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Help With Bonding

S

SebastianJuliet

New Kit
Here is my problem. I have 2 buns: Sebastian (neutered male) and Juliet (spayed female) she was spayed in early February, and I want to attempt to bond them. They have met twice. I have done about 2 weeks of prebonding (switching cages, litter boxes, etc) and now, they are in separate cages, but are close to each other. They can see each other too. He is a bit territorial, he sprays and spot poops when he sees or smells her, and she is fine with him. What should I do?
 
How long ago was he neutered? Personally I wouldn't try bonding until 6weeks after their operations, to allow healing and their hormones to settle.
 
Introduce them in a neutral area, I use a big area with lots of distractions, lots of hay, treats to hand (healthy ones) and it will take up to 3 days for them to get used to each other. Expect the male to chase her and she will run away, for up to 3 days, he wants to hump her but she doesn't want him to. If you start earlt in the morning by tea time you should have some idea as to how the bonding is going. If you are not confident about leaving them together overnight, or if you can't sleep closeby, then return them to their cages and continue the next morning. Try not to put them in an area which the doe considers to be hers as they can be very territorial. Good luck! Let us know how things are going!
 
He was neutered about a year ago and she was spayed about 3 weeks ago. I put both of them in the bathtub with hay, a bit of lettuce and water. As you said, he chased her and she ran away after they both ate the lettuce fine with no outbursts. No fights at all. I managed to get them to cuddle a bit, but when I was done petting them he got up and started to nip or bite (it was hard to tell) on her shoulder and back. She put up with it for about 6 seconds, then she ran away. I was on another website (BinkyBunny) and the people said "Oh don't introduce them, you must do at least 2 months of prebonding!" They said I don't listen and basically called me a bad bunny owner. He tries to hump her, and she runs like you said. I have their cages about 1 inch apart so they can see and smell each other, but cannot get to each other. This morning, Juliet flopped against the cage, and Sebastian was in his loaf position near where Juliet was. They usually sniff each other, and then go about their business after. Should I continue the bathtub session tomorrow?
 
Most of us agree that a bathtub is not ideal as it is very slippy and makes the rabbits nervous. Have you got a better space where they can get to know each other over a few days before they go to live in their permanent position. Where will they be living once they are bonded?
 
I have put a towel down in the bathtub to prevent slipping, is that ok? They will most likely be living in a brand new cage to prevent territorial actions. Sebastians cage is very large, but I am not sure if he would be territorial with Juliet in there too. Could I use a bathroom floor instead of a tub and block off places where they shouldn't go?
 
Hi there, if the bathtub is proving too slippy and stressful then switching to the bathroom floor, perhaps with newspaper down if it is a shiny surface sounds a good idea to me! -- I haven't yet attempted bonding but have been reading up before I make my first attempt next month, and there's lots of different opinions and advice out there, but the folks on the forum here are amazing and very knowledgeable:
- if you watch the videos on this thread http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?462466 using the bathroom as neutral space is exactly what 'Mischief and Tinker's Mum' does. The videos are great and help you see exactly the sorts of behaviours to expect (a bit of chasing, a bit of humping or fur pulling etc) and what is normal vs too aggressive.

I hope me replying bumps your post up for more people to see it and help, but in the meantime good luck and do keep us posted!

M
 
Update: Yesterday, I laid a towel down in the bathtub so it wouldn't be slippery, and I put both rabbits in with hay water and veggies. Both ate happily, not bothering the other. After, there was some chasing, but Juliet would just run away, like she was saying to him that what he was doing was not making her happy. I tried something else: I put a dab of mashes banana on their head, and Juliet licked and groomed Sebastians head to get the banana. He let her do it, but when she was done, he nipped or bit her lower neck. Why? He didn't groom her. Both rabbits pooped a little bit too.
 
The bathroom floor sounds fine. Lots of people adopt very different strategies for bonding (mine get no pre-bonding so I guess I'm an even worse bunny mum) & to some extent they all work, depending of course on the bunnies involved, their owner & set up. Don't worry too much about the occasional nip, they are still working things out.
It all sounds normal to me. The longer the bonding session the better really, each time they are reintroduced they have to start from scratch again. Best of luck
 
Male rabbits are not as territorial as the females so his hutch should be fine. He nipped her as he is the boss and she has to "know" her place! Once they are bonded he won't do that, there may be chasing at meal times as they all tend to do that. It's every man for himself where food is concerned. :lol:
 
I did another session in the bathtub with a towel to prevent slipping. Both ate the lettuce and kale with no problem. He chased her a bit, and I got them to cuddle. I put them next to each other and I petted both at the same time. Usually, he bites her neck and feet, but he just hopped away and cleaned himself. I did this a second time, and this time he did bite her, but there have been no fights what so ever at all with this bond. Should I do another session?
 
The more time they spend together without any fighting the better. I have never put rabbits in a bath tub but if it works then great!
 
I have good news! So yesterday, a freak thunderstorm came, so I took the opportunity to do a stress bonding session in his cage. It worked great! He did try to nip her neck and belly a few times but she just ran away. Not much chasing and no fighting. She also groomed his head a lot and he groomed her just a bit. Today, I did another session (not stress bonding) in his cage, and she groomed his head alot, but he didn't groom her. I put some pellets down for them to eat, and they both ate in the same area within centimeters. Both eventually laid down: she flopped near the side, and he laid in his castle hideout. They laid on opposite sides of the cage. He did again try to nip her belly and neck and she just ran. Not much chasing and no fighting at all. Is this progess?
 
Here is what is happening.


Positive
1. She is grooming him A LOT, and he is starting to groom her just a little bit.
2. Both are OK with the other being in the presence, no fighting and no mounting.
3. Both are laying in the same spot, touching noses.


Neutral
1. There is some chasing from him, and he tries to nip or bite at her belly and her privates. She will immediately rum away when he does this.
2. He sprays his pee still.
 
This sounds fine, as long as she can get away from him when he is being dominant. This will calm down in a few days and you should have 2 very happy bunnies!
 
Would just like to say as I am on both forums (Binky bunny and here) that the ONLY reason people were short with you is because your rabbit recently when into stasis. Understandably, it's a concern. Good luck with the bonding, they both sound wonderful! Would love to see some pics of those two if you can! Can't help but swoon at other peoples rabbits :lol:
 
I am going to place them in the same cage for tonight and see how that goes, so far, she has groomed him and both have laid down next to each other. He has tried to nip her and he chased her a tiny bit, but other than that, I think it is going ok.
 
I would make sure they have time to get used to the new cage before it goes dark - can you do this?
 
Yes, I did this, and the night went fine. They were laying next to each other. And I must say, I think they are officially bonded! They do not mind each other, he has totally stopped nipping her and doesn't spray his pee.
 
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