Why are my bunnies all bonding themselves

This morning when I got up, I had a terrible shock and a very pleasant surprise at the same time, but I was incredibly stupid and careless, and learnt a very valuable lesson. I have been so ill for over a week now, and what with my horrendous neck and shoulder injuries, I'm pretty much drugged up to the point of it only just remaining legal, in order to manage my pain, and it was this that caused me to be so careless, but not an excuse I know.

I can't have shut Buster and Paddington's, and Scooters doors properly, because when I got up this morning both doors were fully open :shock:, and my heart just sank and I went rushing in to find god only knows what, and found the 3 of them just laying side by side Checked everyone over carefully and found no injuries, had a good look round the room, but no tufts of fur at all, and I just don't understand it, although obviously I am extremely relieved that no one was hurt, and I will never be so careless again.

It's got me wondering now though, as to, is the way to bond bunnies, just simply to let them live initially as neighbours, and in effect choose their partners themselves?? I know that probably sounds ridiculous, but I have never previously had a bonded pair of rabbits, nor have I ever bonded a pair. My buns are all 'special needs' and with varying degrees of disabilities, and to be honest, I have heard such awful tales of when rabbits have been bonded but didn't really like each other, that I felt as though I really couldn't risk putting them through that, and couldn't bear for anyone of them to be hurt.

It started with Dipsy and Pippa as neighbours, who didn't really take any notice of each other, and then who over a couple of weeks, started to sleep side by side with the panels in between them of their separate enclosures, then when being fed, Dipsy would be snatching mouthfuls of food and running over to eat it by Pippa, so I then started to put his food bowl over by the divider between them, and then when they were being let out individually for their free-ranging time, but were choosing to just lie in front of each others enclosure and looking so sad, I couldn't bear it anymore, and decided to let them have a run together and see what happened.

Which was actually nothing, except sniffing, some humping, and running round the house together side by side, finally united in their love :lol::lol: and 10 months on there has not been one single fall out, fur pulling anything, and they just can't lay any closer together because now Pippa actually stretches out her full length on top of Dipsy, or she will lay over his back or head. He never lays like this with her, but she does with him, and they groom each other for ages morning and night, and numerous times during the day, and just seem totally smitten with each other. So I thought I was just incredibly lucky and so very happy that they had found each other.

But then the same thing happened with Buster and Paddington, who have been incredibly happy together since March this year, and then this morning Scooter was in with them, and they all seemed perfectly happy. How can that be, with no fighting or fur pulling etc. I have put Scooter back in his room, as poor old Buster and Paddington have had such traumatic lives, and I don't want anything to spoil their bond, because Paddington especially is very reliant on Buster for checking out any new foodstuffs first, and only trying anything himself when he has seen Buster eat it, and still live :lol:, and it is the same with any new toys or exploring different parts of the house.

I did sit in the corner of the room for about 10 minutes this morning because I wanted to observe Scooter, as he is a new bun, but even when Buster and Paddington started running about, Scooter just lay watching, and then Paddington came up to him and they were sniffing each other, but no aggression or anything, and I was just sat ready to grab whichever one that needed to be, but neither did, and then Paddington ran off out of the room to go and find Buster.

I know that obviously they are not bonded and I wouldn't even ever want a bonded trio, but it still just seems strange that there was no fur pulling, or aggression, as no injuries or fur on the floor, although thank goodness there wasn't, and just wondered what everyone else though to this

I think your set up alloes them to get used to each others scents before they meet face to face

oldmcdonaldsfarm said:

I think your set up alloes them to get used to each others scents before they meet face to face

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Maybe, but the 3 this morning have never been in sniffing distance, and I think I would have expected Scooter to probably be a bit aggressive, because he has previously been horrendously bullied by other buns in his last home. The 3 of them have got the most amazing laid back characters though, and Buster and Paddington especially don't have a single mean bone in them.

Wallace is arriving in a couple of weeks, and he has the most amazing temperament, and is such an affectionate, loving, absolutely stunning standard rex, who had been literally butchered by a vet during his castrate, and so I am going to see how him and Scooter get on, and if they are good together, than I would have them in the really big spare front bedroom as a quad.

I'd never want a trio, would always be thinking about the '2's company, 3's a crowd' and worried that one was being left out, but if Scooter had his own pal as in Wallace then maybe the 4 could be together. Wallace is such a soppy, affectionate bun, with the most amazing temperament, that really has been tested to the limit with what the vet did to him.



Wallace

RogerRabbit999 said:

Maybe, but the 3 this morning have never been in sniffing distance, and I think I would have expected Scooter to probably be a bit aggressive, because he has previously been horrendously bullied by other buns in his last home. The 3 of them have got the most amazing laid back characters though, and Buster and Paddington especially don't have a single mean bone in them.

Wallace is arriving in a couple of weeks, and he has the most amazing temperament, and is such an affectionate, loving, absolutely stunning standard rex, who had been literally butchered by a vet during his castrate, and so I am going to see how him and Scooter get on, and if they are good together, than I would have them in the really big spare front bedroom as a quad.

I'd never want a trio, would always be thinking about the '2's company, 3's a crowd' and worried that one was being left out, but if Scooter had his own pal as in Wallace then maybe the 4 could be together. Wallace is such a soppy, affectionate bun, with the most amazing temperament, that really has been tested to the limit with what the vet did to him.



