Bonding (hopefully) begins tomorrow

The day has nearly arrived that Bobak gets to meet Dusty, his potential wife bun! (See seperate thread http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?339203-Lovely-bunny-Dusty-Doe-_-essex-U-D-pic-added)

She'll be coming over tomorrow for their first date so I've got a lot of preparation to do tonight! I've done a lot of research but still have a few questions if some experienced bunny bonders wouldn't mind passing on advice?

As Bobak lives free range the plan is to introduce them in the bath (this is the only neutral place in the house).
As I cannot be at home 24/7 I'm planning on bonding them through a series of "dates" and hopefully as they become closer I will eventually be able to allow them to live together. After each "date" can I allow Bobak to continue to live free range and move Dusty into another room that Bobak cannot enter or should I have them both in cages side by side? I'm thinking that if I have them completely seperate in different rooms then they won't get used to each other, so I was planning on having them both in the living room in seperate cages. What do people think is best?

I've done a lot of reading regarding Bonding and think I understand which behaviour is good and which is not so good. But I couldn't find any info on what to do if your bun is free range!

Thank you in advance for any advice

Ooh exciting day!

It's totally up to you what you do with regards to accommodation in between the dates. I personally like to have mine side by side when bonding, but that's not always feasible. If you do, do that ensure that neither can get their noses through the bars so the other can nip them or anything like that (especially if either of them come out some of the time).

Good luck

Thank you Sky-O, I'd prefer to keep them side by side and let them out individually for some exercise (supervised of course). Bobak is going to hate being locked in his cage, he's been completely free range for a year now! It'll be worth it though in the long run when (not if, I'm trying to remain positive!) they are bonded

Morning all,

This is mainly for Kerry's benefit to keep her posted regarding her bunny Dusty and my bunny Bobak bonding, but I thought others might like to see their progress so far.

Dusty arrived on Saturday morning and they had their first date which last about 10-15 mins. There was a lot of sniffing and mounting from Bobak but Dusty didn't seem to mind! No biting or fighting so we decided that Dusty would stay. I then left them in their cages side by side for the rest of the day and on Sunday they had their second date. Lots more mounting from Bobak which I tried to discourage him from as Dusty was getting a bit grumpy and I didn't want them to fight. After 5 mins Bobak hadn't got fed up of mounting Dusty so I decided that was enough for the day! They went back to their cages and have been sniffing and copying each other through their cages. I've been told to expect lots of mounting in the first week which should calm down eventually. I'm sticking to just having their bunny dates in the bath until things have progressed then I'll make a slightly larger neutral area for them.

Here are a copy of pics of them chilling out in their cages. I love sitting with them and just watching them watch each other. Love them both sooooo much!!

thanks for posting these Clare, I had a little tear in my eye when I saw her but the main thing is that she is happy and loved and I know that you will take good care of her.

Thank you for taking her on and giving her a much happier home life than she was getting before. I hope the bonding is going well and they are falling in love. Keep me posted!!

Kerry xxxx

clarebasham2208 said:

Morning all,

This is mainly for Kerry's benefit to keep her posted regarding her bunny Dusty and my bunny Bobak bonding, but I thought others might like to see their progress so far.

Dusty arrived on Saturday morning and they had their first date which last about 10-15 mins. There was a lot of sniffing and mounting from Bobak but Dusty didn't seem to mind! No biting or fighting so we decided that Dusty would stay. I then left them in their cages side by side for the rest of the day and on Sunday they had their second date. Lots more mounting from Bobak which I tried to discourage him from as Dusty was getting a bit grumpy and I didn't want them to fight. After 5 mins Bobak hadn't got fed up of mounting Dusty so I decided that was enough for the day! They went back to their cages and have been sniffing and copying each other through their cages. I've been told to expect lots of mounting in the first week which should calm down eventually. I'm sticking to just having their bunny dates in the bath until things have progressed then I'll make a slightly larger neutral area for them.

