question about dominance

Hello,

I don't really know if I need to know anyway but I'm confused about which of my bunnies is going to be the dominant one, assuming there usually is one more dominant...

I got a female rabbit 4 weeks ago and a male rabbit a few days ago (rescue bunnies). I've been putting them together every day on neutral ground for 10-30 minutes (a bit more each day).

On the first couple of days the female kept 'humping' the male until eventually he started biting back (or maybe he only nipped, it stopped when I shouted 'stop' anyway). I thought that meant that the female would be dominant.

But then the next couple of days the female licked the male which I thought meant the opposite.

The female would also put her head on the ground and pushed it under the male's nose which I thought is a sign of her dominance again and a request for a clean, but the male rabbit ignored it and either just stood there or hopped away, so maybe he is not accepting it?

So now I'm kind of wondering if there will be a fight eventually if they don't agree, and if there is anything specific I should do or look out for? Or maybe I should just wait until they agree amongst themselves? My plan is to add 5 minutes every day to the 'bonding time' until it looks like they are best friends... I thought it would be useful if I understood what is going on though, maybe there is something I can do to help the relationship along...?

Thanks for listening!

Is there any potential to leave them together for a bit longer at the weekend? I did the "dating method" with my two but had them together for a couple of hours at a time and had them together all the time after a week. I think they need the time to work out who's top bun and that can't happen if they are separated too quickly. It's really difficult and easier said than done- I was a nervous wreck - but there has to be some degree of leaving them to get on with it.
Out of interest, what size space are you using? I think the general consensus is the smaller the better so they can't chase or simply avoid each other.

I agree with HTH. Are both bunnies neutered? The longer you can keep them together, with no fighting, the sooner they will settle down and start to bond. The male is the dominant one in most of my pairs

They will probably both try for dominance until they are settled with each other permanently. The fact that they aren't fighting is good and you should probably progress to a full bond and keep them together properly watching them very closely for a few days.

Thanks for the answers!
The bunnies are both neutered. The space is about 4ft by 5ft, a corner of the kitchen. I could leave them together for longer but didn't want to rush it in case they needed more time, I didn't want to risk a fight breaking out and thought I'd take it slowly with them... Should I maybe add an extra half an hour each day if it all goes well? Or do you think I should go for as long as possible (ie as long as I have time to watch them)? Should I interfere or stop it if it looks like it's not going well (not sure I would spot it unless they are chasing or biting though...)?

Thank you!

This sounds exactly like my rabbits when I bonded them. I left them for a couple of hours at a time though.

Ruby was dominant so she would hump reggie, when it got too much he would nip her and she would stop. She also put her head down for him to groom which he didn't start doing straight away but did do eventually, she would push her head under his chin. They became best of friends and were so much in life ve. He died a few weeks back though so I e got all the bunny dating to do again now!

Also another tip, put some nice food in like broccoli or kale so they both eat together, this worked wonders for my two (greedy ruby probably associated reggie with nice food).

Don't be afraid to separate them if they fight. Use gloves and I also used a water spray bottle, if ruby started to fight she got a squirt, she soon learnt and stopped doing this by the second date

I'm not a fan of the method you are currently using, putting them together and taking them apart. I personally think you should just go for a full bond in a small space of neutral territory and keep them together for several days, slowly increasing the space. Watch them very closely for a few days. Ignore chasing or the odd nip, only intervene if they are fighting or if one of them is being so harassed that they can't even eat etc.

Thanks for your replies, and sorry to hear about your Reggie, Beki... It sounds exactly like my too, so hopefully they will get on like that too. I give them food in their time together as well.

Tim, I did wonder why I shouldn't leave them together the whole time if it's going well but since the rescue centre told me to take it slowly for a start I did that. Sounds like it should be ok to take it a bit further now though, even though they've known each other for less than a week? I can't watch them continuously for several days though, I have to go to work and I have two small children to look after as well... I can leave them together for a few hours a day though. I don't think I can expand the space, can I simply take them somewhere different and slightly bigger every day? Is it a big difference for them to be together in the space they have now in the end? Are they likely to fight there even if it went well elsewhere on neutral territory?

