Bonding Advice

[Chris&Georgie]

Hello Serious essay alert!!
I have welcomed a lovely new recuse into my family Peggy. She is a 1 and half year old Lionhead. At first I had a 9 month old mini lop Georgie. He was starting to get a bit lonely and also was seriously into me. We got him neutered and he had calmed down a lot and is absolutely amazing he is like a little dog. He is so Calm and relaxed and thought it was the perfect time to adopt. Anyways we have had Peggy for 2 weeks next to him in her own cage. We introduced them for the first time yesterday and it went ok. He mounted her quite aggressively but she submitted and let him. He done this a few times until he started to get a bit too bitey and she didn’t like it so I stopped it, petted them both and took them away from each other. We done the same thing today and he just laid there. He didn’t move at all, but he didn’t seem too scared. She was licking him, bowing down in front of him and snuggling right in. He just laid there and did nothing at all, just completely ignored her. I tried pushing him next to her a bit and he just wasn’t bothered in the slightest. Is that a good thing? She really tried to get his attention, nudged gently and laid next to him snuggling her head in, she was really gentle with him. Are they now Slightly bonded and he is the dominant one? Or was he just petrified? He was fine yesterday when they met. Nothing bad happened. I’m really sorry for the essay just not sure what to do now?
Any suggestions will be really helpful x

 

[joey&boo]

Its submissive bun that tends to do the grooming. Peggy is asking for grooms to be reciprocated but for now your boy is reticent as he wants to hang on to top bun position. He's also learning to trust her. Great he isn't running away or being aggressive. It does sound really positive now. Often they also go though a pretending the other bunny isn't there / ignoring stage. I reckon these two sound ready for the next session to be an ongoing one - if you can spare the time to supervise they could be tightly & securely bonded in a day or 2

If you feel you'd like them to interact more try feeding a big pile of forage, herbs etc. Eating together is important for bunnies & their developing bond.

Good luck. I don't think you'll have any problems.

Do you agree tonibun?

 

[tonibun]

I have usually found the dominant bunny does the grooming but it isn't that important, The crucial factor is that they are not fighting and every hour they spend together with no fights is an hour closer to having a happily bonded pair. Are they in a small space or can she run away if he chases her? She seems very friendly towards him so I think they will bond well. It takes a few days for them to settle down with one another.

 

[Chris&Georgie]

Thank you both for replying .
I have been putting them on the bathroom floor as it’s neutral and they have both never been in there. There is enough room to get away but not enough to completely run away. She is way more interested in him than he is. I think she really is in love. He just doesn’t seem to be bothered. I think it is a trust thing also, she nipped him a few times as he was ignoring her, which he didn’t like. I hope it is just a phase. She is also very fast, I think he feels she is charging sometimes when she is just quicker at reacting. He stomped once as well which was the only bad thing to happen and that was just after she nipped him.
Thank you for the advice I will increase the time they are together. Really made me feel better about it. Thank you so much

 

[tonibun]

It takes a few days before they start to settle down with one another so just keep going as you are :thumb: