hi, i'm really looking for help to see if there's a way to bond my two male buns, who seem to like each other, but i'm just not sure!! any advice or experience would be hugely appreciated.
they're my first rabbits, and were kept together as babies pre-neutering. they fought before they were neutered, and it was only when i left my vet at the time to find another vet who would neuter them urgently (as my vet was very relaxed and unworried) and check if they'd hurt each other, that i was told they should have been keep separate, neutered, then bonded. i felt like an idiot and cried a lot as i knew i'd put them in danger, but it's too late now. i waited two months then tried to bond them after that. i knew it might be difficult due to the fighting and both being male but i am not willing to give either of them up so had to try.
the first time i did a bonding session with them, it seemed to go well. they slept lying next to each other, they groomed each other, they shared food. so i decided to do a marathon session. by the end of two days they were sleeping cuddling, sharing food, grooming, sharing litter boxes. everything looked good. and then at about 72 hours they had a HUGE fight and had to be separated. one had a little cut on his nose and urinated in fear, i think.
now i don't know what to do. they went such a long time together and i was almost sure they were bonded when the fight happened. so i'm honestly scared to try again. how will i know when they're really bonded? is marathon bonding a bad idea? it's been three months since then, is it worth trying again?
it's hard to explain their current set-up, but at the moment they live in a shed and both have access to attached runs (there are two runs which are meant to be one big run, but they're currently separate). from 8am to 8/9pm one rabbit has access to most of the shed and an outdoor run, and the other has access to a smaller hutch inside the shed and an outdoor run. so if they are both indoors they can see each other and the same is true if they are outdoors.
every morning they are swapped, so they both have territory and litter boxes in common. they often touch noses through the mesh of their runs or share hay through the mesh. and i have found when they accidentally get close to each other they're very calm, and sometimes touch noses again. they never bite at each other through the bars, and sometimes mirror each other, so i think they like each other or at least aren't threatened by each other. but honestly, after the last bonding experience, i worry i'm wrong??
they have been neutered for five and a half months, and are absolutely lovely boys. they both love being groomed and hand fed, and love to zoomie and binky. but they are also quite big buns, and could easily hurt each other. i want them to bond and have company, but i'm scared if i try and they hurt each other again, this calm between them may go away?
i also find it hard to move them for bonding sessions, as they hate being picked up (and honestly i'm so scared of doing it) and distrust their carriers, so i'd love some advice on how to move them for bonding sessions? at the moment i have been leaving their carriers in their runs with treats and hay inside to win their trust, which seems to be working on one rabbit but the other is still very suspicious
thank you so much in advance!!
they're my first rabbits, and were kept together as babies pre-neutering. they fought before they were neutered, and it was only when i left my vet at the time to find another vet who would neuter them urgently (as my vet was very relaxed and unworried) and check if they'd hurt each other, that i was told they should have been keep separate, neutered, then bonded. i felt like an idiot and cried a lot as i knew i'd put them in danger, but it's too late now. i waited two months then tried to bond them after that. i knew it might be difficult due to the fighting and both being male but i am not willing to give either of them up so had to try.
the first time i did a bonding session with them, it seemed to go well. they slept lying next to each other, they groomed each other, they shared food. so i decided to do a marathon session. by the end of two days they were sleeping cuddling, sharing food, grooming, sharing litter boxes. everything looked good. and then at about 72 hours they had a HUGE fight and had to be separated. one had a little cut on his nose and urinated in fear, i think.
now i don't know what to do. they went such a long time together and i was almost sure they were bonded when the fight happened. so i'm honestly scared to try again. how will i know when they're really bonded? is marathon bonding a bad idea? it's been three months since then, is it worth trying again?
it's hard to explain their current set-up, but at the moment they live in a shed and both have access to attached runs (there are two runs which are meant to be one big run, but they're currently separate). from 8am to 8/9pm one rabbit has access to most of the shed and an outdoor run, and the other has access to a smaller hutch inside the shed and an outdoor run. so if they are both indoors they can see each other and the same is true if they are outdoors.
every morning they are swapped, so they both have territory and litter boxes in common. they often touch noses through the mesh of their runs or share hay through the mesh. and i have found when they accidentally get close to each other they're very calm, and sometimes touch noses again. they never bite at each other through the bars, and sometimes mirror each other, so i think they like each other or at least aren't threatened by each other. but honestly, after the last bonding experience, i worry i'm wrong??
they have been neutered for five and a half months, and are absolutely lovely boys. they both love being groomed and hand fed, and love to zoomie and binky. but they are also quite big buns, and could easily hurt each other. i want them to bond and have company, but i'm scared if i try and they hurt each other again, this calm between them may go away?
i also find it hard to move them for bonding sessions, as they hate being picked up (and honestly i'm so scared of doing it) and distrust their carriers, so i'd love some advice on how to move them for bonding sessions? at the moment i have been leaving their carriers in their runs with treats and hay inside to win their trust, which seems to be working on one rabbit but the other is still very suspicious
thank you so much in advance!!
