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Inky is here!

Ok, we're about an hour into the bond. I started a bit later than I intended to!

Not a great start. As soon as I put them together they went straight into the bunny tornado. During the melee one of the bonding panels fell on them. Quite a dramatic way to break it up! There were a few spiky moments after that, with both on attack mode.

Things have settled a bit now. They're mainly ignoring each other at the moment. They did go nose to nose about 10 mins ago but broke away without incident.

Fudgie isn't happy. She's quite tense and thumping a lot. Inky is happy as Larry! He's pottering around and stuffing his face. He even did a flop earlier!

They're sitting relatively close to each other now, but still ignoring. I'm hoping Fudgie will start to relax a bit so they can sort themselves out.
 
You're doing brilliantly scraps, I hope the calm increases. Inky sounds quite the character. Boo flopped & binkied for Joey when they met at rescue but he came over all DV back at home, wouldn't let her move & made her eat her poo. I know its not nice Fudgie but stick with it baby girl x
 
Thanks J&B. Fortunately they haven't been that bad! Poor Boo. We've had a few more nose to nose and then backing off. Fudgie is still wedged in the corner but is grooming herself so hopefully she's calming down a bit.
 
Ooh sounds really positive so far SLH, great work ! Keep going bunnies, it will all be worth it :thumb:
 
I absolutely admire you scraps. You’ve got far more ability and patience and expertise than I have and you have a courage I can only admire so much. I can fully relate to what you are going through - which is why I had to send Flo away to be bonded.
But you know fudgie and you are such a patient person - i know you’ll get an amazing bond. It’s just so so hard when you know what you are doing is best for both bunnies and yet they immediately put up resistance. They are such emotionally complex little animals.
Xx
 
Sending loads of vibes for you all. It sounds as though Fudgie has to accept her place and then all will be well. Tethra thumped a lot while he was being bonded to Tui.
 
Thanks all xx

We had a little chase earlier but other than that things are pretty quiet. They have been sitting relatively closely to each other and both ate from the same hay pile earlier. So still a long way to go as they haven't really begun to sort out their hierarchy, but there are some positives.

Fudgie is being a bit of an ice queen. It has surprised me a bit as she seemed very keen to meet him when they were seperated. Just goes to reinforce the fact you can never predict how they're going to react when you finally put them together!

Craig, I don't blame you for sending Flo to the bonder. The first couple of days are hard because at least one bunny looks really miserable and you feel bad for putting them through it. I have to keep telling myself it's only for a short time and they'll thank me eventually!)

Having said that, Inky's still having a great time! We've had more flops and his jaws never stop moving! He's going to cost me a fortune in hay, which is a nice problem to have when it comes to bunnies.
 
Hi everyone,

An update on our progress. I decided to suspend the bond at around 11 last night. My main reason for doing so was that I was a bit concerned about Fudgie as she hadn't really been eating very much. They were in there for about 9 hours and I'm pretty sure she hadn't done any poos.

She hadn't come out of the corner very much and when she did Inky would chase her back in. She does seem a little bit scared of him.

There were some positives though. They did end up sitting quite close together at one point. Inky is a bit of a pig. On a few occasions he would squish up quite close to her and eat her pile of food although she didn't react to that. Other than that it stayed pretty quiet most of the time.

My gut instinct last night was that Fudgie needed a break so she could relax and eat in peace. I'm not sure that was the right decision and maybe we should have powered through. I was just starting to get a bit anxious about her having a stasis episode.

Anyway, I'm going to give it a few days, then reset and go again.
 
I think that was the right decision. It's what I would have done anyway. It might also give Fudgie time to get more used to Inky and his Inky ways :) It's not a bad result, it's just not an actual result yet.
 
Thanks both.

Omi, I'm glad you agree with the decision. It's easy to doubt yourself afterwards. I think if Fudgie had eaten a bit more and gone to the loo I would have kept them going overnight. But I really do think she needed a break.

Inky does seem pretty confident around other rabbits and I think Fudgie is a bit overwhelmed by him. Hopefully in time she will start to get used to him and relax a bit more. As I mentioned, there were positive signs there yesterday. It may take a bit longer but I'm hoping they'll get there in the end.
 
yeah it does sound like there is just more work to do, its encouraging it was gradually getting better over time. I don't think I'd be up for a 24/7 hour bond these days - pretty sure I couldn't stay away regardless of the stakes. Everybun has an idea of whats what now. Lots of luck for the next session
 
Thanks J&B. I was a bit despondent when I went to bed last night. But that was because I was comparing it to when I bonded Snoopy and Fudgie, which was a much easier bond.

I was thinking about it more today and have a bit more perspective. They were in there for 9 hours and there were only three major incidents. One fight right at the beginning and two chases, which quickly fizzled out. Both chases were instigated by Inky, which is par for the course with male buns during bonding.

Anyway, I have a new plan of action. I'm booking this Friday off work so I can devote a long weekend to the beginning part of the bond. That will also give them a few more days to get used to each other.
 
It normally takes 3 days for them to bond during which time the male chases the female. The female has to acknowledge her "subordinate" position.:lol:
 
tonibun said:
It normally takes 3 days for them to bond during which time the male chases the female. The female has to acknowledge her "subordinate" position.:lol:
Click to expand...

This never happened with my bonded pair! Squirrel the female was always the alpha and was groomed all the time and led the way round the house. Maybe this was because she was two and Benji around 8 weeks when they met. They were fully bonded by time he was three months old.

Good luck with the next bonding session! I hope Fudgie got her appetite back.
 
It honestly sounds like you made the right decision to me. Like you, I would've been worried about Fudgie not eating and pooping much, and so I would've given her a break, too. It does sound like there were some positives, and only three major incidents in nine hours sounds pretty promising to me. Best of luck this weekend. I hope Fudgie will feel more comfortable with Inky after her break, and that she'll feel safe enough to eat.
 
Zarla said:
This never happened with my bonded pair! Squirrel the female was always the alpha and was groomed all the time and led the way round the house. Maybe this was because she was two and Benji around 8 weeks when they met. They were fully bonded by time he was three months old.
Click to expand...
Same, ish, my man was always subordinate, he just wanted a quiet life! Couldn't see either of my girls NOT being top bun TBH :lol:

Best of luck SLH, you're doing great :D
 
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