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bonding outdoor rabbits in winter

barronzbunz

barronzbunz

Young Bun
Hi, I'm still trying to bond my two rabbits and its taking alot longer than I thought (my first attempt at bonding). How do people manage to bond outdoor bunnies in winter? I cant leave them unsupervised as they are still having the odd nip/kick and I dont want them injured. My hubby thinks ive lost the plot as as the moment im sitting in their shed for an hour a day! If I bring them in im worried about the temperature change and dont have room for indoor bunnies. The reason I got another bunny is so my boy won't be alone in winter. Any advise?
 
Hi :)

Great decision to get your bun a friend!!
Where abouts are you based? There are rescues around the country that will bond your buns for you for a small fee? Have a search on the web perhaps? Or someone on here might know of somewhere if they know where abouts you are? :)

Also-are they both neutered/spayed? This can be vital in making a bond successful?

xxx


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Emma H said:
Hi :)

Great decision to get your bun a friend!!
Where abouts are you based? There are rescues around the country that will bond your buns for you for a small fee? Have a search on the web perhaps? Or someone on here might know of somewhere if they know where abouts you are? :)

Also-are they both neutered/spayed? This can be vital in making a bond successful?

xxx


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Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply. Yes both neutered. Im in oxfordshire, got my new bun from a rescue but not sure if they will bond for me. Worth giving them a call i guess, just thought it would be easier. We seem to have a stalemate where neither rabbit will groom the other when the other offers its head. My boy rabbit is getting a bit frustrated and fed up, not what I wanted for him. Thanks again.
 
tonibun said:
They won't necessarily groom one another at first, that may come later.
Click to expand...

They both offer their heads to be groomed but neither seems to know what to do! Smokey, my buck is constantly trying to hump rosie to show his dominance but when she acts submissive he still trys to hump her. Its been about 5 weeks now.
 
When I bonded Bailey and Belle I chose to do the fast track method (being with them constantly until bonded) when I had a week off work so I'm not sure how long the dating method can take. I have read that it can take months in some instances however.

To try and encourage your two to groom perhaps try and put some mushed up banana on their heads. Some people don't advocate this as they say they should groom on their own, however this worked for my two.

xxx


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Emma H said:
When I bonded Bailey and Belle I chose to do the fast track method (being with them constantly until bonded) when I had a week off work so I'm not sure how long the dating method can take. I have read that it can take months in some instances however.

To try and encourage your two to groom perhaps try and put some mushed up banana on their heads. Some people don't advocate this as they say they should groom on their own, however this worked for my two.

xxx


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
Click to expand...

Thank you for the banana tip, definately worth a try. If it was warmer I would have them in all day then put them out at night but its just too cold now. Did you put them together in a close space or did you let them have room to run. Ive read conflicting advise so not sure which is best.:?
 
I bonded a pair last winter, I started by switching them between hutches each night and I put them together on top of the hutch and stayed with them, tried to encourage them to eat together etc but it was hard, my female was scared and there were a few good nips! A few people recommended it wasn't the best method and to put them together in a small neutral space which I did and they just fought so I had to separate. I was put off until one fine day I just thought right, you're bonding! I put them together in the run (not neutral or that small!) and watched them from a distance. There was a lot of chasing and fur pulling but it was the best if seen them together. They were only in there for a couple of hrs maybe then I put them together in the hutch (which I'd thoroughly cleaned and neutralised while they were in the run). They pretty much stayed on opposite sides of the hutch for the first few days, the female was still scared and the make would chase and bully her a bit but I found that leaving them alone and watching from inside was better than me being there or keep going out. It is worrying, I was up and down every 2 mins to look out at them but they were fine and gradually grew to love each other :love: Not sure how helpful this will be as u have a shed but if there's any way u can watch them from a distance (a webcam maybe?) that might help as it did with mine :wave:
 
barronzbunz said:
Thank you for the banana tip, definately worth a try. If it was warmer I would have them in all day then put them out at night but its just too cold now. Did you put them together in a close space or did you let them have room to run. Ive read conflicting advise so not sure which is best.:?
Click to expand...

Yes defo worth a try :)

I gave them quite a large space initially in comparison to what some do I think, but they are big buns. Then kept increasing this gradually until they had the entire room. And it worked fine. Here's a pic of the space I gave them in the first instance (there is a day bed where I'm taking the photo from, and the space went to the end of that) Hope that helps.

xxx

uve3ybad.jpg
5a8uta7y.jpg



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Summer&Skye said:
I bonded a pair last winter, I started by switching them between hutches each night and I put them together on top of the hutch and stayed with them, tried to encourage them to eat together etc but it was hard, my female was scared and there were a few good nips! A few people recommended it wasn't the best method and to put them together in a small neutral space which I did and they just fought so I had to separate. I was put off until one fine day I just thought right, you're bonding! I put them together in the run (not neutral or that small!) and watched them from a distance. There was a lot of chasing and fur pulling but it was the best if seen them together. They were only in there for a couple of hrs maybe then I put them together in the hutch (which I'd thoroughly cleaned and neutralised while they were in the run). They pretty much stayed on opposite sides of the hutch for the first few days, the female was still scared and the make would chase and bully her a bit but I found that leaving them alone and watching from inside was better than me being there or keep going out. It is worrying, I was up and down every 2 mins to look out at them but they were fine and gradually grew to love each other :love: Not sure how helpful this will be as u have a shed but if there's any way u can watch them from a distance (a webcam maybe?) that might help as it did with mine :wave:
Click to expand...

I know what you mean about the 'right you're bonding!' as its been a good few weeks now. At the moment they are in seperate hutches in the shed and I let one out at a time unless im with them. I did wonder if me being there is putting them off or confusing things! Lol. My females very timid too as shes had quite a traumatic time before I rescued her, I think thats why I worry more. Good idea about the webcam, sure hubby could set one up for me. Thanks x
 
Emma H said:
Yes defo worth a try :)

I gave them quite a large space initially in comparison to what some do I think, but they are big buns. Then kept increasing this gradually until they had the entire room. And it worked fine. Here's a pic of the space I gave them in the first instance (there is a day bed where I'm taking the photo from, and the space went to the end of that) Hope that helps.

xxx

uve3ybad.jpg
5a8uta7y.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free
Click to expand...

Aww they're gorgeous and look very happy together, ill be so happy if mine look like yours! I might try a smaller space and see if that helps, thanks x
 
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