Bonding help

I’ve recently got a 10 week old female to bond with my neutered male. She’s settled well, and they’ve been able to interact through bars and all seems to have been fine so far.

Which method would people suggest trying first for bonding? I’ve read so much conflicting advice about small spaces or big spaces and I really don’t know where to begin!

I was thinking of trying a large space (ie. a whole room) and seeing how it goes, then if it doesn’t work, trying putting them in a small space and gradually expanding?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

Hello and welcome. I have always used a large space to bond and your female will need to be able to run away as your boy will pursue her. She will need a few places to hide as well. Lots of hay and a few treats to pacify them if needs be. There will possibly be chasing, fur pulling and mounting by the boy, if he can catch her. It really depends on the personality of the boy as the girl is too young to be feisty. Hope it all goes smoothly. I would start early morning then this gives you the whole day to monitor them. Most of us here agree that once put together they should remain together.

You need to work out what works best for you and your buns, just have a look at a few of the posts below yours to get an idea of what to expect.

One of the members (Mischief and Tinkers Mum) on here has videoed her bunny bonding adventures, bonding a trio and then going on to bond five!

Mairwen Guard has also videoed bonding her buns, including a video of a bond that had to stopped.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCko...qSpZHWv16IzwTA
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd9...Mcvd4z-a462avg

Good luck with your bonding

2.5 hours in and they seem to be doing alright. A little bit of chasing and humping from my male, but no signs of any aggression. They’ve both been eating (scattered pellets and hay) and both seem quite relaxed although neither have flopped/lay down/slept yet.

My male has groomed the female, but not the other way round.

I’ve been watching them continuously since I put them together, but was wondering how long it is before I can begin to leave them?

Also, does what I’ve said above sound like a good start?

That sounds like a really good start.

When they're relaxing together closely and eating meals together.

We decided Rodney and Blossom were definitely there when she took food from his mouth and he just calmly snatched it back rather than having a go at her and chasing her away.

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This sounds perfectly normal. If you can sleep close by I would be inclined to leave them together but if you are not very confident then you can separate them for the first night. :thumb:

Thanks for your replies

All is still going well and there’s been no issues. I’m going to leave them together overnight but all doors will be open so I can hear if there are any scuffles (I’m only in a small flat so my bedroom is only across the hall from the rabbits’ room)

I’ve heard so many bad stories of bonding taking months so I think I was expecting this to be far more stressful and challenging than it has been! Fingers crossed it keeps going well!

Me again...

They’ve been absolutely perfect and there has been no issues at all since I last posted. No humping, nipping or anything. They both groom each other, flop and sleep together, share litter trays, and share food well (I was measuring out food to scatter feed and put the bowl down for a second, and they both sat and happily ate from the same bowl together)

It’s now been almost 48 hours and I’m feeling really positive.

Am I being too optimistic, or does it seem like they’ve bonded already? Or is it likely they’re just in a bit of a honeymoon period and the problems are yet to come?

Also, I’m taking the new bun to the vets on Friday for a health check, should I take them both so I don’t risk their bond breaking?

That sounds really good and like you're pretty much there. The bond will deepen over time.

You may find that the humping resumes when you move them out of the neutral area or expand their space.

Definitely take them to the vets together, they can support each other and often find it slightly less stressful with a friend.

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Sounds like you have had an easy bond! Lucky you!