Here are a copy of pics of them chilling out in their cages. I love sitting with them and just watching them watch each other. Love them both sooooo much!!

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Fingers crossed that they are both soon in love

Morning,

Well there was progress yesterday, Bobak finally got tired of mounting Dusty for long enough for a cuddle! They stayed in various positions like this for about 10 minutes until I popped them back in their cages (sorry I can't get the pictures to rotate!):







Next date is after work today so fingers crossed for little or no mounting and lots of cuddling! :thumb:

You're doing a brilliant job with these Clare, Dusty couldn't have asked for a better home xxx

clarebasham2208 said:

Morning,

Well there was progress yesterday, Bobak finally got tired of mounting Dusty for long enough for a cuddle! They stayed in various positions like this for about 10 minutes until I popped them back in their cages (sorry I can't get the pictures to rotate!):

Next date is after work today so fingers crossed for little or no mounting and lots of cuddling! :thumb:

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Thanks Kerry, I so want it to work out coz she's absolutely gorgeous and such a lovely bunny. And she's teaching Bobak to be a better hay eater :thumb:

Poor Dusty just sits down the whole time waiting for Bobak to calm himself! She got a little annoyed at one point and tried to mount him but you can't really blame her, she's been VERY patient with Bobak!!

haha that sounds like Dusty...when Milo the labrador used to try and wind her up she would punch him in the face...she doesn't stand for too much nonsense!

To be honest she's been extremely good with Bobak, she even started to groom his head yesterday! He's just too overexcited at the moment!

I'll be giving them another date tonight and I'll keep you posted.

Tonight's progress:

I bought an exercise pen which can be make increasingly bigger as the bonding progresses. We've moved from the bathroom into the living room which is much more comfortable for us all! To begin with Bobak did the usual mentally excited mounting routine while Dusty just sits there waiting for him to calm down. I sat next to them and squirted Bobak with water everytime he tried to mount for more than a few seconds and he seemed to get the idea! About 30 minutes in he was happily munching while Dusty cautiously watched. Everytime she moves or tries to approach him he gets grumpy and tries to mount but eventually he calmed down and allowed Dusty to give him a good groom (which he needed after all the water I had squirted at him!)

They stayed in the exercise pen for 2 hours 45 minutes with the majority of the time being calm. Bobak allowed Dusty to eat, but only if he was also eating and he lets her groom him now.

I'm pretty happy with their progress, Dusty is being very very calm and isn't getting annoyed with Bobak's constant mounting which is good and Bobak's mounting episodes have decreased. Over the weekend I'm going to allow them extra date time as I'll be around to constantly watch them which I can't do during the week. If it goes well on Saturday morning then I'll let them stay in the pen overnight and I'll sleep next to them.

Good luck vibes would be appreciated

this is great, sounds like you're doing all the right things to get them used to eachother. So cute that Dusty is grooming Bobak as she used to do that to Milo when he was behaving himself and not winding her up!
Well done Clare xx

How did it go overnight?

It's adoreable when she cleans him, and he looked like he was loving it until he got excited again and tried to mount her! :roll: When he washes himself she slowly moves over to him and clearly wants to groom him too but he's too hyper and scares her. I'm hoping that by allowing them to spend most of the weekend together that he'll calm down and just enjoy spending time with her and then she can relax too.

I'm so looking forward to the day when they're completely bonded, they make a very cute couple!

Also, quick question for you - Bobak has always been a fussy eater and I can leave food down for him when I go to work without him scoofing it immediately, but Dusty goes CRAZY whenever I put fresh greens or dandelion leaves into her cage and eats the whole lot instantly! Is this how she was with you too? I've been giving her unlimited hay so that she has something to eat while I'm out coz the greens don't last more than 5 minutes!!

KerryLee said:

this is great, sounds like you're doing all the right things to get them used to eachother. So cute that Dusty is grooming Bobak as she used to do that to Milo when he was behaving himself and not winding her up!
Well done Clare xx

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