crystal wrote:
They are very cute
I can definitely relate to months of slow bonding... can you offer any tips, what finally worked in the end? (apart from persistance!)
Ok, this is a long story and I apoligize for that, but here is my story. Skip to the end if you just want the facts.
I read ALLOT about bonding rabbits online so I knew going in that it could be a rough road. Andthat I may not end upwith a bonded pair, so I feel so greatful that my buns fell in love.
Despite advice I did not let my boy bunny pick his mate, I went with an arranged marriage. I waited until my boy was fixed before bringing the girl into the picture. My girl was unfixed when I got her and when I first started the short bunny dates (in my bathroom) I think her scent drove hom crazy!
Bunbunwould chase her around and scare the crap out of her and bite large chunks of here fur out. He wasn'tangry, just soooo interested in her and he couldn't get her to stop running away. I think thats why he would bite her fur and her feet, to get her to hold still so he could investigate and of course claim her.
I continued to put them together for short periods of time - but he did not calm down any and she would just end up climbing up my body to try to escape him. She made it on top of my head once, which was hilarious.
As soon as I got her I put their cages side by side so they could get used to each others scent. And they would each have playtime outside their cage individually. I started to think my bonding was starting to work when I saw that she loved to hang out by his cage, this of course drove Bunbun crazy and he would make this weird loud growl/purr noise at her. But, when I put them together she would still run away.
Well as soon as I got her fixed I had to stop the dates for awhile so she could properly heal. Once she had, I moved the dates to a penned off area in my room, which is where they live. The same thing would happen, run, chase, bite - but he was a little less interested in her and would explore other things as well. And here is where I have my husband to thank for the actual bond. I had always separted them rather quickly on the dates because I didn't want her to have too bad of an experience. Because I've read thatrabbits hold grudges. lol.But one day while I was at work, my husband put them it the pen and sat on the bed and worked. He left them in there for hours, and of course he was there if anything went wrong. Within that timeframe eventuallyBunbun stopped chasing her, she stopped running and they started to snuggle and clean each other. I think they just needed time to work things out with each other - and i was too nervous to let that happen.
With this awesome dateall my fears of bunny fights left and I just let them run free in our room with both cages open. They went straight to his cage (he has the big multi-level cage) went to the top and snuggled into his timothy bungalow. I just let them live in the one cage from then on.
So. I am lucky that I did not have fighting rabbits, but it still was a long process. So my tip would be: both fixed, cages side by side, short dates for awhile, let them explore each others cages, then if they are not fighting but still not friends- relax and let them work it out in a pen for a few hours.
