First Encounter + Bonding experience (Need advice!)

Hi All ! This will be a long post, but just want to get it all out so you guys could throw some advice at me

This is my first time bonding two rabbits together. I have had my girl for a year or so now, and i've noticed she's been getting a bit slow and 'depressed' (Glazed eyes, not running at all etc). Thought it was time for her to have a little buddy.

I brought a lovely baby boy bunny (I say baby, i'm not entirely sure how old he is, but he's smallish (half her size)), and within 24 hours he was doing binkies, flopping fully, and coming over for cuddles (must be a male thing).

I've put the two cages together, so they can see each other. When I did this, my girl became obsessed. Every time the boy moved, she'd follow it, trying to sniff him through the bars. The boy took no notice. Eventually they both flopped back-to-back which was adorable.

I thought 'well it can't get any better in this state', so I decided to put them both in neutral territory, with food scattered around, for the first time. No cages at all.

Gotta say, it was pretty scary to watch. They ran around, poop flying everywhere, fur being pulled out, they ran at each other and kinda flipped into one another. I was about to call the entire thing quits, when they just stopped. The female (the aggressor at this point) started running away from the male who was playfully chasing her. I say playfully, as he was binkying whilst doing it. He'd run up to her, she'd run away, he'd then flop down somewhere.
The girl was freaked, wouldn't go anywhere near him at first.
Eventually, I sat down on the floor with them, and she flopped near me, and he flopped the other side of me, and they had little interactions. They even touched noses at one point.

She'd let him come closer, but would keep running away - even with me there.

Eventually I called it quits. They would be happily flop down within a meter of each other, but my girl wouldn't really let him get closer.

----

That's the first encounter. I feel like I should have done it in a smaller area (perhaps the bath) to not let her run away. But at the same time I didn't want her to feel trapped and fight her away out of a corner.

What would you guys advise. Does this sound like a normal, good first encounter. Is there anything I should do differently?

Thanks for all the help ^.^

I need to ask -

Is the female spayed? If she is then your first step is to get the boy neutered or he will pester her and maybe she will get so stressed she will attack him. Once he is neutered and healed you will then need to introduce them in a neutral area, especially somewhere your female has not been as they are the more territorial of the two. When you put them together the male should chase the female for a couple of days until she feels more relaxed with him. Hopefully they will then settle down into a happily bonded relationship

You have done the right thing in getting her a friend. If she isn't spayed then she will get pregnant if you put them together. !

tonibun said:

I need to ask -

Is the female spayed? If she is then your first step is to get the boy neutered or he will pester her and maybe she will get so stressed she will attack him. Once he is neutered and healed you will then need to introduce them in a neutral area, especially somewhere your female has not been as they are the more territorial of the two. When you put them together the male should chase the female for a couple of days until she feels more relaxed with him. Hopefully they will then settle down into a happily bonded relationship

You have done the right thing in getting her a friend. If she isn't spayed then she will get pregnant if you put them together. !

Click to expand...

Yer she's spayed. The boy cannot be atm - he's too young for it

Second Encounter didn't go as well.

I tried a smaller area, still neutral - the bath.

My girl rabbit sounded like she was crying, as the male was pulling her fir (which I tried to stop).

She jumped right out of the bath onto me, then legged it out of the room. Guessing the bath was too small.

Personally, stop, keep totally seperate, wait til boy is neutered.

Try again in neutral area (you may need to re-neutralise now if they have been near an area).

Don't use bath, too dangerous.