My new rescue bunny

Hi everyone my name is karen & I live in Wrexham wales..

I have a one year old bunny called bertie he's a very spoilt house rabbit..
After reading all your posts off I went on Monday & picked up a beautiful little female Rabbit from an animal rescue centre.. She's about 7 months old & a little nervous.. She hasn't been spayed but bertie has been neauted.. I am not sure if I'm doing right but I introduced them on Tuesday only for a few mins,this went okay until i tried again on Wednesday it was awful! They had a fight they both seemed fine very soon afterwards but I was in a right state.. I tried again tonight & Bertie was desperate to get at her & fight her I keep hold of bertie because he was out for trouble. then to make matters worse she went up to bertie & bit him on the bum.....
I just don't know what to do next I'm so scared of one of them getting hurt.. I bought bertie from a pet shop & they advised me not to have 2 rabbits together because the owner said they will fight & it's cruel for the rabbt.. I have since found out this is not true & when they bond they should live happily together...
Anyway thank you all for the messages on here because if it wasn't for you I wouldn't of thought of going to a rescue to pick my lovely little girl..

Do you remember that Rabbit that needed a home lady from Wrexham ? I emailed the owner & they still haven't found her a home.. I would love her but I haven't got these 2 bonded yet ..
Karen x
any advice please

Where are you introducing them? It's important you do it somewhere neutral they don't usually have access to.

Are they actually fighting - biting & kicking or just casing/mounting (normal).

Tam

Bertie has the run off the house so theres no where really he doen't think is his.. My Bedroom he doesn't go in often but I'm scared of them running under the bed & I can't get to them... They are proper fighting when they first had a fight there was fur flying.. Molly is now kept in the conservatory & comes out when bertie has his sleep in th afternoon.. Molly is quite happy being on her own at the moment because I don't think she was treated very nice at all so she's nervous..

Sounds like Bertie is being territorial to me! You might need to take them somewhere, maybe to a friends house if he is used to having the run of your place. It's really important that you find somewhere neither already conciders to be their own turf to introduce them. Also you need to do it when you have lots of time. Once they've met you need to make sure you don't seperate them again as when you reintroduce them you'll be starting from scratch. Also when it comes to the whole fighting thing it usually looks worse than it is. Newly introduced buns do often scrap, although some are love at first sight, establishing who is the boss in the relationship. Scraping is ok, as long as there's no blood you can use distractions such as hay, food, veg and toys and sometimes they get so involved they forget about each other! Persevere it's definately worth it and good luck!x

Lots of bonding that start off badly can work out in the end. Did you get your new bunny from a rescue off here and would they not bond for you at the rescue, which would be neutral. I know someone recently was having a bad time bonding (name I cannot remember) but it worked out in the end. Do an archive search (at the top of this page) under "bonding" and read all the recent experiences and I am sure this one will come up.

My house bun is free range and thinks the whole house is his. I went out for dinner last night and when we came back I had a heart attack. His litter tray was out of its place and when I turned the corner he was sat there and also in the room was my two french lops who had pushed the kitchen door open and got in with him. God knows what went on and none of it was supervised :roll: He looked at us with a "help me" face :lol: All his back fur was up and he obviously was humped all evening!

and good luck.

Hiya, welcome to RU and well done for adopting your little girl

Can you take them both back to the rescue so it's neutral territory and get them to help? I know my bun Pippa wouldn't have bonded if she hadn't been spayed so that's possibly another option - and you'll be preventing her getting uterine cancer as well. I spayed Pippa and introduced MJ after two weeks so it's not too long to wait before trying them again.

Good luck

Morning, I phoned Rabbit Rehome & they gave me a number of an animal rescue near me...... To be honest it was rescue that had no runs for the bunnys I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be able to bond my bunnies....
It was so sad some of the rabbits had been in that rescue for a long time.. They had other animals there aswell & next to Molly's cage was a dogs cage & he barked none stop when we were there I'm sure this has made her afraid of noise...Molly hasn't been spayed but I was told at the rescue that as it's a major op as long as I've had my male done there is no need to have molly done.. I got home & phoned rabbit rehome for a bit of advice & she told I would need Molly spayed & the rescue had told me wrong info.. Do you think she needs doing ?
The only place i think of taking them to bond is a shed we have outside I could make it a nice little play house for them. What do you think ?
Thanks for your advice karen

Hi KayJay, Sorry I posted my message before I'd read yours... I will have her spayed but you get so many different bits of advice don't you? I bought Molly a new indoor cage on Monday & the petshop owner said I shouldn't of got another rabbit & it's unfair on the one I already have & she wouldn't of sold me another rabbit if I'd gone there to get one...
She also said she thought it was very strange me having Molly spayed !
I don't think she knew what she was talking about ...

Hi, I think there's an awful amount of old fashioned advice and opinions out there, even my vet told me that rabbits were 'solitary animals' and why didn't I get a guinea pig for Pippa :roll: She did however recommend spaying, apparently 85% of rabbits get uterine cancer and she said to spay her so I did. It is a bigger operation than neutering and the costs vary from £50 to £100 depending on where you go, mine cost £70. You also need to check whether your vet has done many and what their survival rates are, nowadays rabbits are spayed routinely in many vets and my vet said the costs are because of the modern drugs required to ensure success.

