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Help with bonding

Emsum8809

New Kit
Hello! I rescued a male dwarf lop a few months ago and had him castrated so that I could find him a lady friend. He is approx 1 and a half, a very friendly boy.
I keep him as a house rabbit, he has a dog crate with his litter tray etc in and I leave the gate open to it all the time so he has the run of the house when we are home, or one room whilst we are out.
I also have guinea pigs which he has met and is absolutely fine with, they all run around together when I get the piggies out. Anyway so it's about 6 weeks since his castration and I have just last night rescued a female spayed giant.
I took Woody (my lop) with me to meet Bella (the giant) when we collected her, they met in the kitchen of Bella's home (which was neutral territory). Woody was interested in her and tried to mount her but I think he also went to nip her but didn't really follow through. Bella was very gentle towards him, she is perhaps the most laid back rabbit ever! Anyway the initial introduction was ok, and there was no way I could leave Bella in the home which I rescued her from (very poorly kept), so I took her home.
This is when I made the mistake of bringing them straight into Woody's room together. They travelled home in separate carriers and when we got home I let Woody out into the room he is usually in, I took Bella's carrier in there too and left her in there with the door open but she chose not to come out. Woody didn't notice that I had brought her in and he just carrried on his business until about an hour later he hopped past her carrier and noticed her, at that he ran into her carrier and attacked her! I quickly separated them and for the rest of the evening I tried to slowly introduce them through the bars of his cage but he just kept trying to bite her. She isn't interested in biting him. From reading up on things today I can only assume he is being like this because she was in his territory, so tonight I will try again by taking them to a friends house perhaps, or one recommendation was to take them out in the car together. I'm just so worried he will hurt her, I didn't expect him to be like that as he is so good with the guinea pigs but perhaps that is irrelevant.
I really want this pairing to work as there is no way I can take her back to her previous home, and it's not practical to keep them separated long term, I only got another rabbit to make him happier.
Anyway I would love to hear from anyone who has faced a similar situation and how it turned out, and any tips would be great. I am going to arm myself with a spray bottle to intercept any fighting!
Will they get there in the end or will this simply not work??!
 
You will have to introduce your 2 rabbits in a neutral space or pen, somewhere Woody hasn't been before. Try to keep them together for as long as possible unless they fight. There might be a bit of a scuffle but they will have to sort out their hierarchy.
 
You will have to introduce your 2 rabbits in a neutral space or pen, somewhere Woody hasn't been before. Try to keep them together for as long as possible unless they fight. There might be a bit of a scuffle but they will have to sort out their hierarchy.

Tonight I tried them in the bathroom where he doesn't go. It ended in a fight :( perhaps not far away enough from his territory?
 
How long ago was Bella spayed?

Almost a year ago from what her previous owner told me. Woody bit her when I put them together in the bathroom last night, and drew blood! There was a scuffle and I had the spray bottle but he was too quick and by the time I noticed the blood it was obviously too late. The bite is nothing serious and is located down on her heel (if that's what it would be called on a rabbit?), I have bathed it with salt water and she is seeing the vet for her vaccinations tomorrow anyway so I will get them to take a look. It seemed as if Woody was going for her genital area though (trying to bite), is there a reason they do that? I separated them after the incident, i'm just worried to try again now!
 
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From what I have read on Bunnies, it needs to be done on neutral terriroty no where where one bunny has been so there is no scent of it and no "this is my spot"

Bonding buns can be hard work from what I have read and requires a lot of time & Patience, when bonding the smaller the cage/pen the better it is, though I am not sure if this is 100% true just from what I have read on here, if possible start with putting them in neutral terroritoy but somewhere where they can get use to eachother & sniff through bars etc etc and get use to each other that way, and then after ome time of this put them in a small area together for them to work out who's the boss?

