Set up for bonding-opinions please!

We are going to be attempting to bond Hoss so we decided to set up his room but I'm not sure as I've never done this before! Does this look okay as a set up? I won't be bonding them in this set up but was hoping they could live in this set up side by side to get used to one another without actually being together





I plan on securing the door with zip ties once we actually have the other bun.
Thoughts?
TIA

Is this the room that he is currently in? I assume by the way you've set it up that you intend putting them side by side? You can introduce that way, but how they behave towards each other like that is likely to be very different than how they would be together. If this room is currently Hoss' territory then he will very likely be very hostile to a rabbit coming into it. And setting up the rabbits side by side will mean that they will both lay claim to their own territories. I've only done the one bond, 2 pairs into a quad, but I did it how most people seem to do it, in a small, neutral territory where none of the rabbits had ever been.

Good luck :thumb:

My girls lived side by side in their shared territory but we eventually set it up so they couldn't interact through the bars. I'd also maybe make the den private to the opposite side so they have somewhere private to get away and hide if they want.

In terms of bonding space I'm with the view of somewhere small & neutral. We used a large dog crate in our bedroom.

I don't think there is any one correct way of bonding!

When we bonded Tinkerbell and Simba we put them in a 6ft run in the garden. Bit of humping off Simba but went really smoothly. We put them both in Tinkerbell's housing the same night. It was a long time ago and I didn't know of any recommended methods, we just did it!

This looks like a good set up for a little while, until you're ready for them to meet properly. One of my pairs spent about 2 months in adjoining runs a bit like your set up and when I saw them sitting next to each other through the bars that's when we started properly bonding, which we did in a dog crate.
The set up you've got will give them a chance to get used to another rabbit being around and you can see how they act towards one another and when they might be ready to properly meet. Good luck!

I should have better explained and will go back and edit, but I won't be bonding them in this set up but was hoping they could live in this set up side by side to get used to one another without actually being together.

If neither of the bunnies have been in this set up then I see no reason why you can't bond them in this. If it is neutral just pop them both in and then you won't need to change their environment once bonded.

My only thought is if they both have freedom of the floor at the same time they could quite easily jump over the cage doors to get into the other ones space. This might be a problem if they get territorial or don't hit it off, but it might work out well if they really like each other.

AmberNikSee said:

I should have better explained and will go back and edit, but I won't be bonding them in this set up but was hoping they could live in this set up side by side to get used to one another without actually being together.

Click to expand...

Personally I don't think it's necessary to do this before bonding, but if it works for you to do it more slowly and after you've had them a while, then it looks as if they will have a good amount of space each. The only other comment I'd make apart from what others have said is that I would double mesh the boundary, either by adding a much smaller gauge mesh to the existing barrier or by putting a second barrier up with a couple of inch gap in the middle so they can't get to each other. Rabbits can be very territorial (which isn't necessarily an indication as to how they will bond) and with the bars of that size, you risk them injuring each other by fighting and biting each other through the bars, they could easily nip each others faces through those bars. If they injure each other, it would be much harder for them to bond in future, so I think it's better to stop them from having that chance early on.

Thanks everybody!!!!! We have gotten the second bunny and they are both living in that set up tho I did add an xpen running the length to add height and another layer between them. It looks like it will be sufficient and much easier to switch them sides this way!