New to this and almost ready to bond!

Hi there, :wave:
My name's Jen and I have two buns, Millie and Elmo. We have now had Millie a year and were very happy with her, however we are not home as often as we were and wanted to get her a companion. We got her our lovely little Elmo. Millie was spayed about 6 months ago, Elmo has only just been neutered, two weeks ago. Because we live in a flat, we couldn't completely separate them, so they have seen each other through the bars and are familiar with each other. The only time they have met face to face was an accident and my partner left the door open with Elmo wandering about, he tried to approach Millie and she chased him. Obviously we picked her up before any damage was done.

It does make me slightly nervous about the bonding, so I want to be prepared. I have been reading a lot and gather the best place to initially start is neutral territory. As I mention, we live in a flat and they have access everywhere except one room we use for storage. Millie grew up in the bathroom, so that probably isn't an option, though she does hate going in there now!!

I was thinking for us the best way, maybe to build a temporary habitat in one of our rooms, like a huge cardboard box, with a litter tray, hay water etc. And two escape holes/ boxes where they can hide if scared. We also have a water sprayer ready and plenty of gloves and towels.

My worry is with Millie, Elmo is very affectionate and spends all day sitting by her hutch (she sits next to him, they lie together) but Millie is very dominant and Elmo is so small she could seriously harm him. Millie is particularly attached to me, she has no real interest in my partner, she will sit near him but won't allow him to stroke her.

Iguess I just really wanted some tips from people who'd experienced it and how best to start. We are not thinking of doing it suddenly and are obviously going to wait until Elmo's hormones settles.

I don't know many rabbit owners, so would love to get to know fellow rabbit lovers. I was going through a really rough time with illness when my partner bought me Millie to keep me going, she has changed my life beyond recognition, as has Elmo. Some people just think I'm mad :shock:
Thanks for listening and sorry for the long message!
Jen

:wave: hi, and welcome to the forum :thumb:you've definitely found the right place to get to know other rabbit owners:thumb: yes, neutral space is important for bonding, I wouldn't recommend using a cardboard box though, they might decide to expand their space before you are ready! You could use a puppy pen, or a dog crate or similar. I used a dog crate to start with for my bond, but that has the disadvantage that you can't intervene quickly if you need to. A lot of people start with a small space to force the bunnies to interact and prevent them chasing each other, then you can expand the space slowly after 48 hours of no chasing/fur puling/mounting. If you wait another month then Elmos hormones should have subsided. A good guide to bonding is this https://www.facebook.com/notes/the-rabbit-crossing/my-guide-to-how-i-bond-rabbits/463430373700695

Females are quite territorial so this is your biggest problem. Millie considers it hers and will not want another bun on her space, so you will have to find the remotest area you can preferably somewhere where Millie has not been before. As Elmo has been neutered I would start the bonding now, any hormones that are remaining will stand him in good stead as he needs to be confident with Millie.

Hello

I can't help as I've not got the experience but there's lots of advice for you in the threads in this forum.
I mainly just wanted to say "Hello!" as I was born in Kenilworth! (a very long time ago).

Hi MillieM, welcome to RU.:wave: A lady called Tracey Wadworth who runs Rabbit and Guinea pig boarding and Bonding in Rugby may be able to do the bonding for you, if you would rather have someone else do it for you.

Either way....best of luck.

hi

Hi again,

I'm so sorry for delay in replying, we had a family bereavement and I've been travelling around for the past week. I only just began the bonding on Friday. I decided to use the bath tub, as I'd seen somewhere that it was a good place to start.

The first encounter was so much easier than I expected, I was ready with the water sprayer but I didn't need to intervene. Apart from a minor nip from Millie, very little happened. Elmo lay with his head flat to the floor and didn't move at all, Millie wasn't really interested in him and just allowed him to sniff her. I then put some hay down and they ate together with no problems. I started off with 10 minutes on Friday, then gradually increased it each day.

Today, however, something rather unpredictable happened. I decided to put them in a big cardboard box. Elmo mounted Millie and attacked her, I didn't see that coming at all and immediately separated them. It's been a good while since he was neutered so I'm not sure if it was still remaining hormones, or a dominance thing, but I will go back to the beginning in the bath next time!

Thank you so much for all your advice, the dog crate idea is great and when I'm a bit more comfortable I think I may purchase one.
I will try looking up Tracey in Rugby, as that would be great. I'm not too sure where to progress from here really as Elmo completely took me by surprised, but I am relieved he can handle himself as he is tiny compared to her. She seems to have mellowed a little too.

Btw Hello to erspearson, fellow Kenilworthian I have only just moved here actually and still learning my way around!:wave:

Thanks for the support, I will keep you informed
Jen