AGAIN I haven't bonded, but I have been reading this forum for good long while and I see that's what people have done - White vinegar is a good cleaner to neutralise

Though I suspect someone who has bonded bunnies may have a better idea for you x

I hope they work out their differences soon x
 
From what I have read on Bunnies, it needs to be done on neutral terriroty no where where one bunny has been so there is no scent of it and no "this is my spot"

Bonding buns can be hard work from what I have read and requires a lot of time & Patience, when bonding the smaller the cage/pen the better it is, though I am not sure if this is 100% true just from what I have read on here, if possible start with putting them in neutral terroritoy but somewhere where they can get use to eachother & sniff through bars etc etc and get use to each other that way, and then after ome time of this put them in a small area together for them to work out who's the boss?

AGAIN I haven't bonded, but I have been reading this forum for good long while and I see that's what people have done - White vinegar is a good cleaner to neutralise

Though I suspect someone who has bonded bunnies may have a better idea for you x

I hope they work out their differences soon x

Thank you for the advice :) It's awkward because my boy pretty much has the run of the house so I don't have a neutral area at home, I will have to pay my mother a few more visits! What/where could I use the white vinegar? Aside from washing the whole house in it! Lol. x
 
Hi Emsum :)

When I rescued Belle to be pals with my pal Bailey (both French Lops) I struggled as Bailey also had run of the house. He didn't go upstairs very much however so I chose a spare room up there. Bailey had however been in this room before. So I neutralised it with white vinegar (you can buy in the supermarket - may be called malt vinegar). Some say to water it down but I just put it in a spray bottle and sprayed the floors and skirting boards and furniture with it.

Before I introduced them I took Bailey in the car so as to disorientate him a bit and it went fine in the 'bonding room'. I did the fast-track method, so didn't do the whole dating thing. I took annual leave so I could constantly supervise them.

If you can find a room he doesn't go much and is suitable, try that first I'd say? If that doesn't work, going to your mums is a good idea as this will be totally new for him. Although you would probably just be able to do the dating method there I guess?

xxx


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Hi Emsum :)

When I rescued Belle to be pals with my pal Bailey (both French Lops) I struggled as Bailey also had run of the house. He didn't go upstairs very much however so I chose a spare room up there. Bailey had however been in this room before. So I neutralised it with white vinegar (you can buy in the supermarket - may be called malt vinegar). Some say to water it down but I just put it in a spray bottle and sprayed the floors and skirting boards and furniture with it.

Before I introduced them I took Bailey in the car so as to disorientate him a bit and it went fine in the 'bonding room'. I did the fast-track method, so didn't do the whole dating thing. I took annual leave so I could constantly supervise them.

If you can find a room he doesn't go much and is suitable, try that first I'd say? If that doesn't work, going to your mums is a good idea as this will be totally new for him. Although you would probably just be able to do the dating method there I guess?

xxx


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Thank you for your reply Emma. That was the idea when I tried them in the bathroom as he has hardly been in there but it didn't seem to make a difference. Does the white vinegar not smell if you spray it everywhere? The car idea is good, I also read that taking them out in the car together to bond is good as the movement of the car scares them so they tend to huddle together for security. I just need to get someone else to sit in the back with them in case they fight.
Was your Bailey attacking Belle?
xx
 
Unfortunately it does smell at first, but it soon disappears don't worry :)

Yes, they had a few scuffles, but i got in the middle with an oven glove.haha. Unless it gets very nasty it's best not to intervene, chasing, little nips and a bit of fur flying and mounting is perfectly fine.
Sometimes if your doing the dating method you can just go back to square one each time. If you put them together solidly supervised (luckily I had a bed to sleep on in the bonding room) they will most probably sort their relationship out in a couple of days (some shorter some longer) and the fighting will stop. Once they have been grooming, snuggling, eating together etc. with no aggressive behaviour for a good 48 hours they should be okay to go into their thoroughly neutralised normal room :)

Once in their room you must increase their space (I.e let them in other rooms) very gradually. xxx


