One rabbit is less interested in bonding than the other?

[JellyEllie]

Hello, I’m in the process of bonding my rabbit Julia with a male rabbit Charlie, it’s going quite smoothly so far but it seems like Charlie is a bit disinterested in getting to know Julia.

Julia was the dominant bunny in her previous bond, we lost her brother Jeremy suddenly in May, they had a very loving relationship so she’s definitely missing having someone to snuggle with. We’re currently fostering Charlie to see if we can make them a bonded pair. They’re both spayed/neutered, I’ve had Julia since 2018 and Charlie for a month, he was rescued from cruelty/neglect situation, he was living in a rat infested house and has some facial injuries, they’re completely healed but his nose is slightly deformed as a result. My concern is that Charlie seems a bit too indifferent to Julia’s presence in his life, when she initiates contact with him he seems to just lower his head and freeze. I wasn’t sure if this was a dominance seeking behaviour or fear as he has the same reaction when I pet him. He’s otherwise very confident, moves around any space he’s in, flops out in the open, approaches people and takes food from your hand.

Bonding has been going well so far, we’re on day 3 of the 24/7 method, we’re living in my sisters conservatory, they’re in a 2m x 1m pen with no furniture/litter trays just hay spread over the floor and a water bowl. We haven’t had any major fights just one incident of neck biting/the beginnings of boxing which I broke up by picking Charlie up for 20 seconds to let them cool down before putting him back in. This was on the first day around 30 minutes after they were introduced. Since then there’s been some chasing and fur pulling all initiated by Julia, Charlie just runs and thumps when she does this, she doesn’t chase him relentlessly and it often seems to be prompted by Julia being a bit possessive over a certain area of hay or scatter fed greens.

Since trying to get Charlie to groom her hasn’t worked, Julia has changed tactic so each evening so far Julia has lay against him and groomed him slightly on his head and ears, he doesn’t react to this at all and I think it may be beginning to frustrate her. I’m not sure if he’s ever lived with another rabbit so could he just not know what to do? Is there anything more I could be doing to help them bond? I try petting them both while they’re sat near each other, I haven’t tried any stressing techniques yet as I’m not sure I feel it’s a fair thing to do and I’m not sure how to go about it as Julia gets stressed in the car but Charlie was flopped and sprawled out happy as Larry when we drove him home from the rescue so car rides don’t seem to bother him.

I went with the 24/7 method based on advice from this forum and because there isn’t much neutral space in my house to do little/often mini dates as I also foster cats for another charity, the cats have never had access to the room the bunnies live in but are free roaming around other rooms in the house. Before starting the bonding the rabbits were living in their own room, split down the middle so they can live side by side in separate pens with a small gap in the middle so they can’t reach each other through the bars. All leafy greens/additional foods to their hay has been given to them next to each other to encourage them to associate each other with good food. They’ve had alternating access to an outside run and I’ve done some side swapping and scent swapping of litter trays for the past month.

I’m open to changing the method of bonding if need be, I took holiday from work from the 12th to the 24th to dedicate time to doing this as my shift pattern is often multiple 12hr days in a row so I can’t do consistent bonding sessions each day and a lot of sites said that skipping days could ruin the bond. There’s such a lot of conflicting information about the best way to bond rabbits it’s very confusing so I would appreciate any advice you can give on how to move forward!


Thank you!

 

[Omi]

I think it sounds as though it's going very well so far and probably the best thing you can do is just give them more time. Three days really isn't that long and not all bonds follow the same path with some being very quick and some taking several weeks. Grooming sometimes doesn't happen for a while either. It's very positive that they are tolerating each other with no aggression.

I would interpret the lowering of the head and freezing by Charlie as him requesting to be groomed. When you say he doesn't react when Julia grooms his head, what are you expecting him to do? In my experience, the rabbit being groomed just stays still and enjoys it

There is conflicting information on how to bond, which is caused because different people favour different methods. I think it's a case of what has worked for them in the past, they will recommend as the best method. I do think that things sound to be progressing well how you are proceeding and I would just give it more time.

 

[JellyEllie]

Thank you for replying, that’s a relief to hear, it’s my first time bonding rabbits so I feel like I’m walking in the dark and definitely worrying too much!

I’m really pleased with how it’s going so far but just the lack of interaction from him has been worrying me a little because I don’t want Julia to turn on him out of frustration. His reaction to being groomed is just too still? It’s like he’s frozen and his face doesn’t look relaxed, it’s hard to explain but in the past with her brother if she groomed him he’d look content where Charlie just looks frozen. I’m not sure if that’s normal in the early stages of bonding or if it could be related to his facial trauma and maybe it is really scary for him? Do you think if I pet him more it would be helpful for him to get used to his face being touched?

