to now but it scared me when the two boys were nipping at each other.

When people bond over a few days normally the rabbits are not separated. If only done over a few days the rabbits are together constantly and supervised for the whole time, usually in a small area.

When people bond slowly, it usually takes weeks.

Personally, I really don't think 45 mins of bonding is a good idea! Just look at all the bonding stories of buns being fine at first but then the bond breaking a few hours or days in. They can't even sort out dominance in 45 minutes properly, unless one is really submissive and the other really dominant. Just think of it logically - if you went on a date for 45 mins with someone and liked him, would you then get married and live happily ever after? No, the likelihood is the relationship would collapse at some point in the future - whether that be on the next date or further down the line.

I personally prefer the 'stick them together and wait' method. Normally I start with a couple of very short dates to make sure the rabbits aren't constantly going after each other and then I put them in a neutral space and supervise closely. I found that this works best for me because then the rabbits are not constantly reforming their relationship, they get past the chasing phase and then they move on, they don't have to keep repeating the chasing phase every session.

nessar said:

When people bond over a few days normally the rabbits are not separated. If only done over a few days the rabbits are together constantly and supervised for the whole time, usually in a small area.

When people bond slowly, it usually takes weeks.

Personally, I really don't think 45 mins of bonding is a good idea! Just look at all the bonding stories of buns being fine at first but then the bond breaking a few hours or days in. They can't even sort out dominance in 45 minutes properly, unless one is really submissive and the other really dominant. Just think of it logically - if you went on a date for 45 mins with someone and liked him, would you then get married and live happily ever after? No, the likelihood is the relationship would collapse at some point in the future - whether that be on the next date or further down the line.

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I didnt wanna marry my previous partner after 4 years let alone 45 mins! :lol::shock::lol:

I bond without separating when I do (only twice).

At first I constantly supervise, after the first day I set up a webcam on them so I could check on them when I was out and get home if necessary.

I think it depends on the bunnies though.

I've been wondering this, I'm going to try and bond my two again next week and I've had them in the bathroom together for an hour to see if they'd get on better than last time (they've been living in the kitchen together for the last week) and it went well, only a couple of attempted nips from the male as female was presenting her head to be groomed (I was wondering if asking to be groomed is dominance or submission?). But I was wondering whether to go about in the form of dates or, neutralising the cage they've both been sharing (but not together) and just leaving them in it for 48 hours and supervising seeming as I'm not working at the moment, but then I wouldn't know what to do from there. The living room has always been 'Marley's' space and the girlie has always been in the kitchen.

Its so nerve wrecking!

When my male died a several years ago, I took my female 'speed dating' to the RSPCA. The first bunny she met, she groomed instantly, he groomed her back and they laid next to each other immediately. I was told to take them home and keep them together straight away as they'd made an instant bond. They had a new shed and run on neutral ground, things were fine for just over a week and then one morning there was fur everywhere and my female had been badly bitten in several places, she had to have lots of stitches and was in a bad state. They were never re-bonded, but lived happily next to each other.

This really knocked my confidence regarding bonding so this time I asked the rescue to bond my new bunnies

I am interested in reading peoples responses to this...I have a single female bun and once she is spayed in a few weeks I want to get her a friend, but what if I get one she doesn't like? :?:

LauraLou1982 said:

I am interested in reading peoples responses to this...I have a single female bun and once she is spayed in a few weeks I want to get her a friend, but what if I get one she doesn't like? :?:

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Do you have a local rescue? If they have a few males they might be willing to bond for you or at least give the opportunity of your female meeting a few males to see which looks more promising. I know bunny speed dating didn't work for me but it might for your little girl.

LauraLou1982 said:

I am interested in reading peoples responses to this...I have a single female bun and once she is spayed in a few weeks I want to get her a friend, but what if I get one she doesn't like? :?:

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You should wait six weeks after spaying to allow the female's surgery site to heal. Then you can look at local shelters and see if they allow you to take your rabbit in and try her with different rabbits. This allows the female to choose her own bondmate and means you don't have to worry about having enough space for two single rabbits.

moi said:

Had I of got a bunny from the rspca they would have popped them in a carrier, then a pen for 45 mins, then sent them home as the lady didnt see the point in seperating them as it was 'like starting all over again'. She had bonded many bunnys. Im just wondering why people choose to bond slowly and do you feel like it has to be done that way x

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As you know from my pm I don't, because every time you then separate them, and then put them back together, you in effect start all over again. Mine live next door to each other for a week or so, and so far everyone has wanted to be friends with their neighbour and has loved it when they could then be together properly. Have never had one single fall out or squabble, and I think it is so much better that the buns decide THEY want to be together, not us stuffing them in a confined strange space, and trying to make them like each other.

Sometimes I think any aggression, fall outs is because they are so stressed and don't know what the hell is going on or where they are, and who's this other furry thing stuffed in with them. I don't do all the neutral thing either, just let them be next to each other, and if they are then choosing to lay next to each other, eat next to each other, chat through pen panels, I don't think they are then going to suddenly hate each other intensely when finally put together, but all the strange stuff, places, smells, to be honest I'm not surprised they start scrapping or whatever, how would we like it :?

Personally, I think bonding is as stressful as you make it. Dipsy and Pippa were so desperate to be together that even when they were free ranging individually, well they weren't to be honest, as Dipsy especially just sat outside Pippa's pen, and the day he was just sat facing into her pen, sat up with his front feet on the panel, and he looked so sad, and made me think of John Travolta 'Hopelessly Devoted To You', that I then just let them out together, and they as good as ran into each others arms, and were racing round together side by side, like they were two lovers on a moonlit sandy beach :lol::lol: and then lay down grooming each other, and it still makes me laugh now how Pippa makes a 'Dipsy Sandwich', as she insists on laying stretched right out on top of him to sleep. She can be a right little madam and pretty mean to him, and I always know when he has got fed up, because they never fall out or anything, but he just waits for her to go to sleep and then buries her under hay :lol::lol:

Just wanted to say that they were not left by themselves at all for about 4 days, and I slept on the settee in the lounge for 3 nights, just in case anything happened. In reality I had 3 absolutely awful nights sleep, while Pippa just sandwiched Dipsy and they slept all night. I've noticed that Dipsy spends ages longer grooming Pippa at night before she goes to bed, and she spends ages longer grooming him in the morning making him look his best for the day.