Bonding help

[elybun]

Hi, I'd like to ask for some advice on bonding. My male rabbit is 2 years old, while the female rescue is about 2 1/2 years old (both are spayed). At first, I gave them time to get used to each other's presence through a barrier, and even now they sleep and eat near each other on opposite sides of it. On Thursday, after several tries of bonding in a neutral area, they had the longest time together. During the two and a half hours, they ate together and the female groomed the male, although he didn’t return the grooming. Toward the end, they had a small fight where the female must have pulled out some of his fur (it was white, so definitely his). At that point I separated them. Since then, we’ve tried to continue the bonding sessions. The issue is that even though the female still tries to groom him, at one point she suddenly lowered herself behind him and bit his tail out of nowhere. Now, when I put them together, they don’t seem to feel okay anymore, especially the male, who seems scared. And in the more recent sessions, there have been more small fights and white fur pulled out. What can I do at this point? Please help me, because I know that sometimes the bonding process can be relatively quick, but it’s been two weeks and although things had seemed to improve, they’ve now gotten worse. I am worried of not being able to bond them.

 

[Omi]

I think the problem could be that each time they have had a small fight, they have been split up. This would mean that when they next get put together, the bunnies are unsettled because they remember the fight.

People will have different favourite methods of bonding and others might suggest something different. But if this were me, I would set aside some time when you know you can watch them for at least a couple of days. Then try them together again in the neutral space. Perhaps if you have an alternative neutral space, try that. If a small fight occurs, then separate them, calm them and then resume the bonding. The bunnies need to be able to trust each other and I think they will only be able to do that over a longer period than you have been doning.

I hope things go better.

 

[kayleyf]

Hi, I'd like to ask for some advice on bonding. My male rabbit is 2 years old, while the female rescue is about 2 1/2 years old (both are spayed). At first, I gave them time to get used to each other's presence through a barrier, and even now they sleep and eat near each other on opposite sides of it. On Thursday, after several tries of bonding in a neutral area, they had the longest time together. During the two and a half hours, they ate together and the female groomed the male, although he didn’t return the grooming. Toward the end, they had a small fight where the female must have pulled out some of his fur (it was white, so definitely his). At that point I separated them. Since then, we’ve tried to continue the bonding sessions. The issue is that even though the female still tries to groom him, at one point she suddenly lowered herself behind him and bit his tail out of nowhere. Now, when I put them together, they don’t seem to feel okay anymore, especially the male, who seems scared. And in the more recent sessions, there have been more small fights and white fur pulled out. What can I do at this point? Please help me, because I know that sometimes the bonding process can be relatively quick, but it’s been two weeks and although things had seemed to improve, they’ve now gotten worse. I am worried of not being able to bond them.

Hi, is everything okay now with your bunnies? I have just posted a similar thread, as I'm having the same issues and don't know what to do