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Have I made a mistake?

Alicia

Mama Doe
I’ve brought home a Netherland dwarf x Dutch (both quite feisty breeds apparently) who was quite badly attacked by other females that she lived with. She’s better now and has been stitched up and has healed fine. Beans recently lost his partner and is a very submissive rabbit (or so I thought) I thought they might be a good match. Beans is 1 and the female is 7 months old. Beans has binkied a few times

He is very interested in her, he has sniffed her and stuck his head low to the floor under her chin. I think she’s a bit scared of him, she just keeps running away. Beans has chased her a couple of times but hasn’t tried too hard, just shooed her off. There’s been no fights, no hair pulled or injuries. Is this going well? I’m concerned that I’ve made a mistake. I was hoping they’d just fall in love and that would be that but no ones that lucky!
 
This sounds absolutely normal - she should run away from him and this will possibly last about 3 days, then they will start to trusts one another. It's lovely that she now has a better home where she will be cared for properly.
 
She’s the sweetest little thing and I am hoping they’ll both be happier, I wouldn’t want either of them to be alone. She brought a little toy with her :lol: she’s currently named Hermione but I’m not sure if I’ll keep that
 
Well done, Alicia :thumb: She sounds as though she needs a good home and a nice buck to snuggle up to.

I agree with tonibun, chasing is normal. My very recent bond started off with about a day of constant chasing. I reckoned that as long as the doe can get away and doesn't retaliate, then it's all going well. It should all start to calm down.

Sending lots of bonding vibes. I actually like the name Hermione :)

It certainly doesn't sound like a mistake to me :)
 
Thank you everyone, still a lot of chasing, I’ve thrown some food in the middle because it’s been a hectic day and the rabbits haven’t had breakfast yet, only hay. Beans is eating but she’s not, do I need to be worried about this? I’m going to add an extra water bowl. The food is scattered around, not in a bowl
 
Good luck alicia. Lovely you've rescued a bun to partner beans. Maybe chuck in some fresh grass & dandelions -they may tempt her
 
When you say "food", do you mean pellet food? Have you got to slowly change her over to the food that Beans is on? If she's been eating hay this morning, I wouldn't be concerned. Obviously keep a watch on them both to make sure they are pooing and weeing OK. Have you seen her drinking? I would also try to get them eating together. Perhaps pick some fresh grass and put it between them, or some herbs.
 
No not pellets, some greens and dandelions. She’s on the same pellets as Beans anyway so that should be ok.
 
It's quite normal for the buck to prevent the doe from eating for up to 3 days. So I scatter food so she has a chance to find some, although she may be too scared to eat at the moment.
 
If you only brought her home today, then she's probably feeling a bit unsettled. Has she eaten anything since being with you? Have you seen her drink?
 
I was going to sit down there with them, but I’m wondering whether it would be best to separate
 
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