Accidental meeting

Soooo a thing happened last night and I need advice :s

Remember I said I've split my lounge/kitchen with a puppyplay pen covered with cardboard to keep Zeus and Athena separate? Because Athena is still new and don't fully trust her out all night I still close her in the cage at night. This morning though I found Zeus in front of Athena's cage!!! [emoji33][emoji33][emoji33]

He little escape artist had squished through a gap I hadn't realised that's under the kitchen cupboards... the gap looks only about 10cm big but unless he jumped over the 1m high pen I can't see how else he got in there.

Now wanting to spook them by rushing and throwing the pen out the way and scooping Zeus up, I just stood there confused for a bit, watching them they were sniffing at each other and Zeus was chinning the bars while Athena was dropping her head.

There was no aggression or anything and Zeus did come hopping over to me eventually when I moved the pen to get in. checked them both over thoroughly and there's no damage anywhere.

Today he's been biting and scratching at the cardboard on the divider.
Should I just ignore him and let him try destroy the cardboard or should I tell him off? Should I remove the divider?
I don't know what to do :s my gut is telling me that Zeus wants to be near Athena but I'm nervous about doing the wrong thing and damaging their future bonding relationship :s any advice please?

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It does sound to me that Zeus wants to be near Athena, too, and the fact that you saw no aggression between them is a good sign. I wouldn't tell him off for trying to get through the divider, but I'm not sure what the best thing to do now is, either, so hopefully someone else can help you.

I'm in no way an expert on bonding. I've only had a few and one of them was pretty much instant love. The other few bonds were stressful (and I'm sure others with far greater wisdom and experience than I will echo that). At some point you have to allow them to spend time together and in most cases, it gets physical as one must assert dominance. What you don't want is fighting and agression. But it's determining that boundary whilst keeping both rabbits safe, but ensuring that a heirachy is established. Agression is distrubing to watch and intervension is a must. But then you have to separate and you're back to square one.
Alot of what I have read indicates that you need a smallish space with loads of hay and food to distract. you need to be ready with towels or oven gloves (or both) and be ready to intercept.
Both bunnies will be curious about each other, both have instincts that tell them that to be together is better but they have to work out who is boss. If you can find a way to swap poops over so scent is transposed between the two environments, then this is a good idea. If you can swap them round so Zeus spends time in Athenas environment and vice verca, they will get used to each others scent.
You'll need to supervise them when they are together and eventually they will spend more time together and they will be more comfortable but it can be a lengthy process. be patient and hopefully some of my fellow RU collegues with much greater knowledge will hop on here and guide you further.
Good luck
Craig x

I would let them meet, be close by just in case & see how it goes. might turn out to be no probs at all :thumb:

I have only ever bonded 2 pairs tho (once was easy, 2nd time traumatic but ultimately successful) so the above is just a gut feeling.

Thanks Craig and mikek for the advice

After speaking with my vet a bit earlier and explaining it all, I've decided to remove the divider as Zeus has been trying everything to get to Athena's side and we're worried he might hurt himself.

Since removing it there's been lots of curiosity and Zeus has licked Athena through the bars [emoji1787] both body language has been relaxed and Athena gets super happy when Zeus comes over to her cage and then they sit there with Athena's head lowered and eyes closed and Zeus trying his best to sniffle through the bars.

Tomorrow I'm going to modify Zeus's area to be a new area or Athena that's a lot bigger and will give her space to run around and they'd be able to see each other properly. I'll see how they do with that and then consider face to face introductions on the weekend.

I do welcome any advice and appreciate it tons

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it does sound quite encouraging to me but there are people on here with loads more experience of bonding than I have. tonibun in particular comes to mind.

as a comparison, Pepper & Tulip were in a similar situation when first meeting (separated by chicken wire). If Pepper came close then Tulip would attack him through the chicken wire

Pepper was originally bonded with Poppy (who unfortunately has passed away). On that occasion it was a few cautious sniffs and then friends.

mikek said:

it does sound quite encouraging to me but there are people on here with loads more experience of bonding than I have. tonibun in particular comes to mind.

as a comparison, Pepper & Tulip were in a similar situation when first meeting (separated by chicken wire). If Pepper came close then Tulip would attack him through the chicken wire

Pepper was originally bonded with Poppy (who unfortunately has passed away). On that occasion it was a few cautious sniffs and then friends.

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Yea I don't want to get too hopeful too quickly because I've read it can go horribly wrong so quickly :s

Awww sounds like trying to bond them must've been heartwrenching :s

I do also wonder if they know what to make of each other as both of them were taken away from their mom and siblings long before the 8/10weeks than usual :s

Will just have to keep following my gut and making sure they're both not showing any stress and also get advice everywhere

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As I think I said yesterday, as the girl is so young there shouldn't be a problem. He will want to chase her a bit but they will soon settle down and be getting along fine. If you prolong it, they may think you don't want them to be together and be confused.

tonibun said:

As I think I said yesterday, as the girl is so young there shouldn't be a problem. He will want to chase her a bit but they will soon settle down and be getting along fine. If you prolong it, they may think you don't want them to be together and be confused.