Wallace

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I'm afraid I have no idea why all your buns love each other, other than by making their own introductions it signifies an interest in one another and your attention isn't on them so you can't project any feelings or pressure onto them.

However, Wallace is absolutely gorgeous and I think he needs a big cuddle and a kiss!!!

Your as mad a s a box of frogs!

He certainly does. Poor old Wallace has been to hell and back, but Tracy is fostering Wallace, and she is so lovely, and has really loved having Wallace, and given him so much love, I just hope he likes me as much as her. I think she is going to miss him because he is such a softie, and a real quirky bunny with masses of character :lol::lol:

oldmcdonaldsfarm said:

Your as mad a s a box of frogs!

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hmmm you're obviously madder as who even thinks about boxes of frogs :lol::lol: What do you think to Wallace?

my o/h's mum had a rabbit called hazel who bonded herself twice :shock: she never escaped and lived by a brother and sister pair. the sister sadly passed away one bonfire night and hazel escaped and was found snuggling thumper after his loss. when thumper passed, she lived next door to another bunny who she managed to get to aswell and bonded with him. :shock:

I wonder if some buns are just so submissive that other buns accept them easily. They work to get to the other rabbits just so they're not alone and once they're there they just want to be loved.

That or you've been very lucky!

Oooooooo Wallace I remember reading about him aaaages ago. So glad he will be coming to you soon.

Edit to say that your rabbits obviously feel secure so bonds are not fraught and are therefore smooooth. (Note to self, relax during the bonding of your rabbits...).

Wallace is a very handsome chap.

I've had bunnies who have bonded themselves, the most recent being Hovis. Originally he was adopted by Sam (Bluesmum) for Marnie. They came here for me to bond and Marnie escaped from her half of the pen when I wasn't supervising and got in with Hovis and there were some serious injuries to poor Marnie so we gave up on that bond (and I learned an important lesson about always putting a cover on a pen, no matter how high it is, when I am not there to supervise the bunnies).

I didn't want Hovis to go back to rescue as it was a long way away and I had become attached to him so I was given permission to adopt him myself and tried to bond him with my trio. He then attacked one of them - my Bridge bun Bumble - so I gave up on that bond and Hovis was moved outside to live on his own until I had time to try him with somebun else.

Hovis lived at one end of the bunny area outside and Berry, Cherry and Apple lived the other end and Sam rigged up a fence and gate in between to keep them separate. Somehow, however, and Sam and I could never work out how they did it, the buns kept ending up together. At first I panicked but then I actually watched them and there was no fighting and I even saw snuggling. I checked everybun over and found no injuries at all so I decided that Hovis clearly wanted to choose his own companions and I now have a quad. Hovis is so much happier now he has bunny company - he really is a different bunny

I don't have a hutch big enough for four so at night they do sleep separately - usually Hovis is on his own, but sometimes Cherry or Berry decide to spend the night with him - they have choices where they sleep.

I wish all buns would bond themselves. How much easier life would be then.

I hope my buns do that! They are bonded but I had to separate them as they are at that age. But they live close together and can smell each other so hopefully they can live happily ever after again after being neutered!

Wallace is handsome wow!


~ Emmzie x

If your rabbits have found love all by themselves then good for them, it might make for a stronger bond than a more 'forced' one.

Wallace is absolutely gorgeous - what a fantastic photo of him

RavenMoon said:

I wonder if some buns are just so submissive that other buns accept them easily. They work to get to the other rabbits just so they're not alone and once they're there they just want to be loved.

That or you've been very lucky!

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hmmm interesting, don't think I'd say any of my buns are submissive, Dipsy especially is not for the faint hearted, and I'd say top bun, because the others all seem to treat him with respect, except Pippa :lol: It's weird actually because I've had really bad problems with Dipsy, absolutely horrendous aggression, and yet with Pippa, even though at times she is really mean to him, and if he is eating something that she wants, she will literally take it out of his mouth, or nip his legs because that makes him drop it then.

Pippa is best described as a 'loony tunes' bun, and very bossy. When Dipsy gets fed up with her, they don't ever have a fall out, but he does wait for her to go to sleep, and then buries her under the hay :lol::lol:

Buster, Paddington and Scooter, are just really loving, gentle bunnies, all got their own quirky ways, and all 3 have masses of personality, but submissive just doesn't seem the right word for them.

Maybe it's something to do with me not being involved, because I'd never planned on bonding any of them anyway. All I do is camp out in their rooms for a couple of nights, just to make sure they are ok through the night, because that is one thing I don't do, because there just seems to be no point to it, and that is I don't separate them again. Couldn't bear to have their sad little faces haunting me :roll:

Wallace

He is just fab isn't he Maysie. A real softie and loves loads of fuss. One way or another that awful vet is going to pay for what she did :evil:

I think keeping unbonded rabbits side by side can cause problems. Any rabbit that is territorial will be aggressive to another rabbit at the edge of their territory and will remember them as an enemy when you introduce them

I let my buns bond themselves too.

It's not gone wrong yet :thumb:

Stator said:

I think keeping unbonded rabbits side by side can cause problems. Any rabbit that is territorial will be aggressive to another rabbit at the edge of their territory and will remember them as an enemy when you introduce them

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Really? Never heard of that. How would that work with all the bunnies in rescue etc then, as they are next door to others. Oh well, just been lucky then, and I never introduced them anyway, they just decided for themselves.