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Novice rabbit owner needing bonding advice!

F

felice

New Kit
Hello, new member and first time rabbit owner here, looking for a bit of advice and maybe reassurance! :)

We adopted Caramel (male, about one year old) from a rescue centre about two months ago and it has all been going very well. He was neutered about 6 weeks ago. He has a hutch and run outside but also spends quite a lot of time indoors. He is lively and inquisitive and gets lots of attention.

We decided to adopt another bunny for company and after some looking around, got Holly (neutered female, also about a year old) three days ago. She is a bit bigger than him. They met each other for the first time at the rescue centre. This didn’t go too badly. She seemed much more interested in him than vice versa, there was some “humping” from her on him, he was mainly very passive with his head down and looked a bit alarmed but there was no fighting. After a while she lay down next to him.

We took them home in separate carriers and put them together in the run in the garden, in retrospect this was a mistake as a fight broke out (he attacked her) and they had to be separated. I know now what I should have done was to put them in with a partition between them but at the time I didn’t think of that. (I did do that the next time I put them in.)

To cut a long story short I think things have improved in that they are spending time together (both with and without a barrier between them) without fighting. They are separate at night with Caramel in his hutch and Holly, at present, in the house although the plan is to move her into the hutch when possible. However they have spent a lot of time together both indoors and outdoors. Yesterday they were running and jumping together in the run looking quite happy. I have also seen them lying together a few times and her grooming him. I’m not sure if he enjoys this or just puts up with it!

So I think things are going quite well except that she seems more interested in being friends than he does and he often gets up and moves away when she approaches him, although chasing has mainly stopped. Sometimes he will cautiously approach her though. They have eaten from the same bowl and used the same litter tray (although I have two of each). Mainly they seem quite relaxed in each other’s company.

My question is how to proceed from here and move things along? I am wary of trying too much too soon and putting them together in the hutch in case of a fight breaking out in a confined space. Any suggestions of how/when to go about this would be very welcome. Do the signs seem positive so far for their relationship?

Sorry for the long post!
 
:wave:

Bonding can take some time. When I bonded my bunnies it wasn't love at first sight, Chloe would always run away from Barney and hide but now they are inseparable. They still have the odd fight but it's normally over food. Grooming is a good sign and hopefully he will groom her back in time. Eating together and being in the same litter tray is also really positive. Just keep doing what you're doing.

:)
 
Thanks for your reply! I think I am a little over anxious as it is all new to me and I so much want them to be friends!

Hopefully all will be well :)
 
Argh, I blew it :(

As they seemed to be getting on OK I tried them both in Caramel's hutch just for a few minutes, safe to say it was not a success, fur was flying :(

Managed to extract them and put them both in the run where they mainly ignored each other, then it started raining so now they are in the house and have been sitting together and grooming, so I don't think they are too traumatised by the experience. As for me on the other hand...!

What do I do now? Husband thinks I should try again but I am way too scared. Help!
 
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Bonding takes time, and it may have been because you put them in Caramel's domain, so he felt threatened by it. Just keep them on 'neutral' ground. Have you tried swapping them around, so Caramel is in the house and Holly the hutch overnight? That'll mix their smells up, and get rid of the notion that the hutch is his.

Just a thought!

Good luck.
 
Thanks ScamperingPaws :)

I did think about doing that but wasn't sure if it was a good idea or not. I think I will give it a try though.

They are fine together in the house or the run (well, no fighting anyway) but as you say, the hutch is his domain at the moment.
 
From the sounds of it you have made a pretty good start, and if they are grooming themselves in each others company (or better still each other) that is a great sign. I am no expert, but neutral territory is key. You will need to neutralise the hutch before you put them both in together, and that will require washing it really well with a white vinegar solution (50% vinegar, 50% water). It is a good idea to swap them over so that they get used to each other smells, but what is not overly good at this time of year is swapping them between inside and outside (assuming you are in the UK of course?). This will have two problems for them; firstly, their respiratory systems don't cope well with the change in temperature; and secondly, if they have been inside over the past few weeks they may not have grown full winter coats to be able to cope with outside temperatures.

Hope that helps a little. There are lots of other bonding thread so maybe take a look at some of those if you need help as the Forum Buddies are normally great for giving advice on Bonding. :)
 
Great point about the inside/outside temperature, thanks :) I do need to get Holly used to the outdoors though so how is best to go about this? - she has been spending time outside in the run during the day (not so much today though as it has been raining a lot). I did think about putting her in Caramel's hutch outdoors for some time tomorrow if it is not too cold. What do you think?

They are getting on great at the moment, have been indoors together most of the afternoon and evening, and I am having great fun watching them interact. They have been eating together, playing, grooming themselves and each other and lying down together.
 
I'm not sure whether it's too late to put her out for the winter now... Bumping up in the hope that someone with better knowledge will be able to help you out... You could always message a Forum Buddy to ask for direct advice if you need it ASAP.xx

P.S so pleased to hear they are getting on so well
 
Ok so there have been a few posts on here about putting buns outdoors a few weeks ago and the general consensus from people was that it was already too late in the year.

I'll make a new post to see if we can get any definitive help for your situation...
 
I'm afraid it's too cold now to be taking a house rabbit outside due to the difference in temperature. They won't have the winter coat and also rapid changes in temperature are very bad for their respiratory system. Really it won't be possible to move her outside until the spring, when the weather has warmed up and it's almost the same temperature outside as it is inside. Your only option of bonding before spring really would be to bring the other one inside and bond in a small neutral area where neither bunny has ever been, and keep them both inside over winter.
 
Unfortunately if your weather is anything like mine in the Midlands where it's between 7-13 during the day and dips down lower at night it's way too late to put any bunny out this year, unless they have already been out 24/7 for weeks. We had a few sunny and warm days over the weekend but generally it's now way too cold to put any bunnies out. It sounds like you've been bringing your original male in quite a lot for long periods of time which will have meant his winter coat potentially won't have grown properly or at all, and even if your female was housed outdoors before you rescued her 3-4 days inside can easily mess up a coat growing process. You'll have to keep them both inside now until it gets much warmer which can be anywhere from May-ish onwards. Basically when the indoor and outdoor temperature is around the same, and at night it doesn't dip very low.

Putting any bunny outside now could be potentially fatal, as they won't have had time to grow a winter coat which is their primary protection against the elements. My bunnies are outside all year round and have a lovely winter coat, and I've been very concerned over the last few days due to the sudden temperature drop.

It's not recommended at all for any bunny to be regularly swapped between indoor and outdoor. It's unwise to bring any outdoor bunny inside any more than once a fortnight/once a month for anything longer than about 15 minutes, as the change in temperature can and does cause respiratory issues such as snuffles.
 
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It's given out a few warm days next week, I'd say as long as you insulate the hutch and provide levels of warmth (hay, bedding, etc etc) the rabbit will cope...
 
Jonm said:
It's given out a few warm days next week, I'd say as long as you insulate the hutch and provide levels of warmth (hay, bedding, etc etc) the rabbit will cope...
Click to expand...

i would argue not, as these are the precautions most people take with rabbits that have grown a winter coat. I think it is far too risky to put an indoor bun out now
 
I would definately not put an indoor rabbit outside at this time of year even with a friend to cuddle.
 
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