Squishies
Warren Scout
Apologies for yet another bonding query which is probably tricky to answer and no doubt depends on the bunnies' personalities involved!
...with some help and advice from those more expert than myself, I disguised an area of the lounge and put out a puppy pen in order to attempt bonding my pair of mini lops (m/f) with my rescue nethie (m). All are spayed/neutered, but the nethie is a touch younger and more active than the minis.
We started on Sunday and at first there was very little interest from any of the bunnies in each other; nothing, nada!
So we reduced space little by little to encourage them to interact...
All was quiet for almost 36 hours until the early hours of last night when a scuffle broke out between the boys. It was easy to break up, and with just a bit of fur pulled, I didn't worry too much.
After a night of thumping from my girl bunny, a bigger scrap started this morning, so I popped them in the carrier for some time out and rearranged the pen a bit so that the litter tray was more central. We had a relatively peaceful afternoon with a few minor scraps and even some grooming.
...but just now a big row has broken out again between the boys -- this time a bit more aggressive and harder to calm everyone down.
I am trying not to interfere too much and stay largely out the way so they can sort out their hierarchy, but it's nail-biting stuff and each time they scrap it seems to get worse -- I am desperate to ensure no one gets hurt, and so really, my question is about how to judge 'safe scrapping that they need to go though' versus 'more serious scrapping that could escalate' / whether the bond is likely to be possible.
I'd love the 3 to get along and am willing them to sort it out, but at the moment every time my little one trys to join in with a snuggle my male mini lop keeps shooing/barging him away.
Any ideas/thoughts gratefully received - I'm exhausted from so little sleep next to them and do not want to make a poor decision or stop things too soon - I really just want the best for all of my bunnies.
x x
...with some help and advice from those more expert than myself, I disguised an area of the lounge and put out a puppy pen in order to attempt bonding my pair of mini lops (m/f) with my rescue nethie (m). All are spayed/neutered, but the nethie is a touch younger and more active than the minis.
We started on Sunday and at first there was very little interest from any of the bunnies in each other; nothing, nada!
So we reduced space little by little to encourage them to interact...
All was quiet for almost 36 hours until the early hours of last night when a scuffle broke out between the boys. It was easy to break up, and with just a bit of fur pulled, I didn't worry too much.
After a night of thumping from my girl bunny, a bigger scrap started this morning, so I popped them in the carrier for some time out and rearranged the pen a bit so that the litter tray was more central. We had a relatively peaceful afternoon with a few minor scraps and even some grooming.
...but just now a big row has broken out again between the boys -- this time a bit more aggressive and harder to calm everyone down.
I am trying not to interfere too much and stay largely out the way so they can sort out their hierarchy, but it's nail-biting stuff and each time they scrap it seems to get worse -- I am desperate to ensure no one gets hurt, and so really, my question is about how to judge 'safe scrapping that they need to go though' versus 'more serious scrapping that could escalate' / whether the bond is likely to be possible.
I'd love the 3 to get along and am willing them to sort it out, but at the moment every time my little one trys to join in with a snuggle my male mini lop keeps shooing/barging him away.
Any ideas/thoughts gratefully received - I'm exhausted from so little sleep next to them and do not want to make a poor decision or stop things too soon - I really just want the best for all of my bunnies.
x x
