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Not sure how to interpret interactions

tsr2

New Kit
This summer we lost Fluffy, the boy in our brother sister pair. A friend lost the girl from her pair and didn't want to take on another bunny, so we are trying to bond her boy, Flopsy, with our girl Velvet. We have got to a point where they can be kept together in neutral territory for 20 minutes or more without major issues.

Often Flopsy will approach Velvet and they will (almost?) touch noses with Flopsy quite head down. I'm not sure if I should interpret that as submissive or asking to be groomed? After a few seconds Velvet will run away, sometimes with a squeak and/or a stamp of the feet. I have no idea what to make of that. Velvet seemed relaxed enough to lie down a few times, but then Fluff would come and sniff at her, then she would get up and run off again.

Overall I think it's positive, certainly more than when they were visibly aggressive, but I can't say I'm sure where they are at.
 
I am sorry to read that you lost Fluffy and it it sounds like it was a close family bond.
From what you descibe, the behavior of Flopsy is one of submissive behavior. Rabbits lowering their head is saying that they are submitting to the other rabbit.
There are a number of threads on the forum that will help with bonding, and many of my fellow RU's will probably chip in with much more experienced advice for your bond.
It sounds like you are doing the right positive things and as there is no indication regarding fighting or violence, then the approach you are taking should pay dividends.
 
I'm very sorry you lost Fluffy [emoji17]

I agree with Craig. The bunnies are at the stage of sorting out their hierarchy, so going nose to nose and running away and some thumping are par for the course. I would let them carry on sorting themselves out and just monitor from a distance to make sure there's no aggression between them.

Are you keeping them together all the time or are you doing the bonding in short sessions?

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acceptance

I'm very sorry you lost Fluffy [emoji17]

I agree with Craig. The bunnies are at the stage of sorting out their hierarchy, so going nose to nose and running away and some thumping are par for the course. I would let them carry on sorting themselves out and just monitor from a distance to make sure there's no aggression between them.

Are you keeping them together all the time or are you doing the bonding in short sessions?

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dear tsr2,--friendship is what is being offered,-acceptance not so easily given,will require monitoring---remember rabbits are smarter than humans.--rrrr,rrr-and we donot always get what we want.--give it some time--sincerely james waller from the other kent-usa-merry xmas:wave::love:
 
It's good that Velvet is running away from Fluffy and if you can keep them together permanently it usually takes up to 3 days before they start settling down with one another. Separating can confuse them at times so I would only separate if they start to fight.
 
From what you descibe, the behavior of Flopsy is one of submissive behavior. Rabbits lowering their head is saying that they are submitting to the other rabbit.
It certainly looked submissive to me, but I have read that it can be either submissive or a dominant rabbit demanding to be groomed. For example this article says "The rabbit that puts its head down to be licked is claiming top spot, and by licking it, the partner is accepting that the other rabbit is boss."

While I thought it was more likely to be submission, I didn't think Velvet running away was dominant behaviour, so that made it hard to be sure.
 
I agree with Craig. The bunnies are at the stage of sorting out their hierarchy, so going nose to nose and running away and some thumping are par for the course. I would let them carry on sorting themselves out and just monitor from a distance to make sure there's no aggression between them.

Are you keeping them together all the time or are you doing the bonding in short sessions?

Just short sessions at the moment. I'm finding it hard to fit sessions in around a full time job and child care and I don't think I can leave them unsupervised together yet.
 
This sounds similar to the way my two were when they were getting to know each other. Lots of investigation followed by mad running away or spraying pee! I was in a similar situation to you in that I was working full time so couldn't leave them together unsupervised, it did take a bit longer but they're now inseparable. In the end I had a few days off work when the timing was right and put them together. Yours sound like they are behaving naturally and figuring things out, although I agree sometimes articles can be confusing, I read contradictory things on different websites. As long as they're not circling and becoming aggressive I would leave them to figure it out.
 
