Hi all, am attempting bonding for the first time and have read multiple sources but lots of different methods out there.
I have a 7 month old neutered female house rabbit Maggie who we have had for 3-4 months, she is allowed in all parts of the home other than the bedroom. Her main room is our study which she is confined to overnight. She is very confident and not scared of any visitors we have around so we wanted to get a male neutered companion.
Have adopted a similar sized neutered male Teddy from a rescue who did some initial bonding in neutral territory outside and they mostly ignored each other with some mild chasing but overall got on. I then drove them home in the same carrier, I brought them home and built a small enclosure out of grids with two litter trays in the study.
They got on very well but I separated the enclosure with grids overnight as I noted Teddy did not eat as much as Maggie was dominating the food bowls and the hay racks as well as both litter trays. They were kept in view of each other overnight.
The next day they cuddled very soon after taking down their partition and Teddy groomed Maggie and slept together a bit but again Teddy was not eating as much as I would have liked and seemed a little nervous of Maggie. I was studying in the study so could view them all day. I kept them together for about 6 hours and as they were doing well. There were 2-3 times I noticed Maggie stopping Teddy from entering a litter tray (where there is a lot of fresh hay.)
I nipped to kitchen to make a snack and while I was out I heard a lot of noise. Found them fighting with Teddy's hair everywhere.
I have now changed the room the enclosure is in to our living room, there unfortunately is not enough space in our bedroom for this and have wiped the floor with vinegar and used bedding that I have washed. Made an enclosure with grids with a partition with each rabbit on either side. Teddy is now eating. Difficult to tell if I am doing the right thing. My basis for separating them was that Teddy was not eating well and then the fight made me feel separating them with shorter introductions might be a better idea.
Any advice?
I have a 7 month old neutered female house rabbit Maggie who we have had for 3-4 months, she is allowed in all parts of the home other than the bedroom. Her main room is our study which she is confined to overnight. She is very confident and not scared of any visitors we have around so we wanted to get a male neutered companion.
Have adopted a similar sized neutered male Teddy from a rescue who did some initial bonding in neutral territory outside and they mostly ignored each other with some mild chasing but overall got on. I then drove them home in the same carrier, I brought them home and built a small enclosure out of grids with two litter trays in the study.
They got on very well but I separated the enclosure with grids overnight as I noted Teddy did not eat as much as Maggie was dominating the food bowls and the hay racks as well as both litter trays. They were kept in view of each other overnight.
The next day they cuddled very soon after taking down their partition and Teddy groomed Maggie and slept together a bit but again Teddy was not eating as much as I would have liked and seemed a little nervous of Maggie. I was studying in the study so could view them all day. I kept them together for about 6 hours and as they were doing well. There were 2-3 times I noticed Maggie stopping Teddy from entering a litter tray (where there is a lot of fresh hay.)
I nipped to kitchen to make a snack and while I was out I heard a lot of noise. Found them fighting with Teddy's hair everywhere.
I have now changed the room the enclosure is in to our living room, there unfortunately is not enough space in our bedroom for this and have wiped the floor with vinegar and used bedding that I have washed. Made an enclosure with grids with a partition with each rabbit on either side. Teddy is now eating. Difficult to tell if I am doing the right thing. My basis for separating them was that Teddy was not eating well and then the fight made me feel separating them with shorter introductions might be a better idea.
Any advice?