Trying to bond - Help please!!!!

Hello All,
Following my last post I went ahead and had Poppy spayed on 14th February, we have decided to get her a buddy so after a disasterous introduction with a young entire boy we found a lovely quiet neutered boy, EB. We have only got him a couple of hours ago so I appreciate its very early in the process but Poppy keeps circling his cage and trying to scratch at him whenever he comes to the wire - she has already lunged at me twice and bitten my partners foot. Is this normal and do I persevere or take the wee guy back to the shelter???????

She needs at least 6 weeks for her hormones to settle before you even attempt to introduce them

Hi madmoo78,
Your little ladies hormones do need another couple of weeks at least to settle.
But then you need to introduce them in neutral territory. It sounds like you have placed the new bun in her territory, and she is defending it! Is there anywhere else you can place his hutch out of her area for a few weeks?
Then when the time is right you need a neutral area preferably where neither bun has been. If that's not possible then you need to clean down as much as you can with 50/50 water and white vinegar solution.
There is lots of advice on here about bonding techniques, either bunny dating, where they gradually spend increasing amounts of time together, or full on together 24/7, providing there is no fighting.
Good luck x

Also, her lunging and biting at you guys is probably referred aggression. My two pairs seem to show a bit of this when one or the other pair is free ranging and goes too close to the others run. This will stop once her hormones settle, the 'intruder' bun is not in her area.

Thanks Later on yesterday she started to approach his cage and wasn't trying to scratch him every time and she eventually laid down next to his cage...................Any ideas what this means??

madmoo78 said:

Thanks Later on yesterday she started to approach his cage and wasn't trying to scratch him every time and she eventually laid down next to his cage...................Any ideas what this means??

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It probably means she'd worn herself out :lol: you really must give her at least another month or so to settle, and always introduce in neutral territory. A bond is very unlikely to be successful when you've still got such a hormonal doe... They can be stroppy enough at the best of times! Haha.

Female rabbits are very territorial so if you let your new rabbit free in her area she will most likely attack him and he will be very frightened. This obviously is not a good start to trying to bond them so when you introduce them it will have to be in an area/cage etc where Poppy has not been, unless you really clean it well, although it would be better somewhere new for her.

When you put them together it is best to keep them that way so they can get used to one another and settle their hierarchy. You will need to be close-by keeping an eye on them for the first 2/3 days when there may be chasing, fur pulling and nipping. The only time to separate them is if they are fighting. If they start to fight I find shouting No at them works quite well. This way they realise you don't want them to fight. Always have a few healthy treats to hand, eating is agood way for them to feel more relaxed with one another.

Thanks - I was just reading up online and I think I've went for "too much too soon" - Poppy is a diva at the best of times!! When I go in this evening I will move his cage into the kitchen (shes never been in there) and will try perhaps a very gradual introduction for a very short period of time in the bathroom (only other room Poppy hasn't been into). I will give it a while before I let them meet again though, it was like high noon when I left this morning

Would it be an idea to leave a radio on in the background in the evenings for him?? I will be going in to see him but I mean for when I'm in the sitting room????

Sorry to sound daft and ask what might be obvious questions - I am new to all this and want Poppy to have a friend