Thanks.

Andie said:

Thanks for your replies, and sorry to hear about your Reggie, Beki... It sounds exactly like my too, so hopefully they will get on like that too. I give them food in their time together as well.

Tim, I did wonder why I shouldn't leave them together the whole time if it's going well but since the rescue centre told me to take it slowly for a start I did that. Sounds like it should be ok to take it a bit further now though, even though they've known each other for less than a week? I can't watch them continuously for several days though, I have to go to work and I have two small children to look after as well... I can leave them together for a few hours a day though. I don't think I can expand the space, can I simply take them somewhere different and slightly bigger every day? Is it a big difference for them to be together in the space they have now in the end? Are they likely to fight there even if it went well elsewhere on neutral territory?

Thanks.

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I would keep them as they are for as long at a time as you are able to watch them. Each time you move them to a new space they are likely to become territorial which can lead to fighting, this is the same each time you expand their space, although less risky if you do it gradually.

I am not an expert (only done one bond http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/s...-update-now-a-quad-More-pics!&highlight=bondi).

I left mine in their bonding for a couple of weeks (I was able to watch them 24.7) and moved them (complete with dirty litter trays so that they didnt feel the need to reclaim them) straight to their new home - shed and run.

When we moved house recently I put them into a new shed and their was no problem at all.

Yours sound to be getting on pretty well so far. Hope it all works well for you all!

It seems to go really well, I left them in the same space for 1.5 hours today until I had to leave. The girl was cleaning the boy again and then both snuggled up together lying on their sides which looked really cosy and cute. The only thing I still noticed is that the girl seem to request a clean from the boy bunny by putting her head low and pushing it under his chin but he just ignores that and does nothing, I hope that's not going to result in any disagreements eventually... I intend to leave them together for longer tomorrow if all goes well. I'll stick with the same space for now then, thanks for the advice! And good luck with your lot!

I left them for 4 hours today until I had to go, they got on well and the boy even gave the girl a little lick too, I was quite relieved since she keeps requesting it and he ignores it, so hopefully all will be well. I still don't know who that makes the dominant one though.

I don't have that much time to continuously watch them during the week so I'm trying to leave them for about 2 hours in a bigger space tomorrow if I understood correctly how this should progress (got to ferry the kids around after that). I'm not sure when I should try them in the not-so-neutral territory where they live at the moment, ie currently one in the cage, one outside, and then I swap them. Eventually they should both be in that room together. From what I understand I shouldn't simply put them together there though until I had them together for 24 hours in a neutral space first. Do I need to watch them for 24 hours in the shared room as well after that?

When I bonded my two, I split their permanent home (which was Harry's territory) in half and kept them together, but separate, swapping from one side to other. It seemed to do the trick although I felt dreadful keeping them in such small spaces, even though it was only for a relatively short amount of time. It seemed to do the trick, as well as giving it a good clean and neutralise with vinegar.
As for the dominance thing, with my two it isn't clear cut either. Overall it seems like Harry is the boss, but when food is involved Petal shows some dominant behaviour. I don't worry about it too much - I think different circumstances bring out different characteristics, the same as with humans!

When I bonded my two, I split their permanent home (which was Harry's territory) in half and kept them together, but separate, swapping from one side to other. It seemed to do the trick although I felt dreadful keeping them in such small spaces, even though it was only for a relatively short amount of time. It seemed to do the trick, as well as giving it a good clean and neutralise with vinegar.
As for the dominance thing, with my two it isn't clear cut either. Overall it seems like Harry is the boss, but when food is involved Petal shows some dominant behaviour. I don't worry about it too much - I think different circumstances bring out different characteristics, the same as with humans!

I also feel a bit bad that one only has quite a small space during the day but hopefully it won't be for long either. Interesting, so maybe they don't need to have one that is dominant all the time after all... It certainly doesn't seem clear cut to me at the moment so I was wondering if they will eventually fight it out, but maybe they don't need it with only the two of them. That's good that the non-neutral territory worked.