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Slow Bonding Method - Advice Please

MightyMax said:
If he's not interested in readigrass, which is usually much more tasty than hay to rabbits, then my guess may be that his dentition is a bit off.

I should find a company that will do you a selection of hays, such as the Hay Experts, and see if he will eat any of them.

Also, have a look at how he manages the fibafirst sticks - ie does he struggle to eat them? Is he slow to chew?


I would also provide a pile of forage, including some fresh picked grass in there. I do this every day for all my rabbits. If he eats it all up (and cow parsley is a fave here, though some owners struggle to identify it so take care) then grass is a way forward.

However, just because a rabbit can eat fresh grass, will not mean he is able to chew up hay/readigrass. But grass and fibafirst sticks have a lot going for them :)
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With forage, so far I've only been confident to pick dandelions and plantain - Caramel LOVES those - it's been difficult to keep going with as much of those as before because of the weather, but hopefully any day soon they'll be easier to get hold of again. Everything is covered in snow here today :(

It'll be interesting to see what Mr Muffles thinks of grass, my guess is that he's never had it. His previous home was in a flat and it didn't sound like he had the sort of owner who'd pick forage and grass for him. Although, maybe in the early days she might have, who knows. I'll introduce it all nice and slowly for him and see what he thinks :)
 
Natalie said:
With forage, so far I've only been confident to pick dandelions and plantain - Caramel LOVES those - it's been difficult to keep going with as much of those as before because of the weather, but hopefully any day soon they'll be easier to get hold of again. Everything is covered in snow here today :(

It'll be interesting to see what Mr Muffles thinks of grass, my guess is that he's never had it. His previous home was in a flat and it didn't sound like he had the sort of owner who'd pick forage and grass for him. Although, maybe in the early days she might have, who knows. I'll introduce it all nice and slowly for him and see what he thinks :)
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Foraging is difficult to learn at this time of year but will come in to its own very, very soon - you'll get loads of help on here. One thing to be aware of is that dandelions are high in calcium. Once you've seen all plants go through the four seasons it gets easier & easier to ID. Its only now I feel happy to raid just budding apple trees as I remember the location of where things fruited last year. awthorn is a really easy one to identify & most bunnies love it.
 
I still won't risk cow parsley though. I'm fairly confident my bunnies would give hemlock a wide berth if I picked it by accident but its not one I want to test. I admire & envy those who get it for their buns though - its available all year here (whatever "it" is)
 
Natalie said:
With forage, so far I've only been confident to pick dandelions and plantain - Caramel LOVES those - it's been difficult to keep going with as much of those as before because of the weather, but hopefully any day soon they'll be easier to get hold of again. Everything is covered in snow here today :(

It'll be interesting to see what Mr Muffles thinks of grass, my guess is that he's never had it. His previous home was in a flat and it didn't sound like he had the sort of owner who'd pick forage and grass for him. Although, maybe in the early days she might have, who knows. I'll introduce it all nice and slowly for him and see what he thinks :)
Click to expand...


Yes, foraging does take a bit of confidence. I felt much better after I went on one of Twigs' Foraging Days (Parsnipbun on here).

It might be a good idea to have a real go at identifying Cow Parsley, as it's one thing that I've found available all year round and it's a bunny staple, along with borage and some dead nettle. Look up a few good YouTube videos. What I did (and do) is eat it myself just to make sure it's not poisonous :lol:
 
MightyMax said:
Yes, foraging does take a bit of confidence. I felt much better after I went on one of Twigs' Foraging Days (Parsnipbun on here).

It might be a good idea to have a real go at identifying Cow Parsley, as it's one thing that I've found available all year round and it's a bunny staple, along with borage and some dead nettle. Look up a few good YouTube videos. What I did (and do) is eat it myself just to make sure it's not poisonous :lol:
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:lol: I think I'll give that a miss
 
MightyMax said:
Yes, foraging does take a bit of confidence. I felt much better after I went on one of Twigs' Foraging Days (Parsnipbun on here).

It might be a good idea to have a real go at identifying Cow Parsley, as it's one thing that I've found available all year round and it's a bunny staple, along with borage and some dead nettle. Look up a few good YouTube videos. What I did (and do) is eat it myself just to make sure it's not poisonous :lol:
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That made me laugh - so what happens if it is poisonous? Oh, if we stop hearing from you we will know! :lol::lol:
 
tonibun said:
That made me laugh - so what happens if it is poisonous? Oh, if we stop hearing from you we will know! [emoji38][emoji38]
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You also have to try the meds too like metacam and baytril. Need to know what we are dealing with :D

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I'm really happy for you, it seems to be going very well so far! Paws crossed it remains positive :D

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A little bit of a setback I think, I do hope that I'm not messing everything up :(

Caramel and Mr Muffles have had a few more times together and as long as they are ignoring each other, it's okay, but as soon as they face off, it doesn't seem to go well. At one of their recent meetings when they were face to face, Mr Muffles seemed excited to say hello, but Caramel wasn't having any of it and kind of nose butted him away, not massively aggressively, but not friendly either. This happened a couple of times, then Mr Muffles got the message and backed off. After that Caramel enjoyed hopping about and exploring Mr Muffles' room, while Mr Muffles was content to just sit with me and be stroked. And then after a little while, Caramel hopped back through the gate into her room. So not a bad meet and greet, plus I actually managed to let them sort themselves out without interfering.

This mornings' meet and greet however, did NOT go well :(

It all got very chase and scuffly, mostly Caramel chasing Mr Muffles, and she even managed to pull out a clump of Mr Muffles' fur :( I wasn't a bit happy with the way things were going, and tbh it did seem to be erring on the aggressive side, so I stopped it, and removed Caramel from the situation.

Both rabbits are fine, no injuries that I can see, and both have since been fed and have eaten really well. So no lasting detrimental effects - except perhaps to my nerves :? I'm just feeling such a failure right now. I'll give the two rabbits a bit of a break from the meets and greets for a few days and let the dust settle.

I think if it had just been chasing without the scuffles, I would have coped with it okay, but the scuffles, as if a fight was about to break out, I just didn't feel that I could let that play out as I was so worried that one, or both, of them would get hurt.

I'm thinking of checking with our vets as to whether they might have any links to local bunny bonding experts to see if we might be able to get someone round who might be able to observe a meet and greet or two and help get us back on track.

Any words of advice and encouragement would be gratefully appreciated.

Thanks - Natalie
 
I am really sorry things have got a bit unfriendly but they might have to have a little bit of a squabble to determine who is boss. Don't feel a failure, this can happen to anyone, even when you have been bonding rabbits for years. Rabbits can appear to be acting roughly with one another but it usually only lasts for a few seconds. I intervene at this stage and tell them to calm down. Can you video them so we can watch how they are interacting?
 
tonibun said:
I am really sorry things have got a bit unfriendly but they might have to have a little bit of a squabble to determine who is boss. Don't feel a failure, this can happen to anyone, even when you have been bonding rabbits for years. Rabbits can appear to be acting roughly with one another but it usually only lasts for a few seconds. I intervene at this stage and tell them to calm down. Can you video them so we can watch how they are interacting?
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Thanks for your kind words. I really worry about either bunny getting harmed :( I think seeing the tuft of pulled out fur didn’t help :cry:

Yes, next time we try some together time, I’ll attempt to video the encounter as well. Might need to get a third person in to do the videoing so Mike and I can stay attentive to the buns. I might leave it for a few days though, not sure when to try again tbh.
 
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