Taking the plunge...U/D FAIL!

[Jolysium]

After my disastrous attempt to bond Harrison and Freda I never wanted to try again, but having three single bunnies is far from ideal. Freda was terrified of Harrison so I wondered if she'd be better with Fred as he's closer to her size and a lot less young and bouncy! Unfortunately Fred's had an ongoing health issue that has prevented me from introducing them.

We went to the vet a couple of days ago expecting more bad news but Fred had actually managed to put some weight on! I'm now off for a few days so am attempting to introduce them...

I put them in the bath together (really don't have anywhere else neutral) with a towel on the floor and loads of hay. There was some intial scrapping and fur pulling but not as bad as Freda and Harrison so I've mostly left them to it, only intervening when it gets a bit more serious. Poor Fred has lost loads of fur and hasn't really fought back that much, seems to be mostly defending himself. There have been several outbreaks of scuffles but in between there has been some grooming (both ways), some humping and thumping (Freda) and some tentative flopping.

It certainly seems to be going much better than my last attempt Please send bunny love vibes for them, I really want it to work out!

Question - they're going to have to live in one of their original rooms and neither can be very thoroughly neutralised - carpet, soft furnishings etc. How do I move them in together to an area that one of them will think of as theirs?!

 

[Elena]

You can neutralise carpet, you can either spray it with a vinegar/water mix and leave to dry or brush in bicarb, leave it for a while and then hoover up.

For soft furnishings I just spray with vinegar/water and leave to dry. When neutralising the bunny rooms I basically went round and anything under three foot got sprayed

 

[Jolysium]

Ooh ok, I'll give it a go! Hope we don't have any guests for a while if I've sprayed vinegar everywhere :lol:

 

[Jolysium]

 

[Captain Helen]

Awwww, that's looking good! At this time of year when they're moulting, I think fur pulling looks so much worse than it is. They're destined to be together with their names :lol: Sending lots of easy bonding vibes xx

 

[Elena]

Ooh ok, I'll give it a go! Hope we don't have any guests for a while if I've sprayed vinegar everywhere :lol:

It stops smelling pretty quick to be honest! Could add a couple of drops of lemon juice.

 

[Jolysium]

Freda is humping Fred a LOT. But in between we have snuggling!

 

[tulsi]

Ooo good. I remember that you were thinking about bonding Fred and Freda and that he became ill. Glad he is on the mend. Lots of bonding vibes to them - looking good so far

 

[Jolysium]

After three hours in the dog crate things were looking good so I've moved them in to a bigger cage. It has rocked the boat a bit, there has been a bit more fur pulling and Fred isn't really moving from one spot as whenever he does Freda turns on him Currently they're sitting at opposite ends of the cage eating hay. I hope this is ok and things will settle down again, they look sooo cute together when they're grooming, it's been so long since I had a bunny couple!

 

[Skylar]

Good luck, I hope it goes well!:thumb: they're an adorable pair aw

 

[Jolysium]

Thanks Skylar!

Since moving to the bigger cage there's been a bit of a step backwards, more scrapping and fur pulling. I think there's still a power struggle going on! Fred isn't putting up with the humping any more so there have been a couple of occasions when it has led to proper side to side, going in circles, fights which I have had to separate. I think they're both a bit tired and grumpy, as am I!

 

[Jolysium]

It's all going wrong More and more scuffles, poor Fred is getting stressed, when she approaches him he doesn't know whether he's going to get groomed or humped, poor bunny. There has been a bit of tail in the air circling from them both. Should I separate them or is it best to keep going? They've been together for almost 12 hours now so I'm not keen to spoil things but I don't want anybunny getting hurt or too stressed. This is what happened with Freda and Harrison too although I had to give up on that after 2 hours.

 

[natsusakura]

If you end up having to seperste to night its not the end of the line
You're just allowing them to be able to get a rest and you!

 

[ripminnie]

It sounds a bit like my attempt last weekend, with Olly and Molly! I think if they were ok in the crate you prob should have left them there a couple of days. But they might just have seemed ok because it was their rest time!! Are you able to sleep in the same room? If so I would leave them together, and just keep pulling the humper off if the other is getting distressed. It's very tiring and very stressful, I sympathise! Sending mega bonding vibes! X

 

[Jolysium]

Thanks for your support guys, it really helps! I slept in the room with them last night but at 2am I had to give in and separate them, there was constant chasing, wrong way round humping etc and I was worried they'd get hurt. I've put them back in together first thing this morning and they're mainly ignoring each other at the moment. They still haven't decided who is going to be boss, neither will give in! Stubborn bunnies. :lol:

 

[Jolysium]

It didn't work out Freda is a really aggressive little madam. I do wonder whether she's had some bad experiences prior to coming to us because she really doesn't seem to like other bunnies. I'm so sad about it, Fred really liked her until she started attacking him They're back in their separate rooms now and I don't know what I'm going to do!

 

[alio71]

Oh dear I'm sorry it's not worked this time. It sounded promising I think you probably moved it along too quickly. Hindsight is a great thing. Can you get someone to bond for you?

 

[Jolysium]

Yes, maybe that was the problem. Poor Fred is traumatised and the stress seems to have upset his bowels, poor bunny All I've achieved is to make them both hate me! I'd have accepted that if they'd just loved each other.

 

[Toffee pops]

Is it possible to let them freerange in the garden? That really helped with my 2,just take your time and keep trying hun that was my mentality they obviously dont mind each others company by the look of the pictures goodluck