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Advice needed yet again! - can no-one help???

R

rachael1969

Warren Scout
Hi everyone,

I want to start bonding my 4 buns as soon as possible now and wondered if you could give me some advice?
My two new bunnies, Izzy & Penelope live in our front room (In a large cage during the day) and Pru & Saffy have the run of the hallway and kitchen. At the moment we are closing the living room door, and on an evening when we let Izzy and Penelope out we dont let Pru & Saffy in.

Is it a good idea to leave Izzy and Pennys cage in the hallyway when we go to work, so Pru & Saffy get used to their 'presence' and smell? Or is it best to supervise them all and try and do the bonding on an evening? My concern is that Pru & Saffy may start fighting if there are more buns around?

Thanks in advance!
 
i would see how they react to izzy & penelope first before leaving them all day - of there is no aggression then leave them all day however my 2 boys cud get to each other through the bars and Poppet got a nasty lip cos Little Man kept biting in the same spot - just a warning :D

so you have 4 girls, how old are your 2 new buns?
 
Having only ever bonded my two I wouldn't really know what to suggest is best, but I've heard that lots of people bond theirs in the bathroom or somewhere that's completely neutral territory for all of the buns. Good luck! :D
 
I didn't know you'd got two more bunnies, how did I miss that? What are they like - are they fluff balls too :D
 
Hi,

They are both lionheads, but not as fluffy as pru & saffy....i've yet to post pics still!

Izzy is 1 1/2 and penny is 12 weeks, they are mother and daughter. They are rescue buns (not good enough for breeding anymore :(

I was going to foster them, but have fallen in love and we've decided to keep them :D
 
I would try to introduce them when you have plenty of time to supervise. If you work during the week then you could star Saturday morning and have the whole weekend to try and bond them.
In my opinion it is best to get them together (in neutral territory) and then just leave them to it and observe. Dragging it out over several meetings may well just increase the stress to you and the rabbits. Watch them to begin with to make sure that no one gets hurt but expect chasing, fur-pulling and mounting. As long as no one is drawing blood or causing injury then leave them together until they have settled.
 
I agree with Spacegirl - I'd wait to introduce them when you have time to stick around and supervise. You don't want to be in work worrying about having left them and you don't want to have to seperate them if they aren't completely happy together but you have to go out. Good luck!
 
Thank you all, i really appreciate your advice. Should i let the new ones out of their cage when meeting Pru & Saffy do you think?
 
yes you can try them as meeting through bars can sometimes create more problems as they are frustrated that they can see each other but not be with each other. if there is a lot of aggression obviously separate them, if not well just stay with them for a few hours and after that keep checking them every 10 mins or so :D
 
I bonded my 3 in the kitchen as it was neutral. I just let them run around and see what they did. Luckily there was no chasing or anything and the bonded pretty much straight away.
 
Spacegirl said:
rachael1969 said:
Thank you all, i really appreciate your advice. Should i let the new ones out of their cage when meeting Pru & Saffy do you think?
Click to expand...
Yes!
Click to expand...

Definately - take them away from anything they associate as theirs otherwise they will be territorial and this will cause problems. They need to meet somewhere neutral where they are all on equal terms like the kitchen or bathroom or a friends place.
 
I'm going to try it this weekend....just one last question, i promise! :lol:

Will it matter that Izzy is not spayed? and obviously the baby isnt spayed either because she's too young?
 
I found bonding Nina with Joey much more difficult before she was spayed. I was waiting a little bit as she's a bigger bun, so thought I'd try to introduce them before the spay so they weren't left as lone buns any longer, but she wouldn't accept him and did bite his ear (nothing serious but it had the potential). She was spayed shortly after, and after she recovered there were no problems between the two of them whatsoever.
 
Thanks Karly, izzy's due to be done on 5th Jan, i'll try and get her in earlier, and then i'll try the bonding after that. Not too long to wait i guess!
 
She might be fine though. Does she seem hormonal at all? Nina got quite grumpy and territorial for a while, would lunge at hands in the crate etc. though she did calm down just before her spay. Don't imagine the hormones helped with the bonding though
 
Izzy doesnt seem hormonal at all? quite strange to say she has had so many babies! :(

Pru & saffy seemed to have settled down loads as well (they were forever humping eachother before the spay!).

We'll have to try bonding them in the bathroom though as pru & saffy have the run of the rest of the house (we live in a bungalow!)

If there is a bit of fratching - will this matter?
 
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