trouble bonding males

I have 2 males, both rescues. The oldest is 4 and was neutered back at Christmas. The other is about a year and was neutered about 2 months ago. The oldest just lost his bonded male mate. Both are housed where they can nose each other. They are non aggressive when they can touch nose to nose, but fight when let loose together. They do not fight constantly. Do you think they will ever bond? With the youngest being just recently neutered, will I see less aggression over the next 6 months. Suggestions on trying to get them to bond would be appreciated. Thanks!

I am surprised they do not try to kill each other when they are even on opposite sides of the bars! Seems kinda promising, I think...

Introduce both bucks into their home that is new to both to them, if the cage has been a previous home to other buns wash it to remove scent, this should stop either one from initially being the home owner and the other an intruder. Then put both buns into the cage at the same time you may find that they still fight at first as long as it does not last for too long or is a constant viscous battle leave them, they will be finding out which one of them is going to be boss! If this doesn't work and the fighting continues I suggest you abandon the idea, however it can be done!

Please do not let them fight it out. Rabbit fights can be lethal. They should not be placed in an enclosed cage together until they are fully bonded. It is difficult enough to separate two fighting rabbits, but to separate them when they are both in a cage would be difficult indeed.
I'd suggest reviewing these 2 sites:

http://www.cottontails-rescue.org.uk/matchups.asp


http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/bond.shtml

Anytime the 2 fight right now, their chances of ever bonding are decreased. It is important to not let them fight. If they do, they need to be separated from each other for a couple weeks in hopes they will forget their grievances.

The sites I link represent two different approaches to bonding. The more popular one seems to be the second one where multiple bonding sessions are used to bond the rabbits. Given the background you gave of how the two have already behaved toward each other, it seems like that second approach would be the better option. You'll need to proceed slowly.

They say that 2 months should be enough time after surgery for those hormones to dissipate. If you've been attempting to bond them before that 2 month period, that could explain some of the aggression. Perhaps give it a break for a couple weeks. Read up on those sites and then start fresh.

Thank you for the advice. I will check out both of these links.

The rabbits are housed in a portion of my mud room, about 6' by 6'. Right now I have a foster dog in the house that has not been introduced to the rabbits yet, so they are sequestured to the mud room and do not have free run of the house right now. The cage is shared by both rabbits, but at separate times so that each has freedom of the mud room during the day. They like to lie by each other with the cage wall separating them. The older rabbit just lost his close male companion about a month ago, so he is still grieving and hasn't realized that the other can be his companion (at least that's what I like to think When they were loose in my living room, it wasn't constant fighting, mostly ignored each other or chased the other away with an occasional nasty fight. I think there is hope.

The rabbit volunteer with animal control, where I adopted them, suggested putting them in a crate together and taking them for a car ride and through home depot (apparently they don't mind if you bring rabbits in a cart lol) The theory being that they will take comfort in each other in a scary situation.

I will keep you all posted on their progress.

equipix said:

Thank you for the advice. I will check out both of these links.

When they were loose in my living room, it wasn't constant fighting, mostly ignored each other or chased the other away with an occasional nasty fight. I think there is hope.

The rabbit volunteer with animal control, where I adopted them, suggested putting them in a crate together and taking them for a car ride and through home depot (apparently they don't mind if you bring rabbits in a cart lol) The theory being that they will take comfort in each other in a scary situation.

I will keep you all posted on their progress.

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The suggestions you received were what is referred to as stress bonding. Some advocate that. But it is surrounded with some controversy. Personally, I don't care for it. I've read that such forced bonds are more apt to fall apart or be temporary. Of course if a pair of buns are already inclined to bond, it certainly won't hurt. It's the ones that aren't inclined to bond but are forced together that may then lose that bond later on.

The inside tussles you've experienced could be from them getting too large of a space too soon. Too much space can cause territorial behavior.

Once buns are bonded well enough to share a cage, I won't then let them out in a large area right away. I start small. I'll wrap the cage with an x-pen (mine are indoors) to give them space, but not too much. Once they are used to that, I increase the area a bit. Eventually, they work up to the entire area (in my case, the whole downstairs of the house).

It sounds like your two have potential to become best buddies.

I have five bonded rabbits and I've used stress bonding during all phases except for the first (when I bonded my pair). It's more of a facilitation method when dealing with aggressive rabbits. A way to keep them from fighting so they can see the other rabbit is not a threat. It also allows helps with fights. Separating rabbits during a fight, while sometimes necessary, can actually re-enforce aggressive behavior. They learn that violence gets them what they want (the other bunny away). It's not for everyone or every bond by any means. It's just one of many tools.

Generally speaking, the bondings I've seen work out most frequently follow the same stage pattern. Neutral > Semi Neutral > Cementing. Neutral sessions are usually short and take place in a completely neutral spaces. Bath tubs and bathrooms are popular. No litter boxes or food. Once they do well together in neutral they move to semi neutral which is a space that belongs neither bunny but is somewhere they've both spent some time in. Cementing is when you completely clean, neutralize what will be their permanent home and put them together, supervising, until they do not fight for 24-48 hours.

I posted about my quintet bonding here:
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/f18/quintet-bonding-77602/

Hi! I also need some advice regarding bonding my buns. I had one since he was a baby, and a few months ago set him up for play dates with a female (both are fixed) before we adopted her. So they had a number of great, quiet and event-free meetings before we even committed to adopting her. Once we did, we had them together in a bunny condo and they got along swimmingly for the past couple of months - they would groom each other, lay next to each other, etc. last week she got sick and had to be separated from him, and we took her to the vet a few times. Once she started on medication and felt a bit better, she started acting violent towards him. She has made his eye swell and drawn blood from his nose. They are still separated but the eye happened when we tried to let them out, and the lip happened through the cage! Does anyone have any recommendations for how we can rebond these two? Has this happened to anyone else? Any advice on how we can get them back together would be great.
Thanks!

You may need to start afresh with the bonding process. Proceed as if they have never before been together. Just begin at square one.

For future reference, it is advised to always keep a bonded pair together. So if one needs to see the vet, they both go there together.

update: both boys have worked out their issues and have bonded nicely. It took a few weeks of some minor scraps, but they are now best grooming and eating buds. Thanks for all the advice!