Scipio's new friend

Thanks everyone.

I'm trying to take heart from the fact that Scipio and Fudgie had a lock on fight straightaway when I attempted to bond them for the first time but things went a lot better on the second attempt. I also managed to rebond Fudgie and Snoopy after they had a really bad fight and I thought I'd never get them back together again. I guess I can dig deep if I need to!

Having said that, I really don't believe in trying to force a bond if it's clear they are just never going to get on. It's not fair on either of them. I'll do my absolute best though.
 
Scrappy's Little Helper said:
Thanks everyone.

I'm trying to take heart from the fact that Scipio and Fudgie had a lock on fight straightaway when I attempted to bond them for the first time but things went a lot better on the second attempt. I also managed to rebond Fudgie and Snoopy after they had a really bad fight and I thought I'd never get them back together again. I guess I can dig deep if I need to!

Having said that, I really don't believe in trying to force a bond if it's clear they are just never going to get on. It's not fair on either of them. I'll do my absolute best though.
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Sorry things haven't gone to plan. I'm sure things will turn out OK in the end and you can trial a different area.
I totally get your disappointment and concern. Pip and Bumble are still separate and I'm concerned that they aren't a good match. These adorable buns cause us such worry don't they.
 
Thanks again everyone xx

I re-watched one of Mischief and Tinker's Mum's bonding videos last night, which was incredibly helpful. Solveig and Scipio were quite similar to Primrose and Velvet at the beginning of the trio bond but they did settle down and become friends. That's made me a bit more hopeful. No guarantee of course about this bond, but I feel a bit more confident about how I'm going to approach the second attempt.

After I split them up, I swapped their rooms over and Solveig is now in the main bedroom with me. I shut the door so they couldn't see each other, just to give them a couple of days to decompress.

I've now divided up the landing with a barrier so they have half of upstairs each. I have a baby gate and tied two puppy panels on each side. That's so they can't nip at each other or risk getting their heads stuck in the bars of the gate.

They've been ok with each other at the barrier (which I'm calling the Berlin wall, with me acting as Checkpoint Charlie). No aggression so far, which is a relief as I wasn't sure how they'd react to each other after attempt no. 1.

Solveig is showing a bit too much interest in the stairs. They're incredibly steep and I really don't want her to attempt to go down them, so I've put a temporary barrier there too. I'm going to put something more permanent there soon. All this means that I have some tricky barriers to clamber over if I need to get to the bathroom. This would be a very bad time for me to get the squits...
 
Scrappy's Little Helper said:
Thanks again everyone xx

I re-watched one of Mischief and Tinker's Mum's bonding videos last night, which was incredibly helpful. Solveig and Scipio were quite similar to Primrose and Velvet at the beginning of the trio bond but they did settle down and become friends. That's made me a bit more hopeful. No guarantee of course about this bond, but I feel a bit more confident about how I'm going to approach the second attempt.

After I split them up, I swapped their rooms over and Solveig is now in the main bedroom with me. I shut the door so they couldn't see each other, just to give them a couple of days to decompress.

I've now divided up the landing with a barrier so they have half of upstairs each. I have a baby gate and tied two puppy panels on each side. That's so they can't nip at each other or risk getting their heads stuck in the bars of the gate.

They've been ok with each other at the barrier (which I'm calling the Berlin wall, with me acting as Checkpoint Charlie). No aggression so far, which is a relief as I wasn't sure how they'd react to each other after attempt no. 1.

Solveig is showing a bit too much interest in the stairs. They're incredibly steep and I really don't want her to attempt to go down them, so I've put a temporary barrier there too. I'm going to put something more permanent there soon. All this means that I have some tricky barriers to clamber over if I need to get to the bathroom. This would be a very bad time for me to get the squits...
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I'm glad they aren't being aggressive at the Berlin Wall. I also hope you don't get the squits but it did make me laugh out loud. Our lounge is a serious x-pen trip hazard, and we are both very clumsy. I'm amazed neither one of us has stacked it yet. I'm glad it doesn't block the bathroom!
 
I give you both 10/10 for your perseverance and inventiveness ☺️ I really hope these bunnies appreciate it, and get themselves sorted. Good luck with the loo visits ☺️
 
You gave me two huge laughs with 'checkpoint charlie' and your barricaded bathroom. I see lots of binding foods in your future.😂Sending you and the bunnies vibes.
 
🤣 the things we do for our bunnies. Good luck with your barrier arrangement..i don't think my bladder would cope & my buns prob assume I'd joined in with the territorial peeing. I'm glad peace reigns at the Berlin wall.

I'm the opposite - i want Chinook to show interest in the stairs. She has gone up but cant be persuaded back out of the bedroom so never down. Why don't you want her on them out of interest?
 
Good luck! Bonding can be so stressful and all the extra barriers to trip over are awful if you're clumsy like me 😂

Fingers crossed after some non aggressive time at the Berlin wall they'll be ready to try again.
 
I'm glad I'm not the only one who struggles with barriers due to inherent clumsiness 😆. I feel it's only a matter of time before I have an embarrassing pratfall! Many thanks for the toilet vibes, although I did regret sipping so much water while I was reading in bed last night...

J&B, the reason I don't want the bunnies to go on the stairs is because I'm really worried about the risk of them having a nasty accident. The steps are high with a very narrow tread. Everyone who has visited my house has complained about how difficult it is to go up and down the stairs because it can be so easy to lose your footing and fall. I think a bunny would really struggle with them. What makes it worse is that the layout means that if you did fall down, you would crash head first into a solid wall. So, all in all I just don't think they're safe for the bunnies.

