Squishies
Warren Scout
Hi again everyone,
Apologies for the second thread, but I thought it better to get ideas on this separately...
I am on day #3 of attempting to bond my 2 mini-lops (m/f 3yr old sibling pair that I have had since kits and were previously a trio with their brother), with my 1 yr old Netherland Dwarf male. All are neutered/spayed and in good health.
They are in a pen in my living room with sheets pegged around it to try to disguise that they are somewhere they have all been in before.
Very little happened for the first 36 hours, mostly the buns ignored each other, with the minis flopped out together and the nethie focused on escaping back to me (he has been living in the house with me for 4 months and I think is confused at whether he is human/my mate - he even jumped the metre high sides twice so we had to peg another duvet cover over the top).
I have tried to step back and let them get on with it in case my presence and bond with the nethie is distracting things, but it's as if all 3 are just sat waiting to be released back to their respective homes.
We tried reducing the space/keeping them tight in together to encourage interaction, but it has remained quite ambivalent for most of the time.
I think all 3 have worked out where they are, but that didn't really set them off. Mostly they sit in separate areas of the pen, avoiding conflict.
Come late afternoon/early evening they get frustrated with the lack of space and stimulation and I get some scrapping between the boys, particularly over space in the litter box and then this escalates as the evening goes on. The male mini-lop barges the nethie anytime he comes close, like a warning of 'I will box you if you try anything'. The nethie drops his head but no grooming really comes from either side.
So basically I have 'stalemate' with some scrapping overnight - I am exhausted and desperate not to give up too soon, so I am looking for ideas on what to try next!
- I could get in the pen and physically push them together/stroke them all in a bundle together, but I am concerned that this will confuse the nethie even more and will delay them 'working it out'?
- I could make the pen bigger or smaller (although it's pretty tiny - 6 sides of a puppy pen, and I feel mean doing that)
- help!!!
As ever, any ideas are good ideas - I want the best for the buns, and I know that all bunnies are different, but I am approaching my breaking point and don't know what to try.
x x
Apologies for the second thread, but I thought it better to get ideas on this separately...
I am on day #3 of attempting to bond my 2 mini-lops (m/f 3yr old sibling pair that I have had since kits and were previously a trio with their brother), with my 1 yr old Netherland Dwarf male. All are neutered/spayed and in good health.
They are in a pen in my living room with sheets pegged around it to try to disguise that they are somewhere they have all been in before.
Very little happened for the first 36 hours, mostly the buns ignored each other, with the minis flopped out together and the nethie focused on escaping back to me (he has been living in the house with me for 4 months and I think is confused at whether he is human/my mate - he even jumped the metre high sides twice so we had to peg another duvet cover over the top).
I have tried to step back and let them get on with it in case my presence and bond with the nethie is distracting things, but it's as if all 3 are just sat waiting to be released back to their respective homes.
We tried reducing the space/keeping them tight in together to encourage interaction, but it has remained quite ambivalent for most of the time.
I think all 3 have worked out where they are, but that didn't really set them off. Mostly they sit in separate areas of the pen, avoiding conflict.
Come late afternoon/early evening they get frustrated with the lack of space and stimulation and I get some scrapping between the boys, particularly over space in the litter box and then this escalates as the evening goes on. The male mini-lop barges the nethie anytime he comes close, like a warning of 'I will box you if you try anything'. The nethie drops his head but no grooming really comes from either side.
So basically I have 'stalemate' with some scrapping overnight - I am exhausted and desperate not to give up too soon, so I am looking for ideas on what to try next!
- I could get in the pen and physically push them together/stroke them all in a bundle together, but I am concerned that this will confuse the nethie even more and will delay them 'working it out'?
- I could make the pen bigger or smaller (although it's pretty tiny - 6 sides of a puppy pen, and I feel mean doing that)
- help!!!
As ever, any ideas are good ideas - I want the best for the buns, and I know that all bunnies are different, but I am approaching my breaking point and don't know what to try.
x x