Bonding: Biting at eyes

Hi

So I bought Harley 7 or so years ago and had him on his own for a year when I decided he was just too lonely. He had been fixed already when I bought Miffy as a baby and as soon as she was old enough I got her fixed too. Once she was healed I started the bonding process and they took to each other really well. It was a really easy bond. However just over a month ago Harley died and Miffy was so lonely (she was trying to make friends with our ducks who she'd previously completely ignored).

So I bought Waffle from the RSPCA, he's a male and they fixed him back in March, but I don't know how old he is. I started bonding them a week ago Friday and at first he just humped her persistently. But after 2 meetings he settled down and they were getting on really well. I was leaving them for a minute or two alone together during each session. For 2 days they were fine with each other. He didn't hump her and they'd choose to sit next to each other and lie down together. However the next time I put them together he started to bite at her eyes. He isn't showing any other aggressive behaviour towards her and he hardly ever humps her, but he persistently goes to her eyes and bites. At first I thought he was trying to groom her, but it's definitely biting and if I don't pull him away soon enough she flinches away. She is very timid and hardly ever ventures out of the corner, but she seems relaxed as she lies down and washes and has even seemed to sleep. When she does venture out though Waffle starts sniffing around her and most of the time he chases her back into the corner. One occasion she humped him and it started a chase, but other than that she's very much been submissive. Occasionally one or both of them will put their heads down to be groomed, but neither will groom the other. Miffy was absolutely spoilt by Harley grooming her all the time and she hardly ever reciprocated. Now whenever she puts her head down to Waffle he sniffs and then goes to bite her eye.

I don't really know what to do. Everytime he bites I put my hand towards his face and pull him away, he nearly always flinches away, but even if I frighten him and touch his nose, he can go straight back to biting her. Then if I move him away from her he'll just go back and settle down next to her. I don't understand the behaviour because he's not showing any other signs of aggression and he only ever goes for her eyes, he's never bitten anywhere else. Anyone got any ideas? Also anyone got any suggestions as to how I stop him? And what I should do next for their bonding?

Thanks
Pippa

It sounds like a pretty normal bonding process to me, some bunnies do try and up around the eyes,presumably as a kind of bossy 'I'm in charge' thing. If they are doing some laying down next to each other and some asking to be groomed, then they do seem to be ok with each other's company and clearly don't hate each other, they just need to get through the bonding phase.

Personally I tend to take quite an interventionist approach with bonding, whereas others are more inclined to just leave them to it. Once I've put them together, I try not to separate at all as I find it goes two steps forward one step back, but if I see one of the heading towards the other looking as if they are about to nip or chase, for instance, I will gently hold my hand over them (usually across the shoulders) until they eventually give up and decide not to. You can't stop all of it, but I find that doing this more in the early stages helps them to settle down together and trust each other more quickly, because they are less tense and aren't constantly waiting to be attacked.

You could also try distracting them with food, fresh handfuls of hay at regular intervals also seem to help, and occasionally if they're really not settling I might pop them into a pet carrier on my lap for a while as I find that can help - although it's all a judgement call because sometimes moving them can unsettle them more than it helps. You can also cheat a bit, if they are both asking for grooming you can smear a tiny bit of mashed banana or a 100% fruit baby food (e.g. Apple, pear, strawberry) on their heads, then the other bunny 'grooms' them because they are licking the tasty food off, and it can settle them down quickly too. Only try it with a tiny bit to start off with but that can sometimes help.

Hopefully it won't be too long before these two settle down x

Molly did this all the time with Barney; personally i think it is just that they don't know what to do it looks like they are trying to groom the other rabbit by washing around their eyes, but end up doing little bites instead of licks. Molly had never had a friend before, that's why i think this...

Thank you to both of you!

It helps a lot knowing that this is normal and other bunnies have done it. I don't think Waffle has been around other rabbits before as he is very jumpy and twitchy everytime she moves, whereas Miffy is used to another bunny so isn't bothered by him moving.

I had read about the food on their heads before and considered it, but I was worried if I put food on Miffys head that he might just bite her more. I think Miffy will completely ignore food on Waffles head, but I think it's worth trying just in case she licks it off. I'm hoping once one of them makes the first move to groom they will eventually settle more with each other and he will stop biting.

The tip about putting my hand across his shoulders is useful thanks. I will definitely try that when he looks like he's about to bite, rather than me having to push him away.

I have been distracting them with food. It was actually over a piece of carrot that Miffy humped Waffle. But she rarely eats when she's indoors. I've also been playing with cardboard tubes with Waffle as he loves to throw them around. They have also been shredding the newspaper I put on the floor and I've been making bals of it for them to chuck about. It's just in between all these times that he goes back to bite her.

Thanks again for the advice. I am hoping it will start to improve soon and he learns to lick and not bite!