Hi All,
Wondering if anyone can give some personalised advice based on my situation as I have pretty much read everything there is to read on bonding already!
So Moonie and Middie are my two male rabbits that I have had since August / October 2020 respectively. Both are same age (2 weeks apart, about 6 months old now). When I first got Moonie we thought he was a girl and so got Middie so 'she' could have a male companion. I wasn't very knowledgeable in rabbits and so they had 2/3 fights (before they were neutered). They both have been living in separate cages (spare room) that are right next to each other for over 3 months and they take turns in free roaming around the house.
So 5 weeks after they have been neutered I started the bonding process and held these in the bathroom (neutral area). Started with 15 mins then increased to about 2 hours within a week as it was going well.
After about 7 days I put up a pen in the kitchen (also neutral area) and put them both in there in the morning and pretty much left them in there together for hours. They always snuggled with each other, groomed each other, used the same litter and ate together so all was going well! However there was some humping from Middie and he was a bit more pushy in terms of 'displaying his dominance' i.e. constantly demanding some grooming. Moonie would give in sometimes but I could see he wasn't too thrilled about constantly being pestered.
It got to the point where I was comfortable leaving them there throughout the day while I watched tv in the next room and all was well. So I then decided to give them more space, I opened the door of the xpen so they had access to the whole kitchen which they explored for a bit and Moonie went to lay down next to the fridge. I left them for about 5 mins and ran back in the kitchen as I heard a lot of noise, of course they were fighting like crazy and fur was everywhere! It seems that when I give them a bit of extra space all their bonding goes out the window! This was last night so I separated them, Middie is now in the spare room with his cage and he can free roam in the room, and Moonie is in the xpen I set up in the kitchen. They have no contact with each other so cannot smell or see each other.
Should I keep them separated for a couple of weeks and then try swapping them around in their habitats each day first? Or should I re-start the bonding process again asap. Or should I put them in their adjoining cages again for a couple of weeks so they can at least smell and see each other.
Any advise is appreciated!
Wondering if anyone can give some personalised advice based on my situation as I have pretty much read everything there is to read on bonding already!
So Moonie and Middie are my two male rabbits that I have had since August / October 2020 respectively. Both are same age (2 weeks apart, about 6 months old now). When I first got Moonie we thought he was a girl and so got Middie so 'she' could have a male companion. I wasn't very knowledgeable in rabbits and so they had 2/3 fights (before they were neutered). They both have been living in separate cages (spare room) that are right next to each other for over 3 months and they take turns in free roaming around the house.
So 5 weeks after they have been neutered I started the bonding process and held these in the bathroom (neutral area). Started with 15 mins then increased to about 2 hours within a week as it was going well.
After about 7 days I put up a pen in the kitchen (also neutral area) and put them both in there in the morning and pretty much left them in there together for hours. They always snuggled with each other, groomed each other, used the same litter and ate together so all was going well! However there was some humping from Middie and he was a bit more pushy in terms of 'displaying his dominance' i.e. constantly demanding some grooming. Moonie would give in sometimes but I could see he wasn't too thrilled about constantly being pestered.
It got to the point where I was comfortable leaving them there throughout the day while I watched tv in the next room and all was well. So I then decided to give them more space, I opened the door of the xpen so they had access to the whole kitchen which they explored for a bit and Moonie went to lay down next to the fridge. I left them for about 5 mins and ran back in the kitchen as I heard a lot of noise, of course they were fighting like crazy and fur was everywhere! It seems that when I give them a bit of extra space all their bonding goes out the window! This was last night so I separated them, Middie is now in the spare room with his cage and he can free roam in the room, and Moonie is in the xpen I set up in the kitchen. They have no contact with each other so cannot smell or see each other.
Should I keep them separated for a couple of weeks and then try swapping them around in their habitats each day first? Or should I re-start the bonding process again asap. Or should I put them in their adjoining cages again for a couple of weeks so they can at least smell and see each other.
Any advise is appreciated!
