Yes she has lived in the shed but hasn't been in since April or may. We are thinking of taking them on a car ride. Have you heard of doing that for bonding?
The aggressiveness has calmed down from my female. She likes to sit near him, with the pen in between, and groom herself. He is honking at her a lot. Is this a good sign?
What about swapping them back and forth with the pens. So their smells intermingle? Would that be a good idea? I honestly had no idea she would be so upset! I thought since she missed Jack she would be happy to have company. Maybe she prefers to live alone afterall.
Well, I guess time will tell! ��
the chance is is that likely the shed will still smell of her, she views it as her territory. any bunny who isn't friend coming into that territory is seen as a threat, hence why she is trying to attack him. she is unhappy about having another rabbit in her shed.
rabbits are much happier in pairs, I highly doubt having been bonded before that she will prefer to live alone now. that isn't the issue. the issue is that the shed is her home, her territory, you're putting a threat in there. that is why they fought, she is defending her territory.
I'm not sure if it has been, but the entire shed will need to cleaned top to bottom and "neutralised" so it does not smell of either of them. in other words, entirely cleaned out with hot soapy water and left to dry, and then I clean with pet disinfectant one last time.
any bonding that takes place
must be done on neutral ground. not in his carrier, not in her carrier, not on her side of the shed, not on his side of the shed. many people use a bath with a blanket for this reason, the space is small and they have never been there.
I always suggest scent swapping, whether that is pens, or blankets & litter trains between them. it helps them to get used to each others scent. having them side by side is also crucial.
the key to bonding is small sessions ending on a positive note, with not too much space. I have found the bigger the space, the more fights, the more room to chase, harder to intervene. have them in the bath together for 5 minutes for a week, then build it up to 10, 20, 40.. etc. bonding is often not quick and can take weeks or months. you'll want to end sessions on a positive note such as ignoring one another, or a sniff. of course if they fight and really want at it, leave it for a few days and try again.
driving in a car in a carrier is considered stress bonding. it can be a good tool, but it is frowned upon. keeping them in a carrier for multiple days as tonibun said one person did is extreme and I would reguard as cruel, keeping them in it together for 5 minutes before back to their pen? not so much. I have a bigger carrier that opens at the top, Catit Cabrio I think it is, I actually used that as a bonding space for Luna & Orion. Luna is a bit more of a special case being blind, the bath was far too large lunging when Orion was near. the smaller space allowed side by side contact, and easier to intervene.
some do bonding in huge pens with lots of hidey places. I don't like the idea so much as if a fight is to break out, they can run everywhere before you can grab them.
once bonded (grooming, laying side by side in the bath) you need to think about the next step, where they live. completely gut out everything, remove any and all bedding, hot soapy water completely cleaned out. no scent from either of them needs to be left behind.
if you give a newly bonded pair too much space, they often end up fighting. so I would suggest keeping it small-ish and extending the space over weeks. of course not so cramped that they can not move, but not so big that its too much at once.