Hi everyone. I need some encouragement and suggestions on how to proceed with an apparently difficult bonding. This looks like a great forum and I'm hoping you guys might be able to guide me.
Background: My husband I had a rescued bunny for seven years before we had kids. After a gap of about 9 years, and with kids 9 and 7, I decided to get back into bunny keeping, as they are great little companions. I enjoy caretaking and knew the girls would enjoy them as well. So we picked out a cute bun named Lily from the shelter and brought her home with the idea that after she settled in, and we did as well, we'd get a second bunny if it seemed right. Lily is great and we decided after two months to give her a companion.
We adopted Elvira about 5 weeks ago. She seemed fairly calm for a young rabbit (2-5 months) and had been in the shelter with her sisters. We did not have the luxury of pre-choice dating, but she seemed a good candidate and had a similar background to Lily. We brought Elvira home and gave her a couple of weeks to pass a quarantine period before introducing her to Lily. They are both spade and healthy, so I researched all the bonding advice I could find on the internet.
First, I moved their cages side by side. I then introduced them in a small neutral area of the house (a pen in the garage). Lily was interested in Elvira, but the moment she got close, Elvira jumped and bolted, resulting in a tussle that I would call the only real fight. It lasted only for a moment, but portended a rough go of this process.
We dated several more times in the garage. Lily would slowly approach to initiate contact and Elvira would run. I researched more and moved the dates to a small bathroom. However, it was not small enough, and Lily would approach and Elvira would run. There were plenty of moments of disinterest by both, but nothing more.
At first I was being too harsh on stopping all non-positive acts, but I read more and was able to let up and let them interact if they tried. I next moved them into a bathtub. That is where we get the best interaction. There has been chasing, but Elvira usually gives up eventually and just lies down. She always appears tense, but not always with her ears back. She typically will not eat or explore. She just hunkers down. She does not show any interest in Lily at all. When they are together, her normal bunny tendencies disappear and she tries not to be seen.
During the bath sessions, she will tolerate Lily sniffing her, nudging her, and lying next to her. In the first couple of sessions, Lily mounted Elvira, who did not fight back. Lily has not been doing this lately, though she will nip Elvira's rear during the brief chases. They both stomp. Lily will flop beside her sometimes and rest. Elvira always remains tense, but will stay beside Lily for a period of time. Sometimes the 30 minute to hour sessions start with running and end with this tense truce. Sometimes it alternates between disinterest, tense closeness, and chasing, which I stop if it does not resolve quickly. Lily has licked Elvira's ears a couple of times, but no real grooming takes place.
At couple of weeks ago I started swapping which cages they stay in. I've also tried stressing. We put them in a cardboard box in a car and drove them around. There was a little fear based moving by Elvira, but they generally just sat on different sides of the box and did nothing during the experience. I've tried putting them in a box by the running treadmill or vacuum. More of the same.
So, I feel like there has been absolutely no progress. I just for the heck of it put them in the outside cage today that has a large yard/run. Lily seemed a bit aggressive going for Elvira and Elvira ran like a race horse.
It's been three weeks at this point and I feel fairly discouraged. Where should I go next?
Background: My husband I had a rescued bunny for seven years before we had kids. After a gap of about 9 years, and with kids 9 and 7, I decided to get back into bunny keeping, as they are great little companions. I enjoy caretaking and knew the girls would enjoy them as well. So we picked out a cute bun named Lily from the shelter and brought her home with the idea that after she settled in, and we did as well, we'd get a second bunny if it seemed right. Lily is great and we decided after two months to give her a companion.
We adopted Elvira about 5 weeks ago. She seemed fairly calm for a young rabbit (2-5 months) and had been in the shelter with her sisters. We did not have the luxury of pre-choice dating, but she seemed a good candidate and had a similar background to Lily. We brought Elvira home and gave her a couple of weeks to pass a quarantine period before introducing her to Lily. They are both spade and healthy, so I researched all the bonding advice I could find on the internet.
First, I moved their cages side by side. I then introduced them in a small neutral area of the house (a pen in the garage). Lily was interested in Elvira, but the moment she got close, Elvira jumped and bolted, resulting in a tussle that I would call the only real fight. It lasted only for a moment, but portended a rough go of this process.
We dated several more times in the garage. Lily would slowly approach to initiate contact and Elvira would run. I researched more and moved the dates to a small bathroom. However, it was not small enough, and Lily would approach and Elvira would run. There were plenty of moments of disinterest by both, but nothing more.
At first I was being too harsh on stopping all non-positive acts, but I read more and was able to let up and let them interact if they tried. I next moved them into a bathtub. That is where we get the best interaction. There has been chasing, but Elvira usually gives up eventually and just lies down. She always appears tense, but not always with her ears back. She typically will not eat or explore. She just hunkers down. She does not show any interest in Lily at all. When they are together, her normal bunny tendencies disappear and she tries not to be seen.
During the bath sessions, she will tolerate Lily sniffing her, nudging her, and lying next to her. In the first couple of sessions, Lily mounted Elvira, who did not fight back. Lily has not been doing this lately, though she will nip Elvira's rear during the brief chases. They both stomp. Lily will flop beside her sometimes and rest. Elvira always remains tense, but will stay beside Lily for a period of time. Sometimes the 30 minute to hour sessions start with running and end with this tense truce. Sometimes it alternates between disinterest, tense closeness, and chasing, which I stop if it does not resolve quickly. Lily has licked Elvira's ears a couple of times, but no real grooming takes place.
At couple of weeks ago I started swapping which cages they stay in. I've also tried stressing. We put them in a cardboard box in a car and drove them around. There was a little fear based moving by Elvira, but they generally just sat on different sides of the box and did nothing during the experience. I've tried putting them in a box by the running treadmill or vacuum. More of the same.
So, I feel like there has been absolutely no progress. I just for the heck of it put them in the outside cage today that has a large yard/run. Lily seemed a bit aggressive going for Elvira and Elvira ran like a race horse.
It's been three weeks at this point and I feel fairly discouraged. Where should I go next?
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