Hi everyone :wave:
I'm trying to prepare for bonding Ham & Bea by reading as much information and advice as possible. For our specific scenario, the pair of them are going to be moving into a walk in outdoor run which is 10 x 8ft. This is still being built and won't likely be finished for at least another two weeks. But I want to get ahead of the game!
This run will be attached to Beatrice's hutch, which will be facing into it and permanently open so they can just hop in and out of it. Ham's hutch (which he came with) we're disposing of because it's too small and leaks badly. Bea's hutch is the two storey 'Honeysuckle' from PaH is 10ft of floor space altogether and 3ft to stand up in which I believe is big enough for the two of them.
However, how does this work? Do we bond them in the run first, and if that all goes well then let them both use the hutch? I'm concerned because Beatrice is very clean (having come from living as a house rabbit she does all of her poops in one corner and her bedding area is spotless and just smells like lovely hay), Ham on the other hands poops indiscriminately and uses the 'sleeping' part of his hutch as he designated toilet area (despite pooping everywhere else anyway!). I don't want them to fall out because Ham decides that her bed is his new toilet.
We're going to change how her hutch is at the moment though - after reading about sawdust being bad for their health we're ditching it completely and battoning lino to the floor of her hutch. Then we're going to buy a large poop tray to go in the downstairs area where Bea currently likes to go to the toilet. Will Ham follow her lead if she keeps going there?
They both have quite different ways of living - Bea likes to be cosy and is always snuggled up in her sleeping area, whereas Ham will clear the hay away so that he's lying on a cold hard floor! I can tell that Beatrice is desperate to live with him already though. They can see each other from their seperate living arrangements outside and she's so curious and excited everytime she sees him ambling about.
I'm excited but nervous to finally introduce them - I want to do it right. Any advice is seriously appreciated, thank you
I'm trying to prepare for bonding Ham & Bea by reading as much information and advice as possible. For our specific scenario, the pair of them are going to be moving into a walk in outdoor run which is 10 x 8ft. This is still being built and won't likely be finished for at least another two weeks. But I want to get ahead of the game!
This run will be attached to Beatrice's hutch, which will be facing into it and permanently open so they can just hop in and out of it. Ham's hutch (which he came with) we're disposing of because it's too small and leaks badly. Bea's hutch is the two storey 'Honeysuckle' from PaH is 10ft of floor space altogether and 3ft to stand up in which I believe is big enough for the two of them.
However, how does this work? Do we bond them in the run first, and if that all goes well then let them both use the hutch? I'm concerned because Beatrice is very clean (having come from living as a house rabbit she does all of her poops in one corner and her bedding area is spotless and just smells like lovely hay), Ham on the other hands poops indiscriminately and uses the 'sleeping' part of his hutch as he designated toilet area (despite pooping everywhere else anyway!). I don't want them to fall out because Ham decides that her bed is his new toilet.
We're going to change how her hutch is at the moment though - after reading about sawdust being bad for their health we're ditching it completely and battoning lino to the floor of her hutch. Then we're going to buy a large poop tray to go in the downstairs area where Bea currently likes to go to the toilet. Will Ham follow her lead if she keeps going there?
They both have quite different ways of living - Bea likes to be cosy and is always snuggled up in her sleeping area, whereas Ham will clear the hay away so that he's lying on a cold hard floor! I can tell that Beatrice is desperate to live with him already though. They can see each other from their seperate living arrangements outside and she's so curious and excited everytime she sees him ambling about.
I'm excited but nervous to finally introduce them - I want to do it right. Any advice is seriously appreciated, thank you