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Oh don't want that at all! :s thank you when I introduce them should I do it in time increments or just introduce them and let them stay together as long as they want?
With the chasing should I let Zeus or should I stop him?


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do iiiitt

A lot of us believe that once you put 2 Rabbits together. it is best you keep them that way, otherwise each time you separate them you take a step or two backwards. If Zeus starts chasing Athena this is normal and it usually takes from 1 - 3 days before they settle down. Just try to distract them with a few treats and hay. If he seems to be acting a bit rough, shout at him and tell him this is not what you want him to do - he needs to be nice to Athena. You might be very lucky where nothing much happens, they just carry on eating etc. If you feel you all need a rest overnight than just put the buns back to their original set ups, or leave Zeus out but put Athena back so she can rest. Try to act matter-of-fact about it all so they don't pick up on your nerves!

Thanks tonibun
I've done it [emoji16][emoji33] figured it's best to do this morning as I'm home all day and what better way to start than with breakfast [emoji16]
I put their food bowls near each other and they happily ate together and then swapped bowls [emoji1787][emoji1787] and ate from the same for a few a little.
After breakfast there were a little running around but Athena is wayyyy faster than Zeus [emoji1787] he looks floppy and confused with having to run. She would sprint away a little and then when Zeus catches up she'd drop her head and Zeus looks more confused [emoji1787]
Absolute no aggression (so far) and the chasing seems very short lived that I don't even get a chance to intervene [emoji3060][emoji173]
Only worry I have is Athena seems very lay down flat and don't move when Zeus is sniffing her, should I worry about this?

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They've got the whole living room to run around in.. but of course they both decide to squish into the cage [emoji2356]

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Nothing to worry about - Athena is being submissive and it's just how it should be. Well done!

that looks like a great environment for them to run around in

I wouldn't worry about Athena laying flat, just keep a close eye on them. good that you did this early in the morning as it gives you the maximum about of time to observe them & referee if need be.

great news

btw, has a vet seen Athena? in one of the pics elsewhere she does look a bit light to me. maybe just her age but she looks to me like she could do with some feeding up. I am not an expert at all so don't take my comments as any sort of advice but if I was caring for her I would maybe give her some extra pellets.

tonibun said:

Nothing to worry about - Athena is being submissive and it's just how it should be. Well done!

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Woohoo glad to hear that!! thanks

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mikek said:

that looks like a great environment for them to run around in

I wouldn't worry about Athena laying flat, just keep a close eye on them. good that you did this early in the morning as it gives you the maximum about of time to observe them & referee if need be.

great news

btw, has a vet seen Athena? in one of the pics elsewhere she does look a bit light to me. maybe just her age but she looks to me like she could do with some feeding up. I am not an expert at all so don't take my comments as any sort of advice but if I was caring for her I would maybe give her some extra pellets.

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Thank you Athena has shown me a flaw though [emoji15] she's able to squish in under the couch and get behind the pen to where the window is [emoji33][emoji33] almost gave me a heart attack! The way my building is there's 2 windows, the outer one doesn't open but the inner does, BUT between the 2 there's a gap that's about 30cm wide but has a drop of about 1m [emoji33][emoji33]

Hehe my vet and I agree with you [emoji1787][emoji1787] she is underweight so instead of the 1/4 shotglass of pellets she gets 1/2 shotglass twice a day. She does wolf food down but constantly poops [emoji1787] swear she poops more than Zeus [emoji1787] I've got her on the Science Selective junior and also give fresh veg and unlimited hay. She's gained a little already [emoji16]

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Looks like it’s going well I hope you don’t mind me saying, but I would put something on the roof of the cage if they are able to jump on it, or remove it, as they could catch their legs in it.

Zoobec said:

Looks like it’s going well I hope you don’t mind me saying, but I would put something on the roof of the cage if they are able to jump on it, or remove it, as they could catch their legs in it.

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Thanks
Yup I noticed they get curious about it so I've temporarily put 2 of their padded mats on there
They are making me run around as Athena points out flaws in my previously Zeus proofed area [emoji1787][emoji1787] she's way more curious than him hahaha

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cheriseru said:

Thanks
Yup I noticed they get curious about it so I've temporarily put 2 of their padded mats on there
They are making me run around as Athena points out flaws in my previously Zeus proofed area [emoji1787][emoji1787] she's way more curious than him hahaha

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Great! There’s rabbit proofing, and there’s Athena proofing :lol: