New bun isn't working - UD decision made

I just read my sspca form and we only have 7 days to decide if we are keeping new bun in which we can bring her back

Shes bit him the last three days and Today she went for Alfie again, I thought things were going well and he even licked her, but she just keeps biting and lunging for him all the time, he lost so much fur today

He seems stressed around her and wasn't eating
Moved him upstairs tonight and he's back to his usual chirpy self

Need to decide by Friday if she's suitable but it's not looking good, Alfie's such a relaxed lovely guy who wants to be loved, I'm wondering if because she was a "stray" she's not gonna be as relaxed as him

I feel awful, I can't keep her if its not working though

Aww it's difficult isn't it I'd go with your heart. If I had had a deadline with Molly, I would probably have taken her back, but the longer she stayed the more i felt unable to do that, as I got to know her better. But the bond didn't work out, so I now have 2 single buns instead of 1

Rexripley said:

I just read my sspca form and we only have 7 days to decide if we are keeping new bun in which we can bring her back

Today she went for Alfie, I thought things were going well and he even licked her, but she just keeps biting and lunging for him all the time, he lost so much fur today


He seems stressed around her and wasn't eating
Moved him upstairs tonight and he's back to his usual chirpy self

Need to decide by Friday if she's suitable but it's not looking good, Alfie's such a relaxed lovely guy who wants to be loved, I'm wondering if because she was a "stray" she's not gonna be as relaxed as him

I feel awful, I can't keep her if its not working though

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Fur pulling is normal, but make sure you are following all the rules of bonding to the letter and not causing unnecessary problems.

Bit of a strict deadline isn't it :shock: I'd maybe call them and let them know what is going on and ask their advice, will they not do the bonding there?


The thing is, why is she biting him? It must be in reaction to something or have some purpose. Is it fear? Dominance? Is he provoking her? Is she getting territorial over something in the bonding pen?

nessar said:

Fur pulling is normal, but make sure you are following all the rules of bonding to the letter and not causing unnecessary problems.

Bit of a strict deadline isn't it :shock: I'd maybe call them and let them know what is going on and ask their advice, will they not do the bonding there?


The thing is, why is she biting him? It must be in reaction to something or have some purpose. Is it fear? Dominance? Is he provoking her? Is she getting territorial over something in the bonding pen?

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He's been ignoring her and just eating around her and she just keeps going for him.
I don't think she can be getting territorial, I have been using another room for the bonding, Alfie once tried to groom her and she went for him

My local sspca don't have bonding facilities

I've bonded twice before and seen the fur pulling and nipping but these are turning into full blown fights

Rexripley said:

He's been ignoring her and just eating around her and she just keeps going for him.
I don't think she can be getting territorial, I have been using another room for the bonding, Alfie once tried to groom her and she went for him

My local sspca don't have bonding facilities

I've bonded twice before and seen the fur pulling and nipping but these are turning into full blown fights

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How big is their bonding area? Is it completely neutral?

Vegan_Bunny said:

How big is their bonding area? Is it completely neutral?

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I've been using a dog crate in the kitchen, I'm guessing its 2x2
It's brand new and the buns have never been in the kitchen before

Rexripley said:

I've been using a dog crate in the kitchen, I'm guessing its 2x2
It's brand new and the buns have never been in the kitchen before

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Did you choose the doe or did your current bun choose her? Are all the things in the crate neutral?

Can you ask and see if there are any rescues/experienced people who can help you bond them?

I think that if they aren't fighting and she isn't hurting your buck, just keep an eye on them. Fur pulling is normal, as is chasing and humping. It's only a problem when they start hurting each other.

Vegan_Bunny said:

Did you choose the doe or did your current bun choose her? Are all the things in the crate neutral?

Can you ask and see if there are any rescues/experienced people who can help you bond them?

I think that if they aren't fighting and she isn't hurting your buck, just keep an eye on them. Fur pulling is normal, as is chasing and humping. It's only a problem when they start hurting each other.

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We chose her as she was the only "suitable" option but we took her in a room there with alfie and they just ignored each other. The room was Massive though and alfie just kept running off
It is full blown fights they're having after she bites. Like tumbling over each other and everything

Is it when he is getting near her? Or is she presenting for grooming and he isn't responding maybe? Jealous of food? Is there anything in the dog crate?

If it is when he is getting near her... now I'm no expert but I would go off-book. Alice at Windwhistle Warren doesn't bond in a small space, when I got Annabella she said to put them in a neutral small room with lots of distractions like tunnels, boxes etc, hay and scattered food and not to force them towards each other. This way they can get away from each other. After they are fine in each other's presence, then you restrict the space to a small area.