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I do believe we have had a slight breakthrough! :D Tonight I took them out in the car, I had Bella in her carrier and woody on the seat next to her, once I'd started the car I opened the carrier and woody went in but instead of going for her he just laid down next to her. They stayed like that for the duration of the trip which was to my friends house. Once at my friends they remained in the carrier together with no problems, then they started to venture out of the carrier, there were a couple of scuffles but nothing serious and then we went home with no probs. Once home I left them both in the carrier in the kitchen (supervised). They were fine! Then a small scuffle and I separated them for a while. Later in the evening they met again in the house and are so much better with each other. Another couple of scuffles but again nothing serious and real progress from how he was initially. I think she is starting to stand up for herself more and that is a good thing as he backs down sometimes. Still a way to go but I'm so pleased that it looks like there is hope for these 2 to become friends. Xx
 
Very early days in terms of bonding - so be prepared for 10 steps backwards! This does not mean it will not work, just that it can take time which means days or weeks even. Don't make the mistake, if they do seems to be getting on of moving things onwards too quickly.

Also, a good pair of oven gloves or gardening gloves is very good for quickly diving into a scuffle - possibly better at preventing bites than a water spray :) In my experience (others may do things differently), I do not split up during scuffles, rather plonk one away from the other but in same space (turn one around for instance). Also keep space very, very small. You may be surprised just how small! The size of a litter tray for instance.

Ideally, you need to have time to supervise all day long - weekends can be good.

Chances are it will work - don't get disheartened.
 
Very early days in terms of bonding - so be prepared for 10 steps backwards! This does not mean it will not work, just that it can take time which means days or weeks even. Don't make the mistake, if they do seems to be getting on of moving things onwards too quickly.

Also, a good pair of oven gloves or gardening gloves is very good for quickly diving into a scuffle - possibly better at preventing bites than a water spray :) In my experience (others may do things differently), I do not split up during scuffles, rather plonk one away from the other but in same space (turn one around for instance). Also keep space very, very small. You may be surprised just how small! The size of a litter tray for instance.

Ideally, you need to have time to supervise all day long - weekends can be good.

Chances are it will work - don't get disheartened.

Yes I realise it's early days and I certainly wouldn't leave them alone together yet. But definite progress.
After the scuffles I wasn't completely splitting them up more like just separating them from the ball of flying fur!
With regards to space Bella is a giant breed so she I'm limited to what confined space she will actually comfortably fit in! Lol. Do you know why they say smaller spaces are better? Seems to provoke them more from what I've seen so far.
Thanks for your advice x
 
Ok so things are much better than initially and over the weekend Woody and Bella got lovely and close, laying together and Woody grooming Bella....then the humping began!
Woody is constantly chasing and mounting Bella to the point where she is exhausted, I'm not really sure what I should do when this happens? Do I just let them sort it out between themselves or intervene?
At the moment I have been moving him away from her if it seems to be getting too much for her, or clapping/shouting to stop him but he only stops for a few seconds and then carries on. If it gets too persistent I shut one in the dog crate to give Bella a break (they can still see each other when shut away). I also shut one away if i'm not there to supervise and I alternate who is shut in.
The good thing is he is not being aggressive towards her anymore but the constant harrassment really seems to annoy her. She doesn't nip him to tell him off though she just moves away, but being a giant breed she is slower and less agile than him, I don't think she is very fit either due to not having space to run in her previous home and she gets so exhausted.
What should I be doing and how long is this likely to go on for? Woody has been castrated for nearly 6 weeks and Bella was spayed approx a year ago.
 
The humping should last for a few days then calm down. Try giving them a treat now and then to take their mind off it, some fresh grass etc. This is only a stage so keep going and if he is really bad split up overnight to give them a rest.

Regarding your other post, rabbits are put in a small space in order to force them together and where they can't run away from each other.
 
The humping should last for a few days then calm down. Try giving them a treat now and then to take their mind off it, some fresh grass etc. This is only a stage so keep going and if he is really bad split up overnight to give them a rest.

Regarding your other post, rabbits are put in a small space in order to force them together and where they can't run away from each other.

Thank you. Should I continue keeping them separate during the day when I'm at work?
 
I think so. You need to have seen them happy together with no fighting for at least 2 days, 3 preferably and nights. Then you can be more confident about leaving them together while you are not there.
 
Update for all

I would just like to thank everyone for their help and advice on this post, Woody and Bella are now happily bonded and in bunny love :)
 
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