Taking the leap!!

Right-o.. I've decided to bond Niles! He's changed in his behaviour, becoming more feisty & grumpy. I can only assume from boredom! I've found a beautiful little nethie, she's had her teeth removed as they were growing too long & is having treatment atm so I can't have her for at least a week or more anyway. She's younger than Niles & not yet neutered so they will be in separate cages to begin with.

This is my plan...

Get new bunny home (obviously going to be called Daphne!!), set up in new cage & whatnot. She will have to be on top of Niles' cage because of a space issue.. He is in the kitchen & our kitchen doesn't really allow for 2 cages. If that doesn't work then she will most likely end up in the lounge for a little bit (much to my OH's dismay!)

New bunny will be neutered & will stay in her cage for a couple of weeks.

Once she is ready, I will put her & Niles together in the run on the kitchen floor (Niles normally has full run of the lounge, so that will smell of him, he never goes on the kitchen floor). I will leave them in the run & monitor for 24-48hrs. Once they seem to be getting on, I will move them into Niles' cage.

Now.. I've had a bit of conflicting advice & info regarding bonding. I spoke to my local RSPCA who have bonded many rabbits & they've said not to clean Niles' cage thoroughly or else he might feel as though he's being pushed out. & when bonding to leave them together in the run for 2 hours (the longer the better, she said) & then move them into the cage if they're getting on ok. That seems a little quick for me. What do people think? I've got a few weeks to work on this plan before she can actually come home with me anyway!

Just wanted to say good luck - I'm the same as you and decided my boy needs a friend, found two to pick from. I think the rules of bonding are flexible as it depends how they get on but there are some great bonders on here and I'm sure someone will post with some good advice. He should get on better with a Daphne rather than a Maris

Clare-uk said:

Just wanted to say good luck - I'm the same as you and decided my boy needs a friend, found two to pick from. I think the rules of bonding are flexible as it depends how they get on but there are some great bonders on here and I'm sure someone will post with some good advice. He should get on better with a Daphne rather than a Maris

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Haha, I hope so too!! I figure if we ever get a greyhound or whippet then she will *have* to be called Maris Good luck to you too! I hope things go well for both of us x

I think 2 days in a neutral area and then into an already marked hutch is far too quick.

There is a possibity it will be love at first sight bit then moving into a territorial hutch will probably set them back staright away. I would always fully clean a hutch and spray vinegar (or the like) to kill the smells. I would want to wait at least 1 week if not 2 before trying them in it though.

Good luck.

happybunny said:

I think 2 days in a neutral area and then into an already marked hutch is far too quick.

There is a possibity it will be love at first sight bit then moving into a territorial hutch will probably set them back staright away. I would always fully clean a hutch and spray vinegar (or the like) to kill the smells. I would want to wait at least 1 week if not 2 before trying them in it though.

Good luck.

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I've heard of spraying vinegar.. Is that just normal vinegar that you'd put on your food?? :/ Niles has stained the corners of his cage, is that going to be a problem?

When you say wait 1-2 weeks before putting them into a disinfected cage, do you mean to leave them that time in the run because that's not really feasible.. Or do you mean do that if I am doing the bunny dating way of doing things? I'd prefer not to do the dating route if I can avoid it, just because I feel that every time I take them apart, they're going to lose the bond. Plus I work odd hours so I can't guarantee that they'd see each other the same time every day, for the same amount of time & there will be some days that I might not be able to get them out at all :/ That's why I wanted to do the other way of bonding.


ETA - How long would people recommend I leave her for after being neutered? Obviously I mean not put her with Niles, she will have playtime outside of the cage still! Lol. The other thing is that normally Niles has playtime in the lounge, does that mean that she can't while they're apart?

Ideally they need to be together in a neutral space for 1 to 2 weeks (full time) before you put them somewhere that one of them is used too. The only other option is the "dating" but this can take months before you are in a position to put them together and leave them unattended.

Of course all bunny binding is different and they could click instantly or hate each other forever.

Yes normal vinegar.

I would say 4 to 6 weeks after the op before trying them together. Time to heal and for hormones to settle.

Agree :thumb:

happybunny said:

Ideally they need to be together in a neutral space for 1 to 2 weeks (full time) before you put them somewhere that one of them is used too. The only other option is the "dating" but this can take months before you are in a position to put them together and leave them unattended.

Of course all bunny binding is different and they could click instantly or hate each other forever.

Yes normal vinegar.

I would say 4 to 6 weeks after the op before trying them together. Time to heal and for hormones to settle.

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happybunny said:

Ideally they need to be together in a neutral space for 1 to 2 weeks (full time) before you put them somewhere that one of them is used too. The only other option is the "dating" but this can take months before you are in a position to put them together and leave them unattended.

Of course all bunny binding is different and they could click instantly or hate each other forever.

Yes normal vinegar.

I would say 4 to 6 weeks after the op before trying them together. Time to heal and for hormones to settle.

Click to expand...

Would the 'easier' option to be to get a cage that neither of them have been in? I couldn't possibly have them in the run for 1-2 weeks full time before putting them into a cage together. Aside from the fact that I have a dog (Who, bless him, is very good at trying to ignore the rabbit!), there's no way my OH would stand for it! Lol. If I got a new base to Niles' cage & therefore it didn't smell like anyone.. How long would it be, potentially, before I could put them both in there? It is the Liberta XL Retreat, which I know is only around 5x2.5ft but they will get full run of the lounge while I am in as well, once they are settled.