Rebonding a male and female please help!!

[Larissa]

Hello fellow bunny lovers,

I posted back in December about my two buns who I sadly had to separate, and now I've just begun the process of rebonding them! I'll give you the quick background info:
I adopted a brother and sister who got on really well. Hector became mature and we had him castrated. We kept him and Amelie separated (one in the cage and one outside in the room and always swapped them round) and they were allowed to play together under supervision - as I heard the female can still get pregnant weeks after castration. A couple of days before I was planning on putting them together a fight broke out and Hector scratched Amelie's eye pretty badly and we had to take a trip to the vet.
They've both been living in two seperate cages and taking it in turns to come out and run about. In January Amelie was spayed and last weekend I started bunny dates!

So I basically just want to check if everything I'm doing is okay as I'm worried if I don't do it right they won't like each other again!!

The first bunny date went well, it was only around 10 - 15 minutes long. Amelie explored the new room (just the hallway so it's not too big) and Hector was interested in Amelie. They both touched noses and sat there, I think they were both waiting for the other one to start grooming but as no one did I stroked both of their heads (is that allowed in bunny dates if I stroke them or am I interfering?) and after a while they both looked very relaxed and sleepy.
The second bunny date - the next day went worse, they touched noses but Amelie was too nervous around Hector, as he started chasing her and then she started chasing him and so I stopped the date as they started circling each other.
The third bunny date (the next weekend) was a bit of a mixture. They sat there touching noses and Amelie put her head under Hector's tummy, but as she went to explore the room he followed her and it seems like she's just too scared of him, as she started running away and thumping. Oh yes I also rubbed a bit of apple on Hector's head in the hope that Amelie would lick it off and he would think shes grooming her, but she completely ignored it and afterwards I had to clean his head for him :lol:
They also touch noses through the cage when they're in their "normal" territory where they live, and they've started doing it more often now.

Soooo am I just being over protective and should I let him chase her?! I'm just scared that another fight will break out again and then they will hate each other! I was thinking the next date I should just make it really short, let them touch each others noses and be relaxed and then stop the date as then at least they both have a positive memory, as I always think that if I stop the date when Amelie's stressed and Hector's chasing her then she will always think of it as a negative memory - what do you think?
I also wanted to ask how often do I have to have bunny dates - do they have to be every day or is it also allowed if I just do twice/three times every weekend? My boyfriend works a lot of the time late during the week and I don't really want to do the bunny date completely alone!

Thanks for reading my long post!!!
Larissa

 

[Zoobec]

It is normally recommended to wait 6 weeks after spay/neuter as the hormones take a while to subside, so it may be beneficial to wait until 6 weeks after Amelie's op. I would recommend getting some puppy panels or a dog crate to bond in, puppy panels are probably better as you can intervene more easily. You really need a small space, say 4ftx2ft to bond in, so that there's less opportunity for chasing, and expand the space slowly after each 48hr period of no chasing etc. Although a lot of people do do the dating method most people do it where they put them together and leave them together, which has the advantage of not having to start again each time. Obviously you need to closely supervise them, I bonded in the living room and slept on the settee :lol: some chasing/fur pulling and mounting is normal but you need to be very careful that chasing doesn't escalate into circling and then fighting. There is no one size fits all approach when it comes to bonding though.

 

[tonibun]

The boy should be able to chase the female a little bit, this helps them to sort out the hierarchy, and it is normal (good) if the female is a bit scared of him. This will cease in about 3 days then the bonding will be able to develop more. I do hope they will get along as brother sister bonds are usually really good.

 

[Larissa]

Thanks for the comments!
They had another date yesterday but this time in the bath tub - which turned into a fight literally straight away... so it's back to the hallway for now. I'll let them sort out their problems their selves and try not to interfere unless they really fight/circle! Amelie was spayed right at the beginning of January so it's been over 6 weeks now, she's already a lot calmer (and has stopped weeing everywhere) which is a relief. I'm going to have a ring around the rescue centres here and ask if they have any one who can help me bond them as I heard that in England they do that?? I live in Germany so I hope they do too.
I'll keep you updated and thanks again