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Can anyone please help with bonding in Surrey/London?

S

sammywoo

Warren Scout
Hi there,

I have just joined the forum as I am at my wits end with my bunnies and wondering if anyone can help!

They are brothers that we got at 8 and a half weeks. They are house bunnies and we bought them a shared cage with the view that they would have that area as their secure space for the first view weeks until they were litter trained and we had bunny proofed. I had been doing my research online and wanted them neutered asap but the vets told us over the phone to wait until 16 weeks. When they went for their vaccinations at 11 weeks they then said they could be done now but we couldn't get an appointment until 13 weeks. Inbetween times they started fighting, which in hindsight wasn't really much of a fight, just fur pulling and circling. Not that we realised that at the time and we separated them when they did that. We got a pen which we put right next to the cage and alternated them each night so they didn't get overly territorial about one space. Now the fighting was very intermittent, most of the time they were snuggling, grooming and running around together. We could still take them to the vet in the same carrier and there no problems.

So, we kept them separate for a couple of days post neuter to heal and we didn't have any problems for about 10 days. Now they are 17 weeks (4 weeks post-neuter) and just launch at eachother and have full on fights, locking and they have both drawn blood once which has now healed. So they are now not being let out together at all, even with supervision. The cages are still in the same room as we are trying to keep our other rooms neutral for possibly reintroducing them. But now they box and nip through the bars, so the cages can't be close together. The bottom line is that despite all the online research I'm doing, I don't really have a clue what I'm doing!

Shall I now wait a few more weeks for the hormone levels to subside and then try reintroducing them in a neutral area? They have both escaped from the living room in the past and walked through all the other rooms, although they haven't spent any considerable length of time there. If there is anybody who has previous experience of bonding rabbits I would really appreciate some advice and possibly some help in doing so. I'd be devastated to have to get rid of one of them, but on the other hand, I don't want them to be caged all day and be miserable xxx
 
Hi there, that sounds difficult! When I bonded boys it was with trios or very young, so its a bit different. I'm sure someone can advise you on hormone levels and how long you should leave it, but when you're ready..I always start by taking them to in the carry case on a short journey. I don't have a car, so this has been to the vet to pay a bill, or a short train ride. Maybe lasting about an hr in total. Assuming the mild stress has made them cuddle up, and not fight, I then I put them in a very small area, like the shower cubicle at home. i gradually increase the size of the area as time goes on. Key points are not to have any hidyholes, everyone must be in fu sight the whole time. When they've progressed to the kitchen or bathroom floor then give them a mound of hay, and once bonded DO NOT SEPARATE! Keep them together, even to go to the vets.

That's just my experience. I'm sure there'll be lots more advice along in a minute :)

You could always get a few girls, and bond the group. That would be exciting, and put things on a whole new level!!!
 
It is recommended you wait 6 - 8 weeks for hormone levels to drop after neutering. This doesn't mean to say there will be no more fighting. The chances that they will still fight are high but you might be lucky. Most brothers fight at around 14 weeks. Adding some females is not a good idea at this stage as the girls would first of all have to be spayed and another 8 weeks elapse before any bonding could be tried. Your best bet would be to swap one of your boys for a neutered girl from a rescue then hopefully you will get a happy pair of bunnies. I don't know if a rescue would do a swap. People ought to be informed of the consequences of buying 2 brothers before they go ahead in order to avoid problems.
 
Thanks for your replies Tonibun and Smallbrownfrog.

You are so right Tonibun, I do feel that when we bought them we were not properly informed about the difficulties of having two boys and what precautions we should take. We were actually encouraged to have two boys as opposed to two girls. I wish we had kept them apart until at least now, but hindsight is a wonderful thing.

At the moment the thought of having to get rid of one is really upsetting, we don't have the space or finances to have any more unfortunately so that's not an option. However, I do feel that may be the only way forward.

I don't know if we are aggravating things by having both cages in the same room. Is it possible they are getting jealous of the other one when he is running around free and getting attention from us? Do you think we should put them in different rooms? And do you think we should continue swapping them into each cage? I am going to keep them separate now until 8 weeks and then try again somewhere neutral and see what happens. If no success then it may be we have to swap one of them for a speyed female :-(


Thanks again and if anybody else can add anything it would be much appreciated xxx
 
2 females can be territorial and fight too. I had two female litter mates and kept them together and I had them neutered as soon as the vet would do it. They did have to be separated once (as silly vet wouldn't allow the non-poorly bun to stay with sister bun) and I then had to go through the bonding process. After that there was a little bit of food agression and some chasing but they did lie next to each other and groom. I would always recommend one of each for a bonded pair. Is the bath tub still neutral territory? You could try bonding them in there.
 
Is the bath tub still neutral territory? You could try bonding them in there.[/QUOTE]

The problem we have is that they are both quite highly strung and as much as we can stroke them and they come up for a cuddle when they choose, we can't pick them up! So getting them in and out of the bathtub would be pretty impossible in the event of a scuffle x
 
Hi Sam.

I e-mailed in response to your earlier enquiry to The Rabbit Crossing and sent some notes on how I bond which might help a bit if you want to have a go at bonding the boys.

I would strongly recommend not using a bath tub! Injuries and scared bunnies will probably result.

Helen
 
Helen, thankyou so much for your reply. For some reason it was sitting in my inbox but didn't come through to my phone so I didn't know it was sitting there. I have replied now x

Thanks Alice's mum for the link. That certainly seems to be the case with my buns. I am going to do some home rearranging tonight so they are kept in separate rooms, difficult with limited space! If rebonding doesn't work I'm going to have to buy a new house so I can keep them both, one bedroom per bunny, plus a mate for each! x
 
I've been on that website and it was really helpful. But when I emailed the owner she said not to even try bonding them and once they've started fighting there's no way back. Will try and perservere though for now. Thanks for all the helpful advice xxx
 
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