honeywebb
Young Bun
Right here goes..this is what has happened with my bonding attempt..i know i have probably gone about it in the wrong way but this is what i was advised & it suited me & my set-up..its abit of a long story so bear with me..
I have a 2 year old female Dutch X Lionhead named Skittle. I decided she looked abit of a lonely bun & got a bee in my bonnet that she needed a boyfriend. I had her neutered on 29 December & then having spoken to my local RSPCA Small Animal Rescue Centre waited patiently for a neutered male to be available. The RSPCA told me they offered supervised bonding so that Skittle could choose her boyfriend...great i thought..perfect.
On Saturday just gone, me & Skittle went to the RSPCA & she was put in a open wire run with a 7month old beautiful Lionhead X named Mojo. She ran to him straight away & humped him then jumped off...they ignored each other for abit then he ran to her & humped her...this continued for a little while but there was no aggression between the two of them...they both groomed themselves had abit of a sniff...she lowered her head to him quite a few times & eventually rolled over on her back in front of him. This all took about 30-45 mins & the RSPCA advised that it semed a good match. They said to put Mojo in Skittle's cage when i got home & just keep an eye.
The set-up i have at home is this..Skittle has a two storey hutch (in the garage) & attached to the hutch is a large wire pen so she has access to both areas at all times.
I put the two buns in together & settled down to watch (& freeze). Mojo ran to a corner of the run & just sat there hunched while Skittle just went about her usual business appearing to ignore the intruder in her home..all appeared well. Over the next 24 hours i proceeded to run between my house & the garage to try & monitor progress..Mojo didnt appear to move from his corner & Skittle for the most part ignored him..occasionally she would go over & give him a sniff but there was no signs of aggression. Both buns were eating & drinking fine..in fact at one point Skittle was sat next to Mojo & they were both munching cabbage.
This continued until Monday morning when Mojo appeared to regain his nerve & started hopping round the run...Skittle seemed perfectly happy they were both interacting...having the occasional chase but nothing vicious then all of a sudden it all kicked off! There was fur flying in all directions & i had to separate them with a brush! All three of us were left shaking & panting heavily! The two buns hunched at opposite ends of the run looking miserable.
I rung the RSPCA immediately & they advised that Skittle was being territorial & that i try shutting Mojo in the hutch for a couple of hours to spread his scent & leave Skittle in the run...then swap them over for another couple of hours...and then reintroduce.
I got as far as swapping them over but never followed through with a re-introduction because by the afternoon Skittle's front leg was swollen & she was hardly weight-bearing. A trip to the vet showed she had puncture wounds & the swelling was probably bruising so shes now on painkillers & anitibiotics. The vet advised i keep the two buns separated for at least a week until Skittle is better.
So today is Tuesday & i have a weeks grace while i decide what to do next. Do i risk putting them together...that fight was so scary...& it all kicking off again...i cannot do 24/7 supervision as some people seem to be able to do & i cant do supervised bonding indoors as i have neither the time or the space plus its too warm indoors & both buns are outdoors. I have no other hutch or run or pen to use apart from the ones the buns are in now.
I dont want to give up on poor Mojo quite so quickly but i dont want them hurt again obviously. I feel like i've caused my poor bun unneccessary pain & anguish when i was trying to make her life more pleasant
I have a 2 year old female Dutch X Lionhead named Skittle. I decided she looked abit of a lonely bun & got a bee in my bonnet that she needed a boyfriend. I had her neutered on 29 December & then having spoken to my local RSPCA Small Animal Rescue Centre waited patiently for a neutered male to be available. The RSPCA told me they offered supervised bonding so that Skittle could choose her boyfriend...great i thought..perfect.
On Saturday just gone, me & Skittle went to the RSPCA & she was put in a open wire run with a 7month old beautiful Lionhead X named Mojo. She ran to him straight away & humped him then jumped off...they ignored each other for abit then he ran to her & humped her...this continued for a little while but there was no aggression between the two of them...they both groomed themselves had abit of a sniff...she lowered her head to him quite a few times & eventually rolled over on her back in front of him. This all took about 30-45 mins & the RSPCA advised that it semed a good match. They said to put Mojo in Skittle's cage when i got home & just keep an eye.
The set-up i have at home is this..Skittle has a two storey hutch (in the garage) & attached to the hutch is a large wire pen so she has access to both areas at all times.
I put the two buns in together & settled down to watch (& freeze). Mojo ran to a corner of the run & just sat there hunched while Skittle just went about her usual business appearing to ignore the intruder in her home..all appeared well. Over the next 24 hours i proceeded to run between my house & the garage to try & monitor progress..Mojo didnt appear to move from his corner & Skittle for the most part ignored him..occasionally she would go over & give him a sniff but there was no signs of aggression. Both buns were eating & drinking fine..in fact at one point Skittle was sat next to Mojo & they were both munching cabbage.
This continued until Monday morning when Mojo appeared to regain his nerve & started hopping round the run...Skittle seemed perfectly happy they were both interacting...having the occasional chase but nothing vicious then all of a sudden it all kicked off! There was fur flying in all directions & i had to separate them with a brush! All three of us were left shaking & panting heavily! The two buns hunched at opposite ends of the run looking miserable.
I rung the RSPCA immediately & they advised that Skittle was being territorial & that i try shutting Mojo in the hutch for a couple of hours to spread his scent & leave Skittle in the run...then swap them over for another couple of hours...and then reintroduce.
I got as far as swapping them over but never followed through with a re-introduction because by the afternoon Skittle's front leg was swollen & she was hardly weight-bearing. A trip to the vet showed she had puncture wounds & the swelling was probably bruising so shes now on painkillers & anitibiotics. The vet advised i keep the two buns separated for at least a week until Skittle is better.
So today is Tuesday & i have a weeks grace while i decide what to do next. Do i risk putting them together...that fight was so scary...& it all kicking off again...i cannot do 24/7 supervision as some people seem to be able to do & i cant do supervised bonding indoors as i have neither the time or the space plus its too warm indoors & both buns are outdoors. I have no other hutch or run or pen to use apart from the ones the buns are in now.
I dont want to give up on poor Mojo quite so quickly but i dont want them hurt again obviously. I feel like i've caused my poor bun unneccessary pain & anguish when i was trying to make her life more pleasant