Anyone bonded rabbits?

[toots82]

Hi,

I have bonded rabbits before but think I got incredibly lucky, I've now ended up needing to bond again and OMG I'm so nervous.

We lost our wee Mittens a few months ago and she left Charlie (10 year old mini lop) on his own. We decided to move him indoors and keep him solo as we feel we've reached the end of our bunny days after him (although we hope he's got a long time yet). Both Charlie and Mittens were rescues (got them in 2015). I hoped us and the kids would be company enough for Charlie, he likes the dogs and happily comes through to the living room and hops around from his room but we started to feel like he just wasn't happy.

The rescue offered us a cuddle companion for him whereby we get him a pal and treat them as our own but when Charlie is no longer here, they will rehome the companion to be bonded on elsewhere (slippy slope I knowwwwww). The rescue were going to do bonding bootcamp for me as the did with Mittens and Charlie (we originally had Milo and I bonded him with Mittens but he passed away from what I know suspect was stasis 3 months later) but with Covid restrictions they currently aren't doing that. They had a wee girl in who they thought would be a perfect fit for us and Charlie though so we all agreed to take her anyway and have them side by side.

So, shes here, DH collected her on Friday, shes been renamed Lola and shes lovely. They have the room that used to be the garage split with 1m panels and a gap in the middle so they can't get at each other (both fixed I should have said).

Charlie is scatter pooping along his fence but its to be expected as it was all his room. Some thumping but no aggression really, I'd say if anything starts it'll be Charlie who starts it as he's got his eye on her and he was dominant with Mittens. Lola looks like she doesn't give a hoot. I've swapped them today and they seem ok with that, Charlies pooped everywhere again and a few thumps but nothing else.

So, I'm going to continue swapping for a few days, maybe more if sir poop-a-lot doesn't settle then think about removing 1 set of fences (I'm wfh so here all the time). Then maybe we will have a bun date when they're both a bit more settled. Back when I last bonded, I did it in the bath, there were no fights or anything but I believe its now meant to be small area then gradually increasing? I have a guide from the rescue and their support (they've also said if I don't want to then they'll happily do as soon as they can but that could be ages).

I'd love to hear if anyone has successfully bonded and any tips etc. I've read so many horror stories that I've got myself a bit stressed. I know about neutral territory, gardening gloves and a dustpan... eeekkkkk.

Charlie's the ginger small one.

[Bootrip2]

No ideas to help but would love to hear how you get on. Good luck. I love bunnies and piggies, but we have a dog!

[toots82]

Originally Posted by Bootrip2

No ideas to help but would love to hear how you get on. Good luck. I love bunnies and piggies, but we have a dog!

See more...

Aw thank you. We have 2 dogs too, Charlie still rules the roost lol. The dogs think hes another dog I think lol

[catherinesian]

Personally I don’t let them see each other before I introduce as I have found that the individual bunnies get worked up at the sight of the other bunny and it tends to translate to more territorial behaviour in the bonding pen. A lot of people swear by this method though.

I tend to make up a pen about 2ft square with nothing in it, hay all over the floor and a water bottle and Chuck the bunnies in there. Gardening gloves on hand and just see what happens. It can be tricky to bond your own rabbits as you are much more protective of them and will intervene earlier than you perhaps should. I hate bonding my own buns personally! But it’s well worth it in the end when they are all snuggled up together. Most bonds tend to work so fingers crossed for your two

ETA: don’t use the bath. Seen a couple of really nasty back injuries from bonding in the bath as it’s really slippy. I just use an indoor pen like you’ve got with some newspaper and hay on top.

[toots82]

Originally Posted by catherinesian

Personally I don’t let them see each other before I introduce as I have found that the individual bunnies get worked up at the sight of the other bunny and it tends to translate to more territorial behaviour in the bonding pen. A lot of people swear by this method though.

I tend to make up a pen about 2ft square with nothing in it, hay all over the floor and a water bottle and Chuck the bunnies in there. Gardening gloves on hand and just see what happens. It can be tricky to bond your own rabbits as you are much more protective of them and will intervene earlier than you perhaps should. I hate bonding my own buns personally! But it’s well worth it in the end when they are all snuggled up together. Most bonds tend to work so fingers crossed for your two

ETA: don’t use the bath. Seen a couple of really nasty back injuries from bonding in the bath as it’s really slippy. I just use an indoor pen like you’ve got with some newspaper and hay on top.

See more...

Thank you so much, I do worry about being overprotective of Charlie especially with his age but to be honest I think he's going to be the fiesty one!

They both seem interested in each other just now but also happy to go about their day and flop down in their own areas. Charlie escaped into the gap last night when DH was in feeding him (no matter how many times I say he can shift when he wasn't to, DH just didn't believe me until Charlie activated stealth mode and did a runner), they nosed and sniffed each other through the fence but luckily no swipes were taken or teeth used) I'll maybe get cracking with the first meet soon and see how we go. Its just hard that how they are now is no indication of how they may be with nothing between them.

[Jakey Neverland]

Hope I am allowed to post a link here
m.facebook/profile.php?i...content_filter this is a great group if you Facebook.

My girls had to be separated after neutering as one took longer to recover. We rebonded them a couple of weeks ago although I was very lucky.

I swapped their cages every morning for about 2 weeks before introducing them again. Good luck x

[toots82]

Originally Posted by Jakey Neverland

Hope I am allowed to post a link here
m.facebook/profile.php?i...content_filter this is a great group if you Facebook.

My girls had to be separated after neutering as one took longer to recover. We rebonded them a couple of weeks ago although I was very lucky.

I swapped their cages every morning for about 2 weeks before introducing them again. Good luck x

See more...

Thank you so much. Weve just swapped their sides of the room again. Itll be so nice when they're a wee couple

[Talland 2016]

How’s it going?
Hope they are being nice to each other

[toots82]

Originally Posted by Talland 2016

How’s it going?
Hope they are being nice to each other

See more...

They're doing well, thanks for asking. We are swapping sides daily and they're down to one barrier. Lots of noses being rubbed together through the fence and eating near eachother. I think we are going to try our first date at the weekend when hubby is here too. Charlie is thumping a lot but he has always been a thumper so the rescue think hes probably annoyed at the barrier other than anything else as hes wanting Lola's attention.