HELP! a place to bond...

Hi Everyone,

I'll try to be brief - We raised a male bunny, he is like a child to us now 4,5 years old. He is neutered, has always been friendly with dogs, cats, people, he is one big friendly marshmallow. We figured we would adopt a little girly if they got along… We took our boy to the rescue, in that neutral territory they seemed to get along fine, the girly dominated him, and he was fine with it. we took it as a good sign, brought them home, but at home everything changed, the male became very aggressive towards her, or rather territorial. We live in a flat, there is no space that the male never visited, so he is like that everywhere in the house. WE tried bonding them in my office, but we can't take them there anymore. He is not as aggressive in a neutral space, but the girly is understandably running away from him. At the moment they are in separate cages, trying to find a place that offers bonding services in our area, but so far no luck. We tried asking for tips in this forum, you guys suggested to ask around rescues… and there are 2 rescues nearby, one of them is going under refurbishment, the other is packed, and they only bond their own bunnies -fair enough. At this stage, we are stuck, we don't know what to do. We really grew to like the little lady, and it breaks our heart to see them unbonded. (No, we cannot try bonding them in the rescue where we got her from, because they are further away, we just happened to get a lift from friends…, we have no car, that is why we are looking at nearby places..)
Is there anything we can try, any place you know of? Or anyone in our area who would have them for bonding? Any tip is greatly appreciated… We live in Kingston upon Thames, Surbiton, to be precise.

Thank you in advance guys!

I'm going to make an assumption that your bathroom is the room he's been in the least and is probably the easiest to neutralise.

I would try bonding them in there once I'd scrubbed the floor and everything bunny height with a 50/50 white vinegar and water solution.

I would then place them both on the floor at the same time BUT beforehand, I would place down a litter tray with HER droppings and wet litter in it. The reason I'd do this is to try to trick him that this is her space but having not been in it before, she probably won't try to claim it. You might even benefit from putting them in a small crate within the bathroom initially to stop any running and chasing. Once they'll being relatively calm in the very small space, try increasing it slightl. Small steps very slowly is the key. Too much space, too soon, often leads to scuffles. Place some tasty treats down on the floor for them as a distraction.

Mackers said:

I'm going to make an assumption that your bathroom is the room he's been in the least and is probably the easiest to neutralise.

I would try bonding them in there once I'd scrubbed the floor and everything bunny height with a 50/50 white vinegar and water solution.

I would then place them both on the floor at the same time BUT beforehand, I would place down a litter tray with HER droppings and wet litter in it. The reason I'd do this is to try to trick him that this is her space but having not been in it before, she probably won't try to claim it. You might even benefit from putting them in a small crate within the bathroom initially to stop any running and chasing. Once they'll being relatively calm in the very small space, try increasing it slightl. Small steps very slowly is the key. Too much space, too soon, often leads to scuffles. Place some tasty treats down on the floor for them as a distraction.

Click to expand...

Well, that is what we tried the first time..our bathroom, and we used the vinegar/water solution as well... I have placed cardboard things and hay everywhere as distractions.. the only missing thing was the litter tray..we don't have one, no need, since both of them only use one corner that is easy to keep clean. Anyway, it was a disaster.... our bathroom is really narrow with a silly arrangement of things, so we can't even stand around them (as in safe enough to intervene if it gets out of hand)...it didn't work, he went straight for her
WE really need a place that offers bonding services, I can't believe there are all sorts of rescues everywhere who offer that, everywhere but our place....

Ah, sorry. Didn't realise you'd already tried that. I'm sure there will be a rescue fairly nearby who can attempt a bond for you. We'll bump you up to the top again so more people see your thread. Please bear in mind, however, that even if you get them successfully bonded elsewhere, you'll need to closely supervise once you get them back home as they'll both be trying to claim your space as their own again.

Mackers said:

Ah, sorry. Didn't realise you'd already tried that. I'm sure there will be a rescue fairly nearby who can attempt a bond for you. We'll bump you up to the top again so more people see your thread. Please bear in mind, however, that even if you get them successfully bonded elsewhere, you'll need to closely supervise once you get them back home as they'll both be trying to claim your space as their own again.

Click to expand...

Thanks for that
Don't worry, I am familiar with the process, I just don't have the facilities to see it through

Tried the nearby rescues...no luck, I have no idea what to do...