bonding : chasing and running - stop or continue ?

Hi - I rescued a solo female rabbit in July and, having read that most bunnies are better with same species company, I acquired a male partner for her in September. I tried an initial bonding session when she was 2 months post spay and he was one month post neuter but they went straight to full on fur pulling fight mode so I waited a month and tried again this weekend.

I carried out three two hour bonding sessions and a 7 hour bonding session (my plan was to put them in for the whole weekend but I was worried he was getting stressed hence the shorter sessions). Initially they went to fight mode but I stopped that with water spray and since then every time I put them in together (neutral territory) it has seemed to improve slightly - in session one he cowered in corner and thumped and ran every time she came near him - by latest session he was grooming and eating but still running with her every approach (thumping only occasionally). She persists in chasing him intermittently (increasingly it seems more curious than aggressive though occasionally she seems intent to nip/pull fur from his rear) but the time where both bunnies will eat , sleep (only in latest session) or groom in the presence of the other is extending. Despite being the dominant rabbit she seemed nervous at the start of the latest session and this morning she won't come out of her hutch to free range and is not eating her breakfast (though she ate hay and pellets throughout the session yesterday)- clearly this is taking a toll on her. This concerns me. He is 100% ok as soon as he gets back to his home.

Given that I saw small improvements over the weekend is it worth me persisting .. or does this sound like a pair that will not bond ? Bottom line is the chasing and running persists and I am worried I am unnecessarily stressing them both with no hope of a positive outcome. I am not worried that either of them will get hurt -- actual contact is rare since the first session and she stops chasing after a few seconds (though I am still having to occasionally intervene verbally to stop the chase). I picked him up from a charity as a partner for my existing female but when I went back to pick him up the charity told me he'd been separated from other rabbits as he was being bullied ... so I am a little worried he will be a difficult bond because of his past experience, and especially with my female rabbit (who has always been solo rabbit) who is quite 'assertive'.

Both bunnies are 1 year approx. Currently they are indoor bunnies with access to outdoors.

Would really welcome any advice from experienced bunny bonders ... I have read everything I could find on the web re bonding but do not have the experience to know if I need to give up.
many thanks

Hello there and welcome. Firstly, are you putting both rabbits in a neutral area as females are v ery territorial and will defend their space. When in a neutral area the male should chase the female who should run away, this lasts for around 3 days, but sometimes no chasing is seen and the 2 get along straight away. It's a bit worrying that the boy seems so scared and in my experience this doesn't sounds promising. Also taking his past into consideration where he was bullied is a bad sign - was this Pets at Home by any way as they tend to use this reason as people then feel sorry for them. I have!

If you are bonding in an area the female uses then it will never work unless she is so submissive but this doesn't sound to be the case. Please let us know where you are bonding them.

Many thanks for the quick response Tonibun I bought a dog pen and the bonding this weekend was done in an area (initially about 2.4m by 1m but reduced over weekend as i trusted them more) neither bunny has been in before. the female free ranges downstairs and has occasionally escaped upstairs but has never been in the room where the bonding sessions occur. the male refuses to come out of his cage indoors so does not free range inside. Each time i put the male into the dog pen first (as i knew he would be the more submissive). Over the weekend he made no approach to her at all though he now allows her to get nearer to him before he runs. I think his confidence is increasing with each session and I would be inclined to give it a little longer but for her response today - she is not a happy bunny.

No it wasn't pets at home and in all other respects the charity were fantastic.

tonibun said:

Hello there and welcome. Firstly, are you putting both rabbits in a neutral area as females are v ery territorial and will defend their space. When in a neutral area the male should chase the female who should run away, this lasts for around 3 days, but sometimes no chasing is seen and the 2 get along straight away. It's a bit worrying that the boy seems so scared and in my experience this doesn't sounds promising. Also taking his past into consideration where he was bullied is a bad sign - was this Pets at Home by any way as they tend to use this reason as people then feel sorry for them. I have!

If you are bonding in an area the female uses then it will never work unless she is so submissive but this doesn't sound to be the case. Please let us know where you are bonding them.

Click to expand...

I think you need to choose a day when you have lots of time to monitor them and keep them together for the whole day. This will give you a better idea as to how its going, only small sessions really don't give the rabbits enough time to get used to one another, then they are separated again, which can be a backward step.


You must ensure your female bunny is eating normally before anymore sessions, it could be the stress which has stopped her eating. I wouldn't give up hope just yet.

chasing and running

Thanks tonibun
Yes.. small sessions was not how i wanted to do it and i deliberately left them longer on the last one to see if they could feel safer .. and that did work, they both had a sleep so at least felt relaxed enough to do so .. it just didn;t stop the intermittent chasing and running. Given that you suggest i don;t give up yet, i think what i'll do is wait until next weekend and then try a much longer session as you suggest.

The female is eating hay (just not her greens) so am not concerned re her physical health .. more re her mental health. It took months to establish her trust and i don;t want to put that at risk if the bonding is going nowhere.

Thanks again for your help !