willow and squiggles
Mama Doe
ive just gave them pellets. no fighting which has surprised me x
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bonding 8 rabbits diary
- Thread starter willow and squiggles
- Start date
ive just gave them pellets. no fighting which has surprised me x
willow and squiggles
Mama Doe
they are like this one minute then chasing the next lol..
willow and squiggles
Mama Doe
its a massive improvement from 11 o clock this morning. how long can i keep them in this 2ftx2ft pen it seems like high level cruelty to them. I know it will be worth it if it works but thats whats upsetting me the most, having loads of space to none at all.
joey&boo
Wise Old Thumper
Yeah Boo (F) was very snippy, lungey & chasey towards Mouse (F) (Mouse never retaliated). There were never any wounds, lock-ons or boxing. It took them 7 months til I would say they were firmly bonded, now they are forever lying about in each others arms
Joey has always appeared to like having two wives. Like you are noticing it would be lovely & calm for increasing amounts of time but it often felt like 2 steps forward, 1 back. I think full on fighting is more of a worry & a bad sign. Your four look really lovely & cosy there.willow and squiggles
Mama Doe
the buns settled down about 2 o clock last night and at around 4 i seen some lovely grooming action going on.
they all started again at 7 this morning trying to jump out the pen and landing on each other which set off chasing again. i think this is because i have a strict routine with them and they get set free at 7. i fed them some alfalfa to quiet them down and decided to move them all into the 6ft bottom hutch with the other extensions boarded up. hubby soaked it in white vingar and scrubbed they dried it with the air dryer.
as soon as they got let in it they calmed and they are still there with no chasing at all
they all started again at 7 this morning trying to jump out the pen and landing on each other which set off chasing again. i think this is because i have a strict routine with them and they get set free at 7. i fed them some alfalfa to quiet them down and decided to move them all into the 6ft bottom hutch with the other extensions boarded up. hubby soaked it in white vingar and scrubbed they dried it with the air dryer.
as soon as they got let in it they calmed and they are still there with no chasing at all
Gemmapookie
Wise Old Thumper
You must be exhausted you poor thing!
I'm following this closely as I'm bonding (or attempting to bond!) my 2 couples on 2 weeks time. Absolutely dreading it! It's the lack of sleep that will kill me. I'm considering putting each couple in to different rooms over night so we can all sleep, but is this a dangerous move for the bond? :?
I'm following this closely as I'm bonding (or attempting to bond!) my 2 couples on 2 weeks time. Absolutely dreading it! It's the lack of sleep that will kill me. I'm considering putting each couple in to different rooms over night so we can all sleep, but is this a dangerous move for the bond? :?
joey&boo
Wise Old Thumper
Good bunnies being nice & calm - hope they keep it up.
Gemmapookie I think you have to do what you can...i don't think it would be a dangerous move but it may set them back a little. I had to separate mine at night for the first week or so. I'd just balance up the progress they make against how tired & emotional you get- play it be ear so to speak. You'll probably have to adapt any bonding plans as you go along anyway. Good luck
Gemmapookie I think you have to do what you can...i don't think it would be a dangerous move but it may set them back a little. I had to separate mine at night for the first week or so. I'd just balance up the progress they make against how tired & emotional you get- play it be ear so to speak. You'll probably have to adapt any bonding plans as you go along anyway. Good luck
Gemmapookie
Wise Old Thumper
willow and squiggles
Mama Doe
thanks they have been amazing, its true what joey&boo says play in by ear. you know your buns best. most recommend keeping them in the small space and make bigger very slowly but i knew the small space was causing more problems. i think its trial and error sometimes. i said i wasnt gunna bond the two quads together after this but now i think ill wait some weeks for bond to strenghthen the try all 8 with my husband. this forum or should i say the lovely people have been a god send for me, thanks everyone
willow and squiggles
Mama Doe
Scrappy's Little Helper
Mama Doe
I'm afraid I don't have any advice as I've never bonded myself before but I just wanted to send you some extra bonding vibes. I really do admire your tenacity and determination!
Mischief and Tinker's Mum
Wise Old Thumper
Who is with who now? Sorry I'm getting confused! Looks to be going well though.
willow and squiggles
Mama Doe
im bonding the two pairs into a quad. darcy and blitzen, and tiggi and cosmo. they are in the bottom hutch, but only a small section of it. They have not done any chasing in the last couple of hours just humping, but ive seen them grooming each other. im going to lie on the sofa now and nod off for a bit i might get an hour before they wake me xxx
I think you've done fantastically well for these rabbits so far The "downstairs" quad looks good to me (says she she's never done bonding in her life ).
So, if I've understood correctly, if this quad works you will then have two quads, yes? And this quad is all babies? How wonderful My three are rescue rabbits, but are in fact Mum, Dad and Son. I don't know whether they are closer because of this, but they are incredibly close.
I hope you managed to get some sleep.
The "downstairs" quad looks good to me (says she she's never done bonding in her life ). So, if I've understood correctly, if this quad works you will then have two quads, yes? And this quad is all babies? How wonderful
My three are rescue rabbits, but are in fact Mum, Dad and Son. I don't know whether they are closer because of this, but they are incredibly close. I hope you managed to get some sleep.
MightyMax
Banned
What a labour of love, but so worth it :thumb:
I really hope you got some rest ....
willow and squiggles
Mama Doe
lol.. they are amazing. they have groomed each other, snuggled and flopped in a big heap. ive even tried them outside today in the garden and bun shed and they were great. built the new hutch to add on and took the doors off and lino down today. i thought there would be some scuffles but none so far. im so very proud of them. tonight is my last night on the sofa to put my mind at rest about them fighting over the added hutch. all your bonding vibes must have worked because on day one i thought i would need a miracle lol.. im going to need to try to bond all 8 together because when willow is free range he fights non stop with cosmo through the bottom bars of the hutch. im leaving it a month or so yet as they have had lots of change already.
i even put curtains round the bottom to stop the fights lol.. lops lodge in now complete i think. one question though, this set up is big enough for 8 bonded rabbits isnt it?
i even put curtains round the bottom to stop the fights lol.. lops lodge in now complete i think. one question though, this set up is big enough for 8 bonded rabbits isnt it?
