Hello everyone, I'm new to this forum so would just like to introduce myself and 'pick some brains' about the joy of bonding rabbits :wave:
I've been reading the various posts about bonding rabbits but wondered if anyone can shed some light on my situation. We've had Bella, a Rex cross since December and she's roughly just under 5 months old (not yet neutered). She's a dear little girl, very friendly and we're very attached to her. We didn't want her being alone so 4 weeks ago we got Milo from our local RSPCA. We were advised that he was around 9 months to a year old and they arranged to have him neutered (about 5 weeks ago) - he's a Dutch by the way, a bit smaller than our Bella. Anyway, we've kept them in seperate hutches and runs opposite each other for the last 4 weeks where they have been able to see and smell each other. When Bella comes into the house we have been giving Milo the freedom of Bella's run as is it much larger than his, plus we intended that this would further allow them to 'swop' scents etc. We actually brought them face to face briefly last Thursday and Milo went straight for Bella's face, however no damage was done - I was holding Milo and my daughter was holding Bella so they were then put straight back into their hutches.The next day we brought them both together in the utility room which was neutral teritory for them both, he mounted her (several times), she mounted him, there was some nipping, nudging and fur pulling but generally it seemed to go well as on occassions Bella even laid down, at one point they laid down together but there was no mutual grooming, so after about 45 minutes we put them back in their respective hutches. The next day we expected things to get better but they seemed to take a turn for the worse; Bella was growling at Milo, wouldn't let him near her, was warning him off and pulled quite a bit of fur, poor little fella was persistent though and even tried to groom her but she was having none of it. We put them back and tried the next day, which was sort of the same (but not quite as bad) and today was a repeat of the previous day, only at one point Milo was just laying in the carrier when a noise 'spooked' Bella and she jumped in there with him and they sat together really nicely for a while so I ended up putting them in Bella's run together. I don't know if this was a good idea as he then kept pursuing her with her then proceeding to growl and nip at him and running away. I left them for some time in the hope that they would sort things out, but unfortunately not. In the end we put Milo back in his hutch but Bella now seems very subdued, she was even growling at my daughter and I when we went to feed her and was hiding under her hutch. Can anyone tell me the best course of action to take now? I'm worried that she's no longer the happy bunny we used to have and that we've really gone and upset her and that she won't be the same again. Should we carry on bringing them together in neutral teritory or should I stop until she's been neutered? Any help would be very much appreciated as I don't like seeing our little Bella like this.....Thank you.
I've been reading the various posts about bonding rabbits but wondered if anyone can shed some light on my situation. We've had Bella, a Rex cross since December and she's roughly just under 5 months old (not yet neutered). She's a dear little girl, very friendly and we're very attached to her. We didn't want her being alone so 4 weeks ago we got Milo from our local RSPCA. We were advised that he was around 9 months to a year old and they arranged to have him neutered (about 5 weeks ago) - he's a Dutch by the way, a bit smaller than our Bella. Anyway, we've kept them in seperate hutches and runs opposite each other for the last 4 weeks where they have been able to see and smell each other. When Bella comes into the house we have been giving Milo the freedom of Bella's run as is it much larger than his, plus we intended that this would further allow them to 'swop' scents etc. We actually brought them face to face briefly last Thursday and Milo went straight for Bella's face, however no damage was done - I was holding Milo and my daughter was holding Bella so they were then put straight back into their hutches.The next day we brought them both together in the utility room which was neutral teritory for them both, he mounted her (several times), she mounted him, there was some nipping, nudging and fur pulling but generally it seemed to go well as on occassions Bella even laid down, at one point they laid down together but there was no mutual grooming, so after about 45 minutes we put them back in their respective hutches. The next day we expected things to get better but they seemed to take a turn for the worse; Bella was growling at Milo, wouldn't let him near her, was warning him off and pulled quite a bit of fur, poor little fella was persistent though and even tried to groom her but she was having none of it. We put them back and tried the next day, which was sort of the same (but not quite as bad) and today was a repeat of the previous day, only at one point Milo was just laying in the carrier when a noise 'spooked' Bella and she jumped in there with him and they sat together really nicely for a while so I ended up putting them in Bella's run together. I don't know if this was a good idea as he then kept pursuing her with her then proceeding to growl and nip at him and running away. I left them for some time in the hope that they would sort things out, but unfortunately not. In the end we put Milo back in his hutch but Bella now seems very subdued, she was even growling at my daughter and I when we went to feed her and was hiding under her hutch. Can anyone tell me the best course of action to take now? I'm worried that she's no longer the happy bunny we used to have and that we've really gone and upset her and that she won't be the same again. Should we carry on bringing them together in neutral teritory or should I stop until she's been neutered? Any help would be very much appreciated as I don't like seeing our little Bella like this.....Thank you.
