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Advice on bonding two pairs

happybunny

Mama Doe
Bonding bunnies

Hi,

I was hoping someone could give me some advice on bonding. We currently have 4 unbonded bunnies (2 of each) and really would like to have 2 bonded pairs (obviously we would love all 4 to bond but......).

We have bonded bunnies before sucessfully (well lots of time and fights but we got there eventually). First 3 females (Smokey, Shaun and Tilly) one by one. After Smokey and Shaun died we got Jasper (Male) and bonded him with Tilly. After loosing Tilly we tried to bond Jasper with Misty (female) which resulted in emergency surgery for Misty.

Now I am absolutly terrified of the bonding process. Every time a fight or tussle begins I drag them apart and that ends the bonding session.

The current situation is as follows:

Jasper - 3 year old male
Jess - 3 (?) year old female (she came to live with us about 2 months ago)

Jaspers hutch is on top of Jess's and when Jasper is out he can see Jess.

Harvey - 1 (?) year old male (came to live with us in December)
Clover - 1 (?) year old female (she came to live with us about 2 months ago)

Harveys hutch is on top of Clovers and when Clover is out he can see Harvey.

They are all house bunnies and are all spayed. Any advice welcome.

Thanks
 
I've just moved your post to a new topic as the other quesion was slightly different and people will spot your post easier here :D

Tam
 
If your nervous about bonding on your own then many rescue centres offer bonding services where you take your rabbits to stay with them for a little while and they do the bonding. You can visit of course though :)

Best wishes,
Tamsin
 
Hello Happy bunny
bonding bunnies together, can go so many different ways, sometimes it is love at first sight, and sometimes, its guns at dawn. I find that one thing that you can do that should make the whole process easier, is let them be able to see each other all the time. Can you arrange for their hutches to all face each other? Your situation is good as they are all spayed. I would concentrate on one pair at a time, but bear in mind that your choice of who wants to be with who may not be the same as theirs.

So, if you are letting one out in the middle for a run and they are constantly visiting one hutch and showing one bunny favour, (as long as it is opposite sex, bonding same sex is a whole different ball game, but can again work), anyway, then I would let these two become a pair. There will almost certainly be tussles as the bunnies have to sort out between them who is boss, and this is the time when you really need to sit back and let them get on with it unless you think the fight is getting nasty, this will be shown by the bunnies rolling on the floor, literally jousting in mid-air with each other, going for ears, or under the neck area. Constant mounting of each other in various directions is normal and should be left uninterfered with. This process can take sometime and needs a certain amount of patience and perseverence. If the bunnies seem to be getting on okay, then I would leave them together, keeping a close eye on them.

As Tamsin says, if the whole idea of this sets you on edge, it is a scary thing sometimes, is there a rescue near you that you could ask someone to come along and give you a hand?

Annie
 
Hi,

Thanks for the advice from both of you. I am not sure of any rescue places near by that would offer a bonding service and I am not sure I could be parted from my little ones for so long! So I will persever for now.

We have rearranged 2 of the hutches so they are both on the floor. Now both bunnies (Jess and Jasper) can see the other when either one is out. We did not do this before as the room is partitioned down the middle so we can have 2 bunnies out at once without them meeting. Due to the height of the hutches and the partitions it is possible for a bunny to jump on a single storey hutch and over the partition. We have put lots of stuff on top of them both to stop this happening. We will give it a few more day then try them together again.

Fingers crossed...........

Thanks again
 
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