I got another bunny

Hi all,

I have a 3 year old bunny called Sooty, all the details are in introductions.

Well, on Sunday I got a 12 week old Netherland dwarf girl who we have named Tinkerbell. We are hoping that eventually she can be a free range bunny and be friends with Sooty (I said hopefully!)

We have her in a run in the daytime with Sooty running free, she goes in her own indoor cage at night time.

On day 1 Sooty was hurtling herself at the run, teeth bared at little Tinks! Tinkerbell wasn't fazed at all but had the sense to run into her hidey hole when Sooty got too much for her! Day 2, Sooty has stopped baring her teeth and now sniffs Tinkerbell and then lies down next to her, on the other side of the run. Day 3, no aggressive behaviour from Sooty at all, hops round the run, sniffs Tinkerbell but seems to be much calmer around her.

Does this sound as if it's going well as I have never before tried to bond 2 bunnies?

Anymore advice on what I should be doing would be much appreciated!

Kate x

hi there first of all has sooty been ccastrated? if not that needs to be done before you can pair them up! if he has keep doing what you have been doing for a while, the best situation is that they pay no attention to each other! can they see each other in the house? if not this may be a good idea to put there pens next to each other so they get used to the sight and smell of each other, you can even put them in each other cage, ie put the girly in his cage for the night and put him in heres (separately of course not togther), when you are confident that there is not sign of aggresion, try them together in a neutral space (bathrooms are a good neutral space) put in lots of activites ie...cardboard boxes, hidy holes... and see how they get on if there is any aggresive fighting stop it at once and try again at a later date!

eve x

Hi Eve,

Sooty is a girl as well as Tinkerbell!

Day 4 and Sooty isn't paying any attention to Tinkerbell at all so is all looking good so far.

If they do eventually successfully bond, should they be kept together at night or is it ok to just put them out in the garden together during the day? If they should share a hutch, I will need to get 1 big one as I could not comfortably fit 2 of them into either Sooty's hutch or Tinkerbell's cage.

Kate x

Once they have bonded its best to keep them together at all times, including during the night Good luck with the bonding, I hope all goes well

hi

Is Sooty spayed? If not then she will be more territorial, so be careful with the little one - sounds like a good start to bonding though

The only advice I can give to you is to never stop trying!

Ive just rescued alfie and had a terrible time with him and lilly at first, even though they got on when they fist met at the other location!

We had fur flying, growling, chasing, biting, you name it!!

I tried putting them in a carry case together and taking them on a 10 minute car journey. I then took them into the house (onto neutral territory and let them run around) This really really helps. It took me 6 weeks to get them bonded (I know one couple who took 6 months to bond their 2!), lilly is the dominant one and still chases alfie but shes realised hes not going anywhere!

Also keep them so that they can see each other constantly, whether it be in their hutches or runs.

It can be so dissapointing when they dont get on but persistance is the key!!

Here are some photo's of my bunnies that I took today.

Here's Sooty:



And here's Tinkerbell:



Love Kate

tinkerbell is the same coulring as one of my nethies dusty shes so cute as are both of them i have a black bun to

Hi Kim,

I always think Tinkerbell looks like a little siamese cat with her colouring!

I will have had her a week tomorrow and have found that the more she settles in the harder she is becoming to handle :roll:

She is handled every morning and every evening and inbetween times I stroke her. But, she has started really struggling when you pick her up and she has bitten hubby numerous times. There is only me, hubby and my 13 year old daughter that hold her, the 16 year old isn't particularly interested, so no one is handling her roughly at all.

When we first got her she seemed very docile but I suppose that was due to her being scared.

Will she get better at being handled with time? Will she stop biting?

Love Kate x

flick my 14 week old is a litle madam she bites ect but dusty is a year old and hin and midnight and 17 week old misty are fine i think its just there age my nethies are spolt thow peah the lop is difrent all together no cudles for her she bites scrches and is a geral night mare

I think how a rabbit responds to being handled depends on the rabbit!

Lilly hates being handled and Ive had her for over 3 years now - she just struggles so much and scratches, its almost impossible to keep hold of her.

Jasper used to be fantastic at being handled - I used to carry him around all over the place like a toddler, and he would just sit there!!

Alfie is the same and just sits there too!!

Most rabbits apparently dont like being handled, so dont worry Im sure its nothing you're doing wrong, Just make sure you're picking them up in the correct way - I usually put one hand under the tummy and another under the bum and then hold them close - If rabbits struggle too much they can actually break their backs so make sure theyre supported properly.

I'm sure you're doing everything fine.

Hi Vianne,

Sooty is exactly like that! When we HAVE to handle her, like for botty cleaning, hubby has his work cut out! I opt for the cleaning he gets the joy of holding her :lol:

Tinkerbell seems to have calmed down a bit. My daughter held her tonight and, after a bit of clothes eating, she actually lay down on my daughters lap and looked quite calm

The bunnies now have half of the garden each divided by a wire type run adapted by hubby. They go up to each other and have a good sniff but Sooty hasn't tried to bite her since day 1. How long should I keep them apart before seeing if they will get along? To be honest, I'm very worried about putting them together in case Sooty starts to attack Tinkerbell!

Love Kate x

It all depends when they have been neutred. They both should be neutred and healed up before you try anything. Even after rabbits have been neutred it can still take around 6 weeks for the hormones to get out of their system!

If all is well for the points I made above then this is a very good thing to do. Get a towel and sit both rabbits on your knee. You may need some help keeping them there if they struggle. This will give them a great chance of getting on because 1. they are on neutral terretory and 2. if they start to fight you have hold of them and they cant do much!

Wrap them in the towel and sit them together, this will allow them to be close and get used to each others smells without fighting.

You will probably have to do this a few times, rabbits dont tend to bond straight away.

You could also allow them to run around in the garden together (so you can supervise) and see what happens.

Remember, it takes time so dont expect them to get on straight away, You are doing the right thing by having them in the runs next to each other!

Take it gradually, a little more time each day, and im sure things will go great!

Hi all,

Well, we have had Tinkerbell for 3 weeks now and hubby decided that today was the day that they would meet properly!

We have a spare, large run which we took to a neutral spot in the garden and put both of the bunnies, and hubby!, into the run.

I was expecting Sooty to go for Tinks, but she actually ignored her. Tinks nibbled Sooty a few times and Sooty then chased her, but no teeth bared.

After 10 minutes of this, we put them together in the garden. Sooty just lay on the grass but everytime Tinks went up to her, she chased her, though not aggresively.

We left them together for about 40 minutes and have now put Tinks back into her run.

Should we keep repeating this for a period of time and see how it goes? I am worried that if Sooty did go for Tinks then due to the size difference she could do her serious harm. How long should we try them together before we can be confident that they can be left unsupervised together for short periods? Am I doing it right???

Kate

Yes, what your doing sounds great. Keep doing what you are doing and keep increasing the time that they are with each other very gradually. like by half hours for example. It sounds like like you've had a very good start with them both!