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A little bonding help!

WelshBunny

Young Bun
Right - my chap has got his buddy now and he has had the fear of god put in him by this little black beauty! Far from biting and telling mum to "back off", he's been huddling near me to get near the very dominant lady.

So: we've done it the way that this rescue does it, putting them together in a neutral area and keeping them together from that point IF all settles down. She started off doing the usual chasing and nipping, showing him who's boss. No lock/bite/fight at all. The rescue was happy with how they settled together with the lady starting to groom him, even though he was too shell shocked to respond. He's since given her a few licks but was stomping at her when she was coming up wanting to groom at first.

However, he's started humping her when they got home and, although she's not overly aggressive about sending him off, it is leading to scuffles. No locking and biting with a fight, just her sending him off. The ******, however, could be less persistent... She is spayed a good few months ago and he was neutered a month ago (rescue aware of all time frames, of course, before I went to see how they got on there). He's got a sore penis as a result of this and I've had some antibiotics from the vet for him, although he does not appear to be in pain like he was after surgery before (avoiding lying on that area, sullen, quiet etc) so I'm not too worried about that. He's eating happily and drinking, they've both started grazing from the same forage box thing too. Most of the time, she hits him when he tries to hump and they leave it at that.

I guess my question is... Is this a worry for the moment? I don't want to break the bond as they are definitely improving (it's been about 32 hours so far) and any "oi back off" scuffles are very short-lived. Just now, she lunged at him to make him go away (he was honking at her, going in for the hump) and he turned away and went to eat while she did the same, so that seems pretty good. Is there anything I can do to help this along quietly? They are in a small, new, neutral pen where I can keep an eye on them, have been grooming and eating together, snuggled in the same "hide away" litter box too. I thought he was cuddling with her just now but he was just going in for a sneak attack hump...

Thoughts from those more experienced? Is this something to worry about as it's happening and is there anything I can do to ease this process right now for them? What about the time frame for things settling down to quieter levels too? I expect from what I read that a true bond just grows stronger as weeks and months progress but they seem happier and happier with one another.

Thank you in advance!
 
This all sounds pretty normal to me. There is no fighting so that is something to be glad about and everything else will settle down in time. They are 2 unfamiliar rabbits and need to learn the boundaries they can go to with each other before one gets annoyed. Try to create a happy atmosphere around them and they will relax more and settle down.
 
Thank you for lending your experience and advice! :)

Today, there is more "we go near each other and separate after a sniff" with less mounting from the boy. He's also going to mount but then doing a sly scootch and slide down next to her as if he's cuddling, which I hope is positive but isn't behaviour I've read about as yet in a bonding context. Everyone is eating and drinking fine still, hoping they'll now settle for a few hours of relaxing. He's just run up to her honking again and shoved his head down and she's giving him a good lick and wash though so fingers crossed!

Any advice still appreciated to ease first time bonder/owner mind!!! Or help them along. I'm trying to keep the environment really nice for them, as was suggested, too. :)
 
It sounds really promising, it's lovely when you have 2 bonded bunnies :love::love: So, just keep carrying on as you have been :thumb:
 
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