How do I bond 2 male bunnies?

[Foxy Red]

Hi All, :wave:

Need help on bonding two male dutch dwarf lops


We bought our bunny bobby in february, and had gotten to the point where he wanted strokes on his head, his ears and would follow u saround the house..He's also litter trained. He also was grinding his teeth in contentment when we stroked him, so was happy.

We thought he might be a bit lonely thought (even though he gets attention everyday and let out to bink around the house every evening). We bought a new bunny a week ago, and found out yesterday that we had bought another boy.

We've tried to slowly introduce them (they've been in separate indoor cages, in the same room all week, and they've been in separate, but side by side runs outside.

Bobby has been going nuts though. He went bonkers on the first day (making a funny soft honking noise, (which is a mating call?) and everytime we put them together in the house, Bob humps the new boy (face and bum) I pull him off within seconds, and have tried to let one run around downstairs whilst the other runs around downstairs... but Bob still insists on humping the new little boy if he goes anywhere near him.

As soon as the new one is old enough, we will have him neutered as well. I'm also hoping that Bob's horny'ness will calm down over the next month.. Bob is now becoming unfriendly toward us, which really bothers me as we worked so hard to earn his trust over the last couple of months

They both get lots of love and their own treats, but I'm not sure what else to do!

Any thoughts or suggestions welcome!

 

[Emm-Jane76]

Now, in my opinion and remember it is only an opinion, I would bond them once the new one has been neutured.

Also, the humping is perfectly normal behaviour just so long as there is no actual physical fighting. It is Bobby trying to gain dominance over the new one.

If you do wait until the new one is neutured - just do what you are doing. Have them in the same room facing each other or in there runs next to each other just to get them used to each other. I would do this for a good while maybe a good three or four weeks or just whatever you think.

The next step would be to put them together - if humping takes place let it but just keep an eye on it and make sure there is no fighting. Do this for a good while all the time supervising them. Fingers crossed they will suss out who is dominant and live happily ever after. It may take some time but be patient. Also, once you have put them together don't keep seperating them. Keep them together otherwise they will each try dominating each other all over again.

Hope this helps and I haven't waffled!
Em x

 

[Foxy Red]

Not at all- That's really helpful! thank you

Just one query really- When you say don't separate once they've bonded, does that mean that once we put them together and they don't hump/ fight/ run away from each other.. that we should always keep them in the same cage and run etc?

 

[clairen]

:wave: I've not bonded rabbits myself but have pairs in the early stages of bonding plus bonded buns who have fought. From what I read on here the general gist seems to be:

Do not attempt to bond boys until they are both neutered, otherwise you are risking big fights. When you do bond it needs to be neutral territory (somewhere neither rabbit has been before), a small space such as your bathroom and you will need to be on hand for a few days with a broom ready in case they need separating. Chasing, fur pulling, mounting all normal in determining who will be boss, do not interrupt this process once bonding starts. If they fly at each other and latch on they will need separating immediately. Ignoring each other, mutual grooming, snuggling all promising behaviours, once snuggled you can relax. Same sex pairs not grown up together as littermates can be more difficult to bond and stay bonded but there are many who do get on (personality of the pair is important). Once bonded they must always stay together (Vet visits, car travel, etc).

Good luck!

 

[Emm-Jane76]

Agree - you said it better than I did!

I have a bonded girl pair and a bonded boy pair (the girls were harder to bond than the boys) and both pairs live seperately in their hutches. However, when I put them outside to free run in the garden all together, Penny will run around humping each one in turn as if the bonding process is beginning all over again!

 

[Foxy Red]

Ah, ok, Very interesting! Thank you very much for your help guys
I'll wait to get the new boy neutered before trying again.

Will they be ok together (once bonded in the un-nuetral territory of the house? The only place neither has been is our bedroom :S

(Bob was there first, and is allowed to run over the whole house apart from our bedroom and the study, as he's so good.)

 

[janice]

Will they be ok together (once bonded in the un-nuetral territory of the house? The only place neither has been is our bedroom :S

)

They will be able to go in the unneutral area however this will need to be thoroughly cleaned or if you are unable to clean it due to it being carpet, I would suggest you keep them off it for at least a week. Skirting etc can be wiped down with a damp cloth which has been rinced out with vingar and water solution.

Some people move rabbits from their normal territory prior to bonding into an area which is easy to clean and allow the smells in the non neutral territory to reduce. This means in the long run that you have not got 2 rabbits in a more restircted area for less time, however a single rabbit often ends up restricted for longer.

 

[holidayhutch]

This is great advice - I was going to ask similar questions later on. We've been asked if we'd have a go at bonding 2 male dutch buns for one of our boarding customers once the 2nd one has healed from his deplumming. I've never bonded rabbits before, only guinea pigs, so could be interesting.