My partner and I had two female mini lops who had been bonded since they were babies. Unfortunately one passed away about 6 weeks ago. We waited 2 weeks and then got a male rescue rabbit to keep our remaining bun company. He is also a mini lop. Both are spayed/neutered
. The female is 3 and the male is 4. He has had a rough time of it but was happily sharing a hutch with a female rabbit at the rescue.
It's been about a month now and we seem to be stuck in a rut with the bonding. We introduced them in a neutral area of our home and they are in separate hutches next to each other. We are swapping them over each night to avoid either becoming territorial about one hutch.
The introduction went okay. There were a couple of little scraps but also a lot of sniffing and some grooming. The rabbits have had a "date" almost every day since. They are interested in one another, and will eat/lie down/clean themselves in front of each other, but they also keep having little scraps. We try to intercept at the first sign of aggression before they actually bite each other.
The frustrating thing at the moment is that I'm not seeing any progress. There is no dominant rabbit and neither seems interested in taking this role - there has been no mounting at all. They just seem interested in and aware of each other but prone to scrapping when one gets too close to the other.
Any ideas on how we can gently coax things on to the next level? We have tried giving them a bath to encourage them to groom but they just groomed themselves! I know stressing the rabbits on a car ride might help but they are so unpredictable together that I daren't put them in a carrier together.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions
. The female is 3 and the male is 4. He has had a rough time of it but was happily sharing a hutch with a female rabbit at the rescue.
It's been about a month now and we seem to be stuck in a rut with the bonding. We introduced them in a neutral area of our home and they are in separate hutches next to each other. We are swapping them over each night to avoid either becoming territorial about one hutch.
The introduction went okay. There were a couple of little scraps but also a lot of sniffing and some grooming. The rabbits have had a "date" almost every day since. They are interested in one another, and will eat/lie down/clean themselves in front of each other, but they also keep having little scraps. We try to intercept at the first sign of aggression before they actually bite each other.
The frustrating thing at the moment is that I'm not seeing any progress. There is no dominant rabbit and neither seems interested in taking this role - there has been no mounting at all. They just seem interested in and aware of each other but prone to scrapping when one gets too close to the other.
Any ideas on how we can gently coax things on to the next level? We have tried giving them a bath to encourage them to groom but they just groomed themselves! I know stressing the rabbits on a car ride might help but they are so unpredictable together that I daren't put them in a carrier together.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions