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OK another bonding Q but a little bit different - eeek help!

Caz

Mama Doe
I have been on the look out for a rex like bluebunny's Claude after my husband fell in love with him after seeing his pics on the website - bluebunny selfishly wouldn't share ;) :lol: (well it was worth a try) and then along comes Tamsin tempting me with Violet (see http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=1781&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 ). Violet is a four year old spayed blue mini-rex doe.

I have arranged to see her on Monday after work and at the same time have seen some gorgeous rexes at Kathy's I would like to try and pair her up with!

Now I liked the castor rex at Kathy's as she was very friendly however she is female and about two years old.

I also liked the look of the black rex (who was a bit shy and didn't seem to like me much) - he is a little boy and I think about 2 as well.

There was also Yogi the REW but although he has a lovely little character my husband doesn't like REW rabbits - as horrible as that sounds this is supposed to be a suprise for him!

All three need to be neutered/spayed respectively.

The lady who is currently fostering Violet doesn't recommend bonding two older females.

So my question is - does anyone have experience of bonding two older females and how did it work out?

Would it be better to take Violet up there and let her choose/see if she would get along with the little castor or if she would prefer a boyfriend then get the appropriate one "done"?

Help!

Caz
 
All i can say is ask kathy she manage to bond mine,there were un spayed at first and aged 2.5 and 3 yrs they get on great always grooming each other!!!!
i cant belive you o/h doesnt like the rew oh the rexes are pew well lilac is!
i think the girls would be ok why doesnt she think they would get on?
 
Our Anna is a REW and at first my o/h thought 'eeek' but shes lovely really!

I have 2 females living together, 1 spayed and 1 unspayed (shes only 3 months) and they are with Eamon my neutered boy bunn. They are mother and daughter though not sure what difference that makes.
 
I'm being thick but please enlighten me. whats a REW and a PEW (Lynda, do not say something you sit on in church!)
 
Well if you definately like Violet when you meet her then you could take her to meet Kathy's bunny and see how they get on. Bare in mind if she doesn't get on with the female you don't have to settle for the male if you don't click with him. Rexes turn up fairly regularly so you can keep an eye out for other and I'm sure Kathy could let you know when another suitable bun comes in.

Tam
 
WonderBunn said:
REW = red eye white I think or thats how I am using it!!

Not sure about PEW

Thank you - that makes Totti a REW and let anybody who meets him say he's not the most adorable ever :x
 
luvabun said:
I'm being thick but please enlighten me. whats a REW and a PEW (Lynda, do not say something you sit on in church!)
PEW=Pink eyed white lilacs eyes are pink not red
 
He jokes it is to do with the giant REW doe his mum had when he was a kid apparently it regularily used to savage him (she was unspayed) - think she has left him with a bit of a complex!

The lady fostering Violet said she could help with bonding if I wanted but doesn't think it is possible to get older females to bond - I am sure you guys have more collective experience with this though and I wanted to see what other people thought. I was planning to do the bonding myself though.

Caz
 
luvabun said:
I'm being thick but please enlighten me. whats a REW and a PEW (Lynda, do not say something you sit on in church!)

zip.gif
:lol: :lol: :lol:
 
Caz The Bramcote rescue in nottingham did have an orange boy.rex..its on the Rabbit rehome list of rescues with their link to site and pics..worth looking at! :D
 
Well I went to see Violet today and she is gorgeous - def a mini rex, her ears are tiny! Very friendly and very calm.

Hubby fell in love with the dodgy camera phone photos of her trying to climb on my knee and I am collecting her Wednesday. Sophie from ARC jokingly asked me which greek goddess is next on my naming list - Aphrodite perhaps (that was second choice for Athena but didn't suit her once I got to know her ;) )!

Now I just need to find an excuse to go back up to Nottingham!!

The rescue centre ARC are getting 5 more rabbits in on Wednesday (wonder if they are related to the rescue run by Colin being shut down) and they said there may be a rex amongst them so I will take a look at them too!

Anyone else have any thoughts on bonding her to my two as hubby though it would be nice but I still think Athena might not share?

Two older girls as well - any tips?

Caz
 
<bump>

Well like I figured I showed Zeus and Athena Violet last night and Zeus was very interested in sniffing her but Athena just tried to attack her through the bars of the cage and even managed to get a mouthful of poor Violet's fur.

I don't think Athena would accept another bunny and Violet is very small to stick up for herself!

Do you reckon it might be worth trying at all or just stick to my original plan of getting her a little friend of her own?!

Caz

P.S. The five rabbits she got in were from an individual in Acton and one poor little fella (looks a bit like Blueberry) has no tail and a really nasty swollen eye!
 
Humm, all out attacks not good, I'm afraid I've never tried bonding girls though. Was this somewhere neutral? You could see how she reacts when Zeus isn't around.

Tam
 
You won't be able to introduce the new girl in any areas that Athena views as her own. And even when/if you get them friendly in a neutral area you'll probably face problems when you put them both on Athena's home turf. Taking Zeus out of the picture might help, but if Athena's anything like Cassidy she'll still be baying for blood. We used car trips with them all in the boot together, and then put them out in a run for an hour and then back in the boot to get them all used to each other. But even after they were grooming each other in the run, Cassidy would still try to kill the girls when they were back in the living room.
 
Yeah - problem was hubby took Violet and against my better judgement stuck her cage into the middle of Zeus and Athena's rug - don't think it was a great start!

Then I tried Athena on Brendan's lap and Violet on mine - Violet looked quite curiously at Athena and Athena just lept - luckily Brendan caught her as she was growling. Perhaps Athena views us as her territory too! I think the bathroom or my bedroom will be the best place as the bathroom is brand new (unfinished), but she has been dried off after baths in our bedroom although never spent longer than the odd half hour in there!

Or moving the new run to a new patch of grass.

Athena isn't very tolerant of the guinea pigs, neighbour's cats or anything other than Zeus getting close to her. The only reason I was happy to bond her to Zeus was that he was so big I knew she couldn't really hurt him!

It will probably work out better to get Violet her own partner!

Caz
 
So probably giving up on bonding them now as they can't even get on in neighbouring runs!!

Put Violet in a small run beside Zeus & Athena's - then WWIII breaks out - between Zeus and Athena :shock: !!


It is like Zeus and Athena are going through the bonding process again, Zeus is mounting her at every opportunity, she is trying to jump over him and there is fur everywhere!!

No real fighting but a dominance battle was taking place whilst Violet calmly sat and watched!

Now Zeus and Athena are sat at opposite ends of the run glaring at each other - with Athena patrolling (literally running up and down) the boundry between their run and Violet's. Everytime Zeus tries to sniff Violet Athena chases him off.

They are friendly when together at the end furthest from Violet but as soon as they go near her Zeus tries to mount Athena or sniff Violet = Athena turns on him!

Athena tried to bite Violet through the run at first but couldn't reach - now she just sniffs at her and keeps Zeus away from her.

It looks like they both might get to like Violet but as I suspected Athena won't share Zeus!

Caz
 
Oh Caz, you poor thing, bet you're a nervous wreck.

p.s. thanks for the farm address for the organic hay. Got some today and its going down a treat!
 
Excellent - glad they like it!

Things seem a bit quieter now, all three are nibbling on the grass and pretty much ignoring each other!

Athena and Zeus are still doing the odd bit of mounting but there seems to be a truce declared for now!

Caz
 
Umm, it might be worth giving this time to calm down and seeing how they react. Otherwise hey, good excuse for bun no. 4 :D

Tam
 
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