Bonding/agression problems

Hi there. I am new but have lots of questions, hope you don't mind. . !

I have had Humpty Dumpty, a male German lop cross, since January. He is a house rabbit, lovely temperament and easy going. Last Tuesday I got a German lop doe from another rescue centre. Their first meeting went really well. Both seemed relaxed. There was lots of mounting (mostly buck on doe) and some grooming and they seemed to be getting on nicely. Then a couple of days later when I let ther doe out (Humpty, the buck, is permanently loose at the moment), they started fighting. It seems that she became agressive first, but then he started to retaliate. I have let them meet only for short, carefully supervised periods since and they seem to mostly ignore each other, but then after a while a fight will break out.

Pepper, the doe, is being speyed on Thursday, so I am hoping this will help. I am worried, though, that they are now automatically riled up when they see each other and ready to fight. I think I will try a new, nuetral territory when I introduce them after she has had the op.
Any ideas?
Also, how long should I keep them appart for her to heal?
Thanks.

yes i would def try neutral ground - it worked when i was bonding 2 pairs together.

try and keep them close together so they can see and smell each other if possible - that may help. have plenty of food available like fresh veggies and have hide-e-holes about the room so that if one wants to retreat he can.

all that worked for me - so good luck

After she's spayed you need to wait a couple of weeks for her to heal up properly inside, then you can have another go at bonding them, although you might like to wait a bit longer if she's very hormonal.

It must always be on a neutral territory where neither of them has been before, and preferably somewhere you can leave them together overnight if they are getting on well. Letting her out into his room is just going to cause fights over territory.

A lot of people use a kitchen or bathroom, but if he's been everywhere in your house, can you take them to a relative or friend's house, or a shed maybe - or even just redecorate your bathroom and replace the vinyl - the smell of new paint and vinyl will make it seem like a new area to him, so he won't get defensive over it hopefully.

It's possible too that he's bonded to you, in which case he might want to stop her being fussed by you - It's important not to touch either of them when you are trying to make them like each other - wear gloves so you don't leave a scent on her. They can seriously injure each other if bonding goes wrong, so be prepared with a long handled broom and water to chuck over them if they get nasty - a bit of chasing and fur pulling is normal and nothing to worry over, but if they are rolling on the floor and going at it with back legs and teeth you need to seperate them quickly.

Hope her spay goes OK!

Thanks, that's helpful. He has only been in the one room (he doesn't leave even though the door is open) so there are quite a few options. Think I will try the run first - it has been too wet so neither have been out yet - and I am hoping that the outdoor environment will give them lots of distractions too.

unless you can leave them in the run overnight, it would be best to try bonding them indoors - preferably when you have a couple of days spare off work. This is because every time you put them in a new area, they will have to reassert who is going to be the dominant bunny.

So the more places you try them in, the more they will scuffle - If you can leave them all day in one place, assuming there's no real fighting, they will calm down together after a few hours unless they both want to be boss (in which case you have a problem!)

When they've spent all day in the new area together fairly peacefully, it's best to leave them at least overnight and most of the next day, to establish a strong bond between them. Meanwhile you need to check on them frequently, and a couple of times during the night too - Obviously it's easier to do this if they are indoors near your bedroom

OK. Maybe will try the kitchen then?

hi, would love to know how you get on as I am bringing my new bunny home nexy week to bond with my boy. They met briefly at the rspca & my boy was happy to be bossed - she was very bossy!! I am worried about bringing them home as I don't have any neutral territory - my bun has full run of garden & house! i have brought a new hutch & attached run for them both , he hasn't been in it yet so I am hoping that will be ok? very nervous! :? :?
Ray x x

Well, they have had two sessions together today and nothing more than a slight scuffel They do try and sneak up on each other though if they know I'm not looking - such chilkdren :lol: They mostly ignore each other but Humpty is quite interested in Pepper and does try to (tentatively!) approach her. It's better than fighting anyway!