Thank you again for the advice I really appreciate it!

 

[joey&boo]

I reckon you'll have bunny loves before too long. I'd stick with your plan, its the way I like to bond.

A few bonds including my last I squished a bit of strawberry (juice from...)on my buns nose - it did help get things going

 

[joey&boo]

If she is the dominant bun & doing the chasing, nipping & bossy stuff he might not yet fully trust her enough to relax but its good he's staying put - brave boy

 

[JellyEllie]

That’s great news thank you, I’ll definitely try the strawberry juice! If he loves her half as much as he loves food I’ll be happy! :lol:

 

[Omi]

Thank you for replying, that’s a relief to hear, it’s my first time bonding rabbits so I feel like I’m walking in the dark and definitely worrying too much!

I’m really pleased with how it’s going so far but just the lack of interaction from him has been worrying me a little because I don’t want Julia to turn on him out of frustration. His reaction to being groomed is just too still? It’s like he’s frozen and his face doesn’t look relaxed, it’s hard to explain but in the past with her brother if she groomed him he’d look content where Charlie just looks frozen. I’m not sure if that’s normal in the early stages of bonding or if it could be related to his facial trauma and maybe it is really scary for him? Do you think if I pet him more it would be helpful for him to get used to his face being touched?

Thank you again for the advice I really appreciate it!

I think I'd leave them to it actually. It doesn't sound to me as though he's scared, as I think he would move away if that were the case.

 

[tonibun]

You've also got to take his past into consideration. It could take time for him to forget about all that and realise he is not going to suffer anymore.

 

[JellyEllie]

You've also got to take his past into consideration. It could take time for him to forget about all that and realise he is not going to suffer anymore.

Absolutely, I would hate for him to be scared he’s going to be hurt again, he’s such a sweetheart and really brave considering all he’s been through! He’s not scared to move around in the pen with her but he just freezes if she tries to sniff/kiss him which I expect is probably from his past experiences. When he’s moving around he has no interest in interacting with her which is what concerns me.

I think if it was purely based on his history and fear he would be scared to share a space with her but he’s not so I’m just worried that because he might have never known love with another rabbit he doesn’t know what he’s missing? I’m going to try the strawberry juice trick joey&boo suggested today, maybe Charlie just needs more positive association with hanging out with Julia?

 

[Shimmer]

If there's no aggression, I would count it as a success. They will continue to develop a bond over time as they get used to each other.

 

[JellyEllie]

I reckon you'll have bunny loves before too long. I'd stick with your plan, its the way I like to bond.

A few bonds including my last I squished a bit of strawberry (juice from...)on my buns nose - it did help get things going

I think the strawberry trick helped so thank you so much for the great idea! I rubbed strawberry juice on their noses on Thursday evening and the next morning Julia lay with him with her chin on his head for a while and then did her longest groom of him yet! He seemed to enjoy it more this time but it ended with her hopping around to nip his back end so he ran away but he later chose to lie down nearer her than he ever has before so that’s good progress!

Unfortunately the boredom of being in a smaller pen and having no furniture/outdoor access has been driving Julia crazy, the past couple of days she’s been frustratedly digging at the corners of the pen and now she’s actually learned to lift open her pen that she’s lived in without issue for 5 years. She of course learned this special new skill at 1am and because the neutral territory at my sisters house I was using to bond them in isn’t free roam safe and she’s determined to escape I’ve had to do a late night swap to my house. They’re now in a larger pen (I hoped more space might calm her down - no such luck) in their intended living space in my house which has been repainted and washed with white vinegar. The move home is happening sooner than I would have liked in their bonding process but I didn’t have any other choice for her safety.

I’ve secured the pen to the best of my ability with cable ties so she can’t just lift and unhook the pen but she’s still trying to lift the entire thing with her nose. There luckily hasn’t been any upset between her and Charlie yet throughout the move however we’re having the same issue that we did at my sisters of her chasing him when she thinks he’s in the way of her escape efforts, otherwise they coexist mostly separately but peacefully.

My question now is how do I balance Julia’s need for enrichment without causing territorial disputes? I don’t want to rush in and make too many changes too soon but she’s getting very frustrated and taking it out on Charlie. Any advice would be really appreciated!

 

[tonibun]

I would be inclined to put them in the area where they will be permanently. I don't see what alternative you have but there may be some chasing at first as this is what happens when Rabbits are moved to a new area.