On a much less doom and gloom note, Solveig slept on the bed with me for a couple of hours last night. My first experience of that with a bunny 😍. It took me back to my child and adolescent years when I used to sleep with the cats. That was actually the only time she was quiet. She did a lot of zoomies, which included going over the bed (rather than under it) and jumping on me. I did get jolted awake a few times. She's plugged into the mains!
 
Solveig sounds a very interesting bunny :D It's super that she feels so relaxed with you to sleep on your bed with you, so soon as well. She does also look to be a very pretty bunny from your photo.

I've always found Mischief and Tinker's videos helpful with bonding. I think they display a good balance between when it's really necessary to intervene and when it's better to just let them sort it out themselves.
 
How nice that she is comfortable with you and slept with you! 😍 tThough I hope you do not need to pee when you wake up from zoomies.
 
Scrappy's Little Helper said:
I'm glad I'm not the only one who struggles with barriers due to inherent clumsiness 😆. I feel it's only a matter of time before I have an embarrassing pratfall! Many thanks for the toilet vibes, although I did regret sipping so much water while I was reading in bed last night...

J&B, the reason I don't want the bunnies to go on the stairs is because I'm really worried about the risk of them having a nasty accident. The steps are high with a very narrow tread. Everyone who has visited my house has complained about how difficult it is to go up and down the stairs because it can be so easy to lose your footing and fall. I think a bunny would really struggle with them. What makes it worse is that the layout means that if you did fall down, you would crash head first into a solid wall. So, all in all I just don't think they're safe for the bunnies.

On a much less doom and gloom note, Solveig slept on the bed with me for a couple of hours last night. My first experience of that with a bunny 😍. It took me back to my child and adolescent years when I used to sleep with the cats. That was actually the only time she was quiet. She did a lot of zoomies, which included going over the bed (rather than under it) and jumping on me. I did get jolted awake a few times. She's plugged into the mains!
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ahh, I see. Yeah that makes sense if you've a long bun & not much tread - you take care on those stairs too Scrappy.

Your first bunny on the bed :love: so special. Chinook is my first bun in 15 years not to get on the bed though few stick round to snooze. Eddy does, but I can't relax, owing to a spectacular pee protest a few months back. I know it was cos he was all out of sorts with his territories but it still makes me nervous
 
It is lovely having a bunny snoozing on the bed. She comes back up in the morning and we have a nice cuddle. Makes it very difficult to get up and start work...

In other news, both bunnies have decided the barriers weren't challenging enough. They sit diagonally opposite each other on both sides, which means I have to twist round as I'm going over. Solveig then grabs my leg and sinks her teeth and claws in. Ouchie!
 
Solving is such a beautiful bunny - and I'm sorry that your having quite a stressed time with the bonding. We used a barrier out in our garden when we bonded flo and bertie - strangely enough they both knew when the time was right cause bertie snuk thro the gate and snuggled up to flo. I do hope that things settle down between them. X
 
Thanks Craig, I really appreciate your words of encouragement.

Ok, so round 2 started today. I had to push it back another week as I realised the kitchen wasn't viable because I couldn't secure a barrier. Plan B is lounge again but with a pen to make the space smaller (neutralised with vinegar just to be safe). Unfortunately I was too much of a tight wad to pay extra for next day delivery and the pen arrived after the weekend.

We're just over 10 hours in. Was very spiky at the beginning but they are doing a bit better now. Most spats have fizzled out but I there were about 2 or 3 occasions where I had to pull them apart.

Positives are that they ignored each other at first and we've had mirrored grooming. They're both eating and drinking, which is good. I've been putting some herbs and dried forage and they've eaten those fairly close together. They've also been relaxed enough to have some long snoozes and Solveig has flopped a couple of times. In keeping up with recent bonding tradition, Scipio is being a bit of a grumpy boy.

I'm going to push through overnight as I don't want to undo the progress they're making. I don't fully trust them not to fight again, so this is going to be a verrry long night. At least I have my coffee machine and I'll be able to watch the Australian open live. Thank you Eurosport!
 
Scrappy's Little Helper said:
Thanks Craig, I really appreciate your words of encouragement.

Ok, so round 2 started today. I had to push it back another week as I realised the kitchen wasn't viable because I couldn't secure a barrier. Plan B is lounge again but with a pen to make the space smaller (neutralised with vinegar just to be safe). Unfortunately I was too much of a tight wad to pay extra for next day delivery and the pen arrived after the weekend.

We're just over 10 hours in. Was very spiky at the beginning but they are doing a bit better now. Most spats have fizzled out but I there were about 2 or 3 occasions where I had to pull them apart.

Positives are that they ignored each other at first and we've had mirrored grooming. They're both eating and drinking, which is good. I've been putting some herbs and dried forage and they've eaten those fairly close together. They've also been relaxed enough to have some long snoozes and Solveig has flopped a couple of times. In keeping up with recent bonding tradition, Scipio is being a bit of a grumpy boy.

I'm going to push through overnight as I don't want to undo the progress they're making. I don't fully trust them not to fight again, so this is going to be a verrry long night. At least I have my coffee machine and I'll be able to watch the Australian open live. Thank you Eurosport!
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Good luck i hope they behave overnight
 
Well done Scraps on getting properly stuck in to bonding . I hope things are going well & Scipio is losing his grumpiness?
 
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