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Neutralising home for arrival of bonded bunnies

B

B&B Buns

Alpha Buck
Evening all,

I've read lots of things about neutralising cages, carpets etc before bringing bonded bunnies home but I am just after a bit of advice so rather than writing an essay I'm going to ask questions and would be v grateful for any help...

1 - My lounge was accessed by both bunnies at various times, so should smell of them both. Will I need to neutralise it?

2 - what is the difference between white vinegar and white wine vinegar and which should I use?

3 - I have 4 tunnels (one fabric and 3 plastic) all of which have been chewed/used by both bunnies. Replacing them all will be expensive so I am just planning to clean them all with vinegar. Is this a bad idea?

4 - They are being bonded at the place I board them so when I bring them home I was planning to only give them a small space and then increase it slowly after a few days to make sure they are ok. I'm just worried that the cage was originally Bunny's and I just hope that neutralising it will be enough for them not to fight of I put them in it.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Jo :wave:
 
B&B Buns said:
Evening all,

I've read lots of things about neutralising cages, carpets etc before bringing bonded bunnies home but I am just after a bit of advice so rather than writing an essay I'm going to ask questions and would be v grateful for any help...

1 - My lounge was accessed by both bunnies at various times, so should smell of them both. Will I need to neutralise it?

2 - what is the difference between white vinegar and white wine vinegar and which should I use?

3 - I have 4 tunnels (one fabric and 3 plastic) all of which have been chewed/used by both bunnies. Replacing them all will be expensive so I am just planning to clean them all with vinegar. Is this a bad idea?

4 - They are being bonded at the place I board them so when I bring them home I was planning to only give them a small space and then increase it slowly after a few days to make sure they are ok. I'm just worried that the cage was originally Bunny's and I just hope that neutralising it will be enough for them not to fight of I put them in it.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Jo :wave:
Click to expand...

1: I would neutralise the lounge as much as possible, as each bunny could think its their own territory.
2: not sure, but any vinegar should do the job, diluted 50/50 with water. I imagine white wine vinegar is expensive?
3: I would clean them all and neutralise with vinegar, but I wouldn't give any toys until they are settled back in at home for a good while.
4: I would take extra care with this one, do you have any puppy pen panels or a dog crate you could use to restrict their space rather than using a cage that was previously home to one of the bunnies.

Fingers crossed everything goes well when you bring them home. Moving them to new territory can cause things to kick off, I bought home a fully bonded pair of bunnies (brothers who had been together since birth) from a rescue once and was horrified when they started chasing/fur pulling and scuffling over a food bowl. I removed the food bowl and scatter fed and restricted them to one tier of their hutch for a couple of days and they've been fine ever since :thumb:
 
Sorry I don't have any answers for you but I am going to keep up with this post as I am in a very similar situation whereby we gave just adopted a bonded pair but brought them back into our home where up until 6 months ago our previous bunny lived. We have bought them a new cage and pen but am wondering about the rest of the house that was "chinned" by our previous bun. Hope you get some replies.
 
Thanks Zoobec. The cage was my biggest concern really. At present our dining room is divided using wire mesh panels from when they were side by side so I might just take the cage out and make a temporary set up in one half. Do you think that once they are home and settled I might be able to put it back? It's just a good base to keep hay, water drips etc tidy. but they were me ver shut in there.

I'm planning to scatter feed when they get back so we don't have any food bowl issues and I note your point about toys.

Fingers crossed it still goes well and so can get them back soon, but I'lll obviously leave then as long as necessary, I just miss seeing their little faces in the morning!

Lil P's mum - I'm not sure whether you'd have a problem with a previous bunny scent as it wouldn't be the territory of either of your new buns, but maybe they might feel threatened and get territorial and fight but who knows! Hopefully someone with more experience will be along shortly to advise 
 
I think that using the neutralised panels would be a better idea :thumb: I would try adding the neutralised cage once they have settled in perhaps in a couple of weeks ?

Little Ps mum, I don't know how long bunny scent stays around but I would think that if yours are a bonded pair and they are settled in their base then when they free range fingers crossed they will be fine :thumb: you could always neutralise a bit with diluted vinegar if you want to be ultra sure.
 
The vinegar you should use is white vinegar. I think it's called white spirit vinegar.

To be honest, I have found that once a couple are bonded, I haven't needed to extensively clean lounge/ floors/ panels etc. But mine free range the house so this would be very difficult!

Litter trays and cages are the most important. Also, I don't know if the new bun is male or female, but I find it's easier to bring a female into the male's area ..

Good luck:wave:
 
Thanks MightyMax. The new bun is male - typical! We had them both living in the house free-roaming (downstairs only) but at separate times for about 6 weeks, then set them up side by side for the last 2 weeks before dispatching them to the boarder for bonding. He has been in her cage and so she is used to his smell in there, just not at the same time. I am torn between using the plastic base but taking the cage part off or buying something that I can use as a base in the short term. I will buy them a completely new litter tray though as they each had separate ones before. Now to find one big enough for the 2 love birds... :love:
 
Oooh... I wonder if the OH will notice if I use his underbed storage box?! Not sure he'd want it back afterwards though.... Might try it! :lol:

Thanks for the advice peeps. Not sure when they'll be home yet but at least I'll be ready...
 
B&B Buns said:
Oooh... I wonder if the OH will notice if I use his underbed storage box?! Not sure he'd want it back afterwards though.... Might try it! :lol:

Thanks for the advice peeps. Not sure when they'll be home yet but at least I'll be ready...
Click to expand...
:lol::lol::lol:
Yes you sound very well prepared :thumb:
 
Update - are the bunnies are home!

So this morning I picked up the buns having put the underbed storage box in as a litter tray and spraying everything else with vinegar. They have been together 24/7 for over a week now at the boarders so I just went for it and chucked them in there without restricting their space. They seem fine and there has even been quite a lot of grooming (video in stories thread...). The only thing is that buster occasionally still tries to bump bunny but earlier on she just have a thump and hopped away.

I guess my question is how likely is it that they might start fighting if they haven't so far having been in there for nearly 6 hours?

Thanks in advance.

Jo
 
I would think it's unlikely they will fight, they've been together for 6 days and if they were going to fall out they would have done so by now. I hope they settle well.
 
Thanks tonibun, I thought that was probably the case but thought I'd ask someone with experience. They are so cute together and they both groom each other so it's obviously mutual!! 😀
 
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