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Need some straight-talking advice

HarrytheHop

Young Bun
I'm really stressing out about the welfare of my 18 month mini lop, Petal. I got her a year ago from a rescue as a companion for my gorgeous boy, Hoppy Harry. Unfortunately he died very suddenly at the beginning of the summer, leaving Petal without her much-loved companion. I couldn't stand her being on her own, especially as we were also moving house, so I attempted to bond her with a boy from another rescue. Unfortunately he started lunging at her during their first date in a neutral pen and I just felt it wasn't going to work. I took him back to the rescue and took another boy home, dividing the playhouse in half and letting them live side by side for a week. The first date went well and he even groomed her. The second date he tried to hump her and she went mental and I had to break them up before it escalated. At that point I realised my nerves weren't up to bonding and I found another rescue which had the capacity to take them for a week and do the bonding. It coincided with our house move and I was hopeful that neutralising the playhouse in a new location would help. The bonding lady was very positive about how they were getting on and when I got them home they seemed ok, although they both seemed uptight. Petal was chasing him a bit and had gone off her food a little too. Disaster struck though two weeks later when I came down to feed them and it was a bloodbath, with fur everywhere and Petal looking very beaten up, requiring treatment by my vet. I was worried I was going to end up losing her too and it took a few days to build her back up and for her to calm down.
With a very heavy heart I had to take the boy back to the rescue as I haven't got space to accommodate them separately.
This was six weeks ago and I just don't know what to do. She's not a "people bunny" and hates being handled so I'm really worried she's lonely. She seems ok, but I don't want to sentence her to a lifetime alone. Equally I don't want to stress her out further or lay her open to further attacks. I think the problem is that, while with Hoppy she was naturally submissive as he was the original rabbit, male and she was on his turf. With both subsequent bonds she wanted to be the dominant one, leading to the first boy to attack her straight away and then spent two weeks bullying the other one, before he finally flipped and beat her up.
Can a male ever accept being the "underdog"? Should I try again? I'm petrified of her getting hurt. I've even thought about trying to find her a new home where she might accept being the submissive one in a totally new environment. I just want her to be happy.
 
It just takes the right husbun, some male rabbits are completely chilled out and happy to be dominated. Not sure how far away you are but the rabbit residence rescue will rehome up to 3 hours away(they're near Royston, Herts) they have several single bucks and Caroline is very very experienced at bonding.
 
Hi

Bunnies - they can so be so stressful and a worry when all you want is to do what's right for them and make life better.

Just in my view in working with rescue rabbits and my own - yes with the help of of a rescue a possible may be that they can help bond them so wouldn't rule this out but worth having a good in depth chat about scenarios to date so that they can gather a good picture and evaluate.

It's difficult with so much pointing to bonded pairs but in some instances just like two foots sometimes a particular rabbit will just not adhere to company of its own kind - that's not to say living side by side won't work as an option.

If all fails there is much that can be done to give a single bunny a really good quality of life - cuddle toys, as long as not a prolific chewer, mirrors work really well in providing comfort and also loads of pampering by two foot mum and or dad so loads of options.

Loads to think about I know so hope some ideas here help you to decide way forward.

Xxx
 
I have a couple of females which are difficult/impossible to bond as they are so territorial and this gets in the way of them accepting a partner. They are lucky in that they have a lot of other bunnies to look at and be near so not on their own. Your rabbit might have become a bit resistant to being bonded with another rabbit so it's hard to know if she would welcome a friend in the future. Lionheads are usually very easy to bond and not over aggressive and I have found that as winter approaches they bond easier, perhaps knowing that they will have somebun to sit close to. I give as much space as possible to the rabbits I am bonding as I find this helps the femalles to not be as scared as she can run away rather than attack.
 
