Hi all, I’m a long time lurker of the forum but this is my first time posting! Has anyone experienced something similar & what helped? Sorry if this same issue has already been posted.
I’ve been trying to bond my male bunny Apollo (8yo) with my new female Willow (6yo). Apollo’s partner died back at the end of April this year & it hit him very hard (they were almost a lifelong pair) so I wanted to get him a new girl friend relatively soon to avoid losing him to loneliness
They are both neutered. For background, Apollo was always the dominant one in the pair previously. Willow, before I rescued her from Blue Cross, lived her life as a solo rabbit, but from what I understand, she had a lot of interaction with her humans. Willow constantly asks for grooming from me and she is very much a Velcro bunny! Apollo is a bit more independent, but still loves attention.
I took the slow route with Apollo and his previous partner which worked really well, but it may have been easier because his previous partner seemed naturally submissive.
Apollo and Willow have been living side-by-side since mid May. They can see and smell each other at close range, but initially they were nipping through the bars, so I put some extra fine mesh across as well so they couldn’t do this anymore. I’ve been doing bonding sessions in neutral territory as often as possible (I work full time, so I haven’t been able to do this every day unfortunately).
Apollo in particular seems keen to spend time with Willow when they’re in their separate areas. But Willow doesn’t really seem to care too much. When they’re in bonding sessions, Apollo and Willow both put their heads down for grooming. Apollo gets frustrated when Willow doesn’t groom him. He will thump and then start trying to hump her head whilst biting her back and pulling out her fur!! Willow just lets him do this but I’m wondering if, because it’s head humping, she thinks it’s just weird grooming?
I otherwise wouldn’t be too concerned as I know that humping is normal behaviour during bonding but because he doesn’t hump her any other way than on her head (and ends up pulling out a lot of fur), I separate them in case she nips him in the jewels! I am concerned that having to do this so often is interrupting the bonding process?
They’ve had countless sessions now, and we’re no closer. Neither has groomed the other apart from one time early in the beginning where Willow groomed Apollo for like five seconds
generally Willow seems to just want her own space but Apollo is desperate to be in charge! Willow has never humped Apollo, but does frequently ask for grooming when he approaches her.
Because Apollo has always been dominant, and Willow doesn’t seem to understand bunny etiquette having been an only bunny her whole life, and also not having to submit to another bunny, I worry that it might never happen? I don’t fully agree with stress bonding (it’s just not for me), so I’m keen to avoid this route. Has anyone experienced anything similar with older bunnies who seem very stubborn? How did you overcome it if at all?
Thank you!
I’ve been trying to bond my male bunny Apollo (8yo) with my new female Willow (6yo). Apollo’s partner died back at the end of April this year & it hit him very hard (they were almost a lifelong pair) so I wanted to get him a new girl friend relatively soon to avoid losing him to loneliness
They are both neutered. For background, Apollo was always the dominant one in the pair previously. Willow, before I rescued her from Blue Cross, lived her life as a solo rabbit, but from what I understand, she had a lot of interaction with her humans. Willow constantly asks for grooming from me and she is very much a Velcro bunny! Apollo is a bit more independent, but still loves attention.
I took the slow route with Apollo and his previous partner which worked really well, but it may have been easier because his previous partner seemed naturally submissive.
Apollo and Willow have been living side-by-side since mid May. They can see and smell each other at close range, but initially they were nipping through the bars, so I put some extra fine mesh across as well so they couldn’t do this anymore. I’ve been doing bonding sessions in neutral territory as often as possible (I work full time, so I haven’t been able to do this every day unfortunately).
Apollo in particular seems keen to spend time with Willow when they’re in their separate areas. But Willow doesn’t really seem to care too much. When they’re in bonding sessions, Apollo and Willow both put their heads down for grooming. Apollo gets frustrated when Willow doesn’t groom him. He will thump and then start trying to hump her head whilst biting her back and pulling out her fur!! Willow just lets him do this but I’m wondering if, because it’s head humping, she thinks it’s just weird grooming?
I otherwise wouldn’t be too concerned as I know that humping is normal behaviour during bonding but because he doesn’t hump her any other way than on her head (and ends up pulling out a lot of fur), I separate them in case she nips him in the jewels! I am concerned that having to do this so often is interrupting the bonding process?
They’ve had countless sessions now, and we’re no closer. Neither has groomed the other apart from one time early in the beginning where Willow groomed Apollo for like five seconds
generally Willow seems to just want her own space but Apollo is desperate to be in charge! Willow has never humped Apollo, but does frequently ask for grooming when he approaches her.Because Apollo has always been dominant, and Willow doesn’t seem to understand bunny etiquette having been an only bunny her whole life, and also not having to submit to another bunny, I worry that it might never happen? I don’t fully agree with stress bonding (it’s just not for me), so I’m keen to avoid this route. Has anyone experienced anything similar with older bunnies who seem very stubborn? How did you overcome it if at all?
Thank you!
I agree with j&b that the lack of aggression would be a good sign, at least. It seems like the problem isn't so much that they dislike each other but that Willow just isn't used to other bunnies. I wonder if she just needs more time to get used to having another bunny around and to learn bunny language. Since you say she's such a velcro bunny with you, maybe it could help if you gave her less attention (I know, I realise this sounds mean!) so she'll focus more on Apollo. And I think, whether or not it's interrupting the bonding process, you don't really have a choice but to stop him from head humping, since, like you said, you really don't want her to bite him while he's doing that. So, I wouldn't worry too much about whether or not your stopping him affects their bonding, because you can't let him do it anyway. I definitely agree with you about avoiding stress bonding, too. That won't do anyone any good. I think you need to just keep doing what you're doing, though I can imagine it must feel discouraging to not see any progress!
(they are the loves of my life, honestly haha)