it's puzzling.
I have Pepper (nethie boy 2 yrs - the original rabbit) & Tulip (larger girl - same size as a wild rabbit 2yrs - the new rabbit).
I've been trying to bond them for approx. 2 months now without success until today. I'm pretty sure Tulip is the dominant one. They've been in a shared shed in the night but with a tight mesh separating them. In the day Pepper has had free roam in approx. 75% of the garden & Tulip in 25% with a 2" mesh chicken wire fence separating them. They seemed OK with each other but whenever they came face-to-face through the chicken wire Tulip would attack Pepper. Same if I let Pepper into Tulip's area - fur flying everywhere.
Today I got fed up with it & took the chicken wire away but I was ready with a hose pipe - if they fought I was gonna give them a blast of water.
Well, it went OK-ish but I had to spray a couple of times, then Tulip went up to Pepper & put her head down in front of him & he groomed her head. Over the next 2 hrs this happened 3 more times and there wasn't any fighting.
I've actually put them both in the shed now with no barrier & so far so good although I am very worried about overnight. I will be checking on them every 10 mins or so until I have to go to bed.

so I think head down might mean that is the dominant one wanting grooming.
 
Today was better. They sat together for a while and there was less thumping. Flopsy seemed to be trying to groom Velvet a few times, but she wasn't having it.

I think we'll have some longer sessions this weekend and see how it goes.
 
Today was definitely very positive. Velvet let Flopsy groom her for almost 10 minutes, so I feel we are moving in the right direction.

My main concern now is when it is safe to allow them together in more territorial areas. I don't want to be over confident and undo the progress they've made. As they are outdoor bunnies, I can't supervise them in their hutch once they have moved in together. I think I need to stick to the plan of longer sessions in neutral territory for now?
 
Are we nearly there yet?

So they've been meeting in neutral territory for a while. Velvet has been letting Flopsy groom her a bit, but there have always been points where she's got grumpy, sometimes escalating to fur pulling. Today I was able to keep them together for 2 hours with no conflict. If I'm perfectly honest velvet might have had a foot stamp early on, I'm surprisingly unsure.

The best thing was that, as well as Flopsy grooming Velvet, Velvet also groomed Flopsy a little. The next test is the run, will moving to a non-neutral area be an issue? I think I'll introduce them in the neutral area again and move them to the run after they have settled down with each other.
 
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The best thing was that, as well as Flopsy grooming Velvet, Velvet also groomed Flopsy a little. The next test is the run, will moving to a non-neutral area be an issue? I think I'll introduce them in the neutral area again and move them to the run after they have settled down with each other.

And that didn't go so well. They were fine in he neutral area, but it only took a few minutes to escalate to fur pulling once they were moved to the run.
 
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This summer we lost Fluffy, the boy in our brother sister pair. A friend lost the girl from her pair and didn't want to take on another bunny, so we are trying to bond her boy, Flopsy, with our girl Velvet. We have got to a point where they can be kept together in neutral territory for 20 minutes or more without major issues.

Often Flopsy will approach Velvet and they will (almost?) touch noses with Flopsy quite head down. I'm not sure if I should interpret that as submissive or asking to be groomed? After a few seconds Velvet will run away, sometimes with a squeak and/or a stamp of the feet. I have no idea what to make of that. Velvet seemed relaxed enough to lie down a few times, but then Fluff would come and sniff at her, then she would get up and run off again.

Overall I think it's positive, certainly more than when they were visibly aggressive, but I can't say I'm sure where they are at.
dear tsr-2,-condolences for fluffy,-the mate doesnot take this absence lightly.-which makes introducing a new partner can be difficult,-our choice may not be their choice.-there are clues you will have to work through with them.-advise supervised visits,and a double fence between the two.--rabbits can without a doubt cause instant damage to each other.--sincerely james waller from the other kent-usa
 
And that didn't go so well. They were fine in he neutral area, but it only took a few minutes to escalate to fur pulling once they were moved to the run.

Finally around the middle of this week I was able to put them in the run together with no issues.

After several days of having them in the run together in the day, but separate hutches at night I have now put them in the same hutch. So far there is no sign of any issues. I am still checking on them regularly, but I am reasonably confident they will be OK now.
 
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