Rabbit Bonding - bad behaviour at late stage

[Henning]

We have two mini-lop rabbits who we have been bonding for two months. This is the second attempt at bonding and whilst there were small instances of bad behaviour at the beginning, they have been very content with each other and we have been able to expand their bonding area incrementally over this time.

Until this evening there has been no hint of bad behaviour from them and they have flopped together regularly and groomed each other etc, however today one was trying to hump the face of the other when we were getting to the point of thinking that they were ready to start 24hr bonding. This meant pulling them apart three times, as they seemed agitated and we were concerned that behaviour would escalate into fighting.

Five minutes later they were grooming again and seemed OK, but we are worried about the next steps as we didn't feel that this would have these problems at this late stage. Whilst we understand humping can still occur, the repeated attempts of face humping seemed like a cause for concern.

Does anyone have any advice regarding this issue? Can it be expected at this stage and what should our next step be?

Thanks in advance!

 

[joey&boo]

Welcome! Don't worry, typically well matched bunnies need a day or two (sometimes more) of non stop time together to sort out their differences / hierarchy.

Can you give a bit more info about the bonding thats happened prior to their falling out tonight. Have they been dating so far? I mention as you say you thought they were ready for 24/7 bonding soon.

 

[Omi]

Welcome! Don't worry, typically well matched bunnies need a day or two (sometimes more) of non stop time together to sort out their differences / hierarchy.

Can you give a bit more info about the bonding thats happened prior to their falling out tonight. Have they been dating so far? I mention as you say you thought they were ready for 24/7 bonding soon.

I would ask this too. If you have been putting the rabbits together and then splitting them up, it can get confusing for them and then they could get frustrated.

 

[bunny momma]

Are they neutered?

 

[tonibun]

It sounds like boys? Are they both neutered? We are now entering into "Spring Fever" season which can make bonding more tricky.

 

[Shimmer]

If they are both neutered (and have been for at least a couple of months) and they seem to be generally Ok when they are together, you just need to let them get on with it. Find a neutral space where you can closely monitor them for a couple of days and just leave them together. Continually separating them means they are unable to form a proper bond and sort out the heirarchy between them. There's likely to be some chasing, humping, fur pulling - but that's normal. Anything more than that can result in a full locked-on fight, blood drawn, etc - and that's when you need to intervene.

I would also restrict the area they have for longer than you think, just to ensure a stable bond. Sometimes, giving them extra space too soon results in more unstable behaviour between them. It's worth it, though.