I know that this goes against the way usually promoted on the forum, but perhaps it may work for your buns? Worth a try, if the alternative is for her to lose her forever home. I used a modified version for Barney and Anna, although they had a pretty easy bond.

nessar said:

Is it when he is getting near her? Or is she presenting for grooming and he isn't responding maybe? Jealous of food? Is there anything in the dog crate?

If it is when he is getting near her... now I'm no expert but I would go off-book. Alice at Windwhistle Warren doesn't bond in a small space, when I got Annabella she said to put them in a neutral small room with lots of distractions like tunnels, boxes etc, hay and scattered food and not to force them towards each other. This way they can get away from each other. After they are fine in each other's presence, then you restrict the space to a small area.

I know that this goes against the way usually promoted on the forum, but perhaps it may work for your buns? Worth a try, if the alternative is for her to lose her forever home. I used a modified version for Barney and Anna, although they had a pretty easy bond.

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Its as soon as he goes near here she goes for him which leads to a massive fight

I would return her as I don't think it will be an easy bond if at all, and alfie sounds like he needs a calm friend. Both sound unhappy. If I were you, I'd put the welfare of your current bunny first and currently being attacked isn't fair on him.

Have you thought of a calm male friend if you can't find any females?

Rexripley said:

Its as soon as he goes near here she goes for him which leads to a massive fight

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Might be fear.

Are they okay when separated by bars, like in runs next to each other?

nessar said:

Might be fear.

Are they okay when separated by bars, like in runs next to each other?

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They sit as far away from each other as they can. Whenever she moves alfie jumps and moves to the corner :$

Rexripley said:

We chose her as she was the only "suitable" option but we took her in a room there with alfie and they just ignore each other. The room was Massive though and alfie just kept running off
It iss full blown fights. Like tumbling over each other and everything

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Ah ok. Well, perhaps they are not suitable. I'm no expert, but I have heard that ignoring can be a sign that a fight might happen. Fortunately I have never experienced a full blown fight. I would separate for now.

Have you bonded rabbits before? I would definitely ask someone to help you out. They might be able to tell you whether or not it is worth pursuing. Fingers crossed you manage to get things sorted.

Vegan_Bunny said:

Ah ok. Well, perhaps they are not suitable. I'm no expert, but I have heard that ignoring can be a sign that a fight might happen. Fortunately I have never experienced a full blown fight. I would separate for now.

Have you bonded rabbits before? I would definitely ask someone to help you out. They might be able to tell you whether or not it is worth pursuing. Fingers crossed you manage to get things sorted.

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I bonded bruce and harley. And alfie and pickles. They were only together a month before she died

Ive never seen a full blown bunny fight until this week. Its scary. Even oh said he was upset

Mirth said:

I would return her as I don't think it will be an easy bond if at all, and alfie sounds like he needs a calm friend. Both sound unhappy. If I were you, I'd put the welfare of your current bunny first and currently being attacked isn't fair on him.

Have you thought of a calm male friend if you can't find any females?

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Thats not actually something id considered. Ive always got the impression two boys is a bad mix? Or are two girls worse?

Rexripley said:

They sit as far away from each other as they can. Whenever she moves alfie jumps and moves to the corner :$

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This might help, I'd definitely try a different approach before giving up entirely.

http://www.windwhistlewarren.org.uk/guides/guiderb.pdf

Best of luck with this, going to bed now x

nessar said:

This might help, I'd definitely try a different approach before giving up entirely.

http://www.windwhistlewarren.org.uk/guides/guiderb.pdf

Best of luck with this, going to bed now x

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That link is brilliant! Thank you

In my experience, a bunny who lunges as soon as they see the other bunny is often scared and has chosen attack as the best form of defence. I have had great success by basically gently holding that bun over the shoulders when the other bun approaches, so that they are unable to lunge at them. It's quite intensive especially for the first few hours, but what we tend to find is that after a period of time, the 'attack' bunny learns that the other rabbit is harmless and (probably!) isn't going to hurt them, so they start to drop their guard a little. You can feel this in their shoulders and so can work with them by slightly loosening the grip from them on. Each time they let the other bun approach without attacking, you can view as a new learning experience that bun has had that they don't need to attack and they don't get hurt. If you feel them tensing and the body language looking as if they are going to lunge and bite, I just hold them back a little, and gently turn the other bun away too if necessary. Often, very aggressive bunnies can turn into very loving partners once they have got over themselves and learnt that the other bunny is an ally not an enemy.

It might be worth giving them a ring and having a chat about the Friday deadline, it's probably designed more for 'I've decided I don't like this one' rather than 'the bond didn't work' but they still presumably need to have an idea so that they can work out accommodation and intakes.

I have a 7 day dead line on my form but if someone like you phoned and explained the situation then I'd let it go