I feel so fed up about it all. Just a few months ago I really enjoyed keeping rabbits and got a lot of pleasure from watching them and thinking up different ways to enrich their lives. Now it's become a source of worry and it makes me feel depressed every time I go to check on her.
I think it would be easier to deal with if she hadn't had such a good bond before and had always been unsociable. I hate the thought of winter/fireworks night, etc with her on her own. However I do worry that she is too territorial to accept another friend. She's fine when she's on the back foot in another location but as soon as it's on her turf I don't think she'll accept having to be submissive to a male.
 
She's had quite an unsettled few months (not your fault) but don't worry about fireworks - they never seem to notice them :roll: Don't give up on her.
 
Thanks for your advice. It's very true that she's had an eventful few months with lots of upheaval. Hoppy died when they were at rabbit boarding while I was on holiday. She then has had a failed bonding attempt in our old house, a stay at the rescue for the second bond attempt, a move to our new house and then the stress of the attack.
My gut instinct is that I should perhaps have one more go at finding her a partner, especially now she seems calm and back to normal. If it doesn't work, I'll just have to concentrate on making her life as enjoyable as possible by herself.
There's just nothing more frustrating than an uncooperative rabbit!
 
Hello, I've been following your story and was so sad when Harry died so suddenly. I don't know if my experience will help you. I had Prince and Bella in one hutch and Roxanne and Ginny in another hutch. The hutches are large and low to the ground. I would let each pair out separately. This went on for a good three years. Then I suddenly lost Bella. Prince was left on his own and had never been alone before. He was a happy cheerful bun. Well one day he'd been out on his own and kept going up to the girls and sniffing through the wire. They'd always been nervous, but brave through the wire. I went to put him away and closed his doors. I opened the girls' doors and suddenly Prince appeared from nowhere and hopped in their hutch, causing the girls to pile out in a panic. I put Prince away in his own hutch and left the girls out to play in the garden. They seemed quite interested in him. So I let them out together next day for about 10 minutes, then every day I gave them a bit longer. Until about a week later they were hopping in and out of each others hutch. One day I noticed they were all laying in the same hutch so when I felt ok about it I allowed them to spend longer together until they went all night in the same hutch. They lived happily together for about two years until Roxanne got sick and had to be pts. That left Prince with Ginny. Prince got sick and uninterested.
Over time We lost Prince and Ginny was left aged 8 and on her own. She'd always had company. She got depressed and stopped eating.
I rang rspca and they found Widget aged 2. I put them in separate hutches and swapped their litter trays around each day. I let them out separately each day and they were quite interested in each other. After a week or two I let them out together. Widget was so thrilled and Ginny took off round the garden, she was scared stiff.
I put Widget away and left Ginny out for a while. They sniffed each other through the wire. This went on for a few days.. I let them out together and then for a little longer each day. They eventually got in together and shared the food and went to sleep. They've been together a year now and Widget is very laid back and Ginny grooms him within an inch of his life. They are a very happy pair. Hopefully they'll have a few more years together. Widget gave Ginny a new lease of life.
I hope this helps you and Petal.
 
Bunnies vary in personality a lot, so finding the right one can make a big difference, there are definitely boys out there that are very laid back and bottom of the pecking order.

I wonder if coming home to neutral territory for longer may help in future.

Another option, don't know how practical it is, would be considering swapping her to a house rabbit. Although she's not social at the moment - that can often change with more time together and living in the same space.
 
Thanks for your replies. I contacted the rescue I got Petal from and who helped with the initial successful bond. She now has a range of single males in (unfortunately for her) and seems quite hopeful we might be able to match her up. I have complete confidence in her experience and expertise and I think if Jacky can't bond her again, nobody will!
I owe it to Petal to have another go, especially now the timing might be better as she's a lot calmer. I'm definitely going to take it slowly and accept it might be a long road. Fingers crossed!
 
I'be spent the morning dusting off the CC cubes and setting up two pens side-by-side in our new summer house. I thought it would be better to start off somewhere completely neutral and it will also give them more space than dividing up the playhouse. I think that will make it easier to take things slowly.
There's the added bonus of a sofa and lights so I can spend more time with them in comfort and sheltered from the rain!
Now I just need to find the lucky bun! Wish me luck!
 
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