Bonding 2 males.U/D Failing Miserably

Jasper and Logan we're both Neutered 6 Nov and today is the 1st attempt at bonding them.

They are both house buns and have both free ranged in our living room at seperate times of the day and night.

I have chosen the bath and have managed to section half of it off with tall boxes so that they only have a small area at 1 end to meet.

Jasper is our Rex and is always out going, Logan our Dutch who has been a lot of hard work as he is very timid and skittish but has improved a lot since his op.

When put together Logan immediately cowared down and stayed like that for the most part. Jasper his boysterous self went about as usual, he's been quite clumsy with it, walking all over Logan and sitting on his head.

He seems to have control of the hay and will give a bit of a growl from time to time but he did make the 1st move and within 20 mins he was grooming Logan before they both lay side by side.

There has been a scuffle since. Logan lost a few clumps of fir from his back end and Jasper is now a bit jumpy but I am leaving them to it for the most part whilst getting a numb bum sat on loo seat keeping watch lol.

How long should a leave them together now?

I have no idea how to get them paired up in the living room when the time comes as Jasper has chinned every part of it 10 times over lol.

I have a dog crate that I can use, should I set them up in there in the spare bedroom? If so, when?

Looks like they are getting down to sorting out the house rules lol. Jasper is growling at Logan's every move, mounting him and has been digging at his back. Logan isn't giving any back so I guess this is ok?

Sounds like they're doing well. I wouldn't separate them now otherwise you'll have to start all over again. If you're happy that they won't hurt each other then put them in the dog crate and keep an eye on them. They'll probably scuffle at first so just make sure you don't let them hurt each other. Ideally sleep near the crate tonight so you'll hear any fights. Don't take them in the living room until they're properly friends. When they are proper friends take them in the living room in the dog crate for a day just to make sure they're not going to fight. If they've bonded properly they will accept each other in their territory. If not take them back into another room for a couple of days then try again. It will probably be a few days before they are ready to go in the living room at all.

Thank you!! I thought it should be little and often so thanks for the heads up.
It's been a worry bonding them as we bought home a mis-sexed bun for Jasper after he was widowed from his 1st mate. Lola has turned out to be Logan lol
Having never bonded before and hearing that 2 males is not the best match, I never imagined it was going to be as easy as just plonking them into a bath!

As long as they're not trying to rip each others head off it's pretty much just a case of letting them get on with it. It's scary bonding because you're worried about them but if you can try to detach yourself a bit and only intervene when it gets dangerous then it's easier. Good luck! I'm bonding 2 girls at the moment and they don't like each other very much yet but I think it's going well because they haven't tried to kill each other yet. Time and patience.

They had their 1st fight.
I had them in the dog crate for a good while and all was ok until I put a cardboard box inside which I'd just made up for them to sleep in.

They came out as a pair, 1 clinging on to the other, still trying to fight!!
Jasper's lost a nice clump of fur. Undaunted, they are back in the bath!!

UPDATE

So we've been at this 7 hours now.

The bath seemed like a good place to start and there we've no issues there. Just the odd scuffle and mounting that I expected.

We had a blip when they went into the dog crate so took them back to the bath and although the 1st hour was quite tense, they seemed to settle down and have been going great for about 3 hours so I was intending to leave them there for the night. In the last half hour they have had 2 big flare ups. Jasper has clumps of fur coming off him and Logan's eye is looking a bit sore.

Within 2 mins of the last fight ending, they slumped down side by side and seem chilled again just now so I really don't know what to do about the rest of the night.

If I go for sleep ,I'll have to leave them unattended and I don't want to risk an injury if they go for it again.

I don't want to split them and have to start over either.

What to do... :-/

Sorry I didn't want to read or run but then I didn't want to not reply at all.

When bonding it's best not to give anything that either rabbit can claim and for them to fight over, it's very likely the box was the cause of the fight. It's also very dangerous especially if the box only has one entrance/exit.

I personally would separate them as leaving them unattended at the crucial stage is definitely not a good idea. It is a good idea however to have at least a week free where you're able to fully supervise the bunnies for at least the first 48 hours. When bonding I setup a pen beside the bed so I'm able to intervene if and when needed to.

Good luck with the bonding :wave:

Well, I have set up a bed for the night on the floor outside the bathroom door. Hopefully 10 years camping experience of waking up on a deflated air bed is going to stand me in good stead... lol

I am off until 6 Jan so as long as it takes really. They have been settled since the last scrap and are snuggled up. There is just hay, water and a bath towel on newspaper for warmth. I'll be right outside the door so fingers crossed

Mission Aborted!

Another scrap.
Back to the drawing board... :-(

I have just tried to bond them again thinking I was better prepared but a brawl broke out straight away.

I cleaned the bath and sprayed it over with a white vinegar solution this morning. There is nothing in there at all. Have set a cage up in my room ready to move them into later, also empty of anything to fight about.

Put them both in the bath and they we're fighting within seconds!! Split them and held them both apart for a minite and when I let them go they we're launching for a re-match!

Need Help Desperately because if this bonding fails I will have to re-home 1.

What am I doing wrong???

I'd avoid the bath, I think because it's a slippy surface even if you have blankets etc in, then it may worry/scare them and they will probably have a heightened sense of anxiety which they can both sense so that would add to the tension.

I'd leave them for a few days now, just let them calm down. Then try them in the cage, line it with newspaper or something and just fill it with hay and maybe sprinkle some forage so they have something to eat and something else to think about. 2 water bottles/bowls too. Then sprinkle a few pellets in, maybe a handful of veg/herbs in the middle if they have that.

Also, positive thinking! Don't go into it with any worries or feelings of panic and 'what if this happens'. Take things as they come, be ready to separate but try not to freak out because they will sense that and it won't help them. Just keep thinking 'I have nerves of steel, I have nerves of steel' ..!

I don't panic, I wear gardening gloves... lol

Seems maybe I've gone to the other extreme this time then. I used newspaper, a both towel and hay 1st time which caused no issues, but a fight errupted after I added a water bowl later. This time the bath was totally empty somy concern is if they might associate the bathroom as being the gladiator ring.