However since spaying, Pippa is a different bunny, less territorial, more friendly and soooo in love with MJ. They are always cuddled up together and I would never now keep a rabbit on their own. When I took them both back to the vets she was amazed to see them so happy together. My dad used to breed rabbits and doesn't 'get' vaccinating, neutering/spaying and taking them to the vets when they get sick, in his day you kept a rabbit on its own in a hutch and killed it if it got too sick Thank fully times have changed!

Whereabouts do you live? Perhaps there's someone on here who could help with the bonding, a rescue or an experienced bunny owner?

I think a playhouse would be ideal, my two are in the shed overwinter and I'm planning on getting a big hutch and run combi for spring. Don't put either rabbits in there though until they're bonded, then it's neutral for both of them.

I live in Wrexham North wales & will try anything to get my babies bonded...
karen x

karen354 said:

Hi KayJay, Sorry I posted my message before I'd read yours... I will have her spayed but you get so many different bits of advice don't you? I bought Molly a new indoor cage on Monday & the petshop owner said I shouldn't of got another rabbit & it's unfair on the one I already have & she wouldn't of sold me another rabbit if I'd gone there to get one...
She also said she thought it was very strange me having Molly spayed !
I don't think she knew what she was talking about ...

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I'd be tempted to go back in there once your buns are bonded with photos of them loved up and some up to date print-outs suggesting rabbits are kept together, spayed/neutered etc. It really upsets me that people like this pet shop owner are out there selling rabbits with incorrect information condemning buns to spend their life alone in a little hutch

I will do.. I told her I'd been in contact with a lot of bunny centres & they all say the same thing outdoor rabbits especially need a friend with them.... She said she'd never heard off a female rabbit getting cancer so I had to put her straight on that aswell..

Maybe we could reccomend some stuff you could print off and give to her?
I'll have a look

mandy said:

Maybe we could reccomend some stuff you could print off and give to her?
I'll have a look

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That's a good idea Mandy, I don't think we'll stop petshops selling rabbits but at the very least we could try to ensure when they do they're giving out correct advice.

That is a good idea... If they are telling people that no wonder there are so many bunnies waiting for homes in the rescues...
I am sure my two will get on in the end it's just going to take time..

Karen - I had to re-bond my 2 boys after them being neutered (they were apart for 8 wks as were fighting, til hormones died down) and I bonded them in my bathroom! Sounds weird but it's neutral cuz thy'r not normally in there, plus no worries leaving them as no electrical cables for them 2 bite through (although you do need to remember to put the toilet lid down) Also I was told that a smaller area may work better as they can't 'hide' at opposite ends from each other all the time (although they should each have a pet carrier at either end to retreat to. Ive posted how I did it for other people before, Ill go try to find the post rather than retyping it all ok

ok trying to find it'll prob take me longer! What I was advised by a rescue (and it worked) -

If they have a run, put them as close up to 1 another as possible, or divide run in2 2 pieces (shouldn't be able to get at one another). Try to let them be close to one another, but still protected by cage or whatever. Give them a litter tray each, halfway through the day swap these over. Also, every couple of days swap over their hutch/cage, so get used 2 each others scents. Once feel ready, find a smallish neautral place (such as bathroom) give them a cat carrier each with bedding in at either end of the room, have toys food and water in there. Let them come out to one another in their own time. If nervous, u can sit between them, and stroke them for a while. Talk to them gently and keep calm, if your stressed so will they. Expect fur pulling etc, looks nasty but as long as not actually hurting one another and no blood it's normal. If gets a bit out of hand hold them apart for a moment. If they are fighting, aim to build up time gradually, for eg try to spend 20mins in there 1st day, 30 2nd day, 45 next day etc, jst as long as can basically. Once seem to be getting on ok, try leaving them over night. Remeber to listen for fights and keep checking on them. If ok, try another night. I kept Honey and Harly in for 4 nights in total, jst to be sure they were ok. Meanwhile, thoroughly scrub and disinfect their hutch/cage litter trays etc to remove scents. Hopefully this will work. It can be quite a slow process, so u'll nd 2 b patient. I was lucky, the first night they were 2gether for an hour, the next day for 4 hrs, then the following 4 nights spent 2gether. If just can't get them 2gether, wait til she is spayed and healed them try again.

These seem good articles on why rabbits need friends:
http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/care/friend.asp
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/multiple.html

Here's some info on the importance of neutering:
http://www.houserabbit.co.uk/rwf/articles/neutleaf.htm

And this is about diet:
http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/care/rabbitfood.asp
http://www.houserabbit.co.uk/rwf/articles/feedinglft.htm

Should have looked for these myself before, probably would have stopped me asking lots of repetitive questions :lol:

For other information have a look at the care section on Rabbit Rehome, www.houserabbit.co.uk and www.rabbit.org

BTW, really dont worry about your two not getting on, they will eventually. And then you can go in and tell the lady in the pet shop how happy they are
This might help:
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=10221&highlight=nonsence

Thanks all, some great advice there.... Molly has an indoor cage so I let Bertie sniff her for about 10 mins this morning but they can't get to each other.. I then let Molly out to play when Bertie goes into the kitchen for his snooze.. Molly is only in her cage when we go to bed I hate having to close her in..