Attempting to bond rabbits but one seems to only want to fight

[charlie98]

I had a rabbit pass away two months ago and my little guy hasn't been himself since then so I finally looked into getting him a friend. They're both males and both neutered. My bun is almost 10 months old and the new bun is going to be 2 in february. My bun was the dominant one of the pair and the new bun is from a household with three children and has never been around other rabbits. The new bun seems to be dominant as well. I say this because the first date I had for them they both lowered their heads to be groomed, but when neither of them groomed the other the new bun got mad and nipped my bun in the ear. Since then I have been swapping their cages everyday. I had one successful date two days ago on top of the washer after a few days of cooling down after their initial tussle. Yesterday I tried bonding them again. I had them in a small cage and they seemed to be fine with each other and they weren't doing anything. So I decided to try and move them to the bathtub. As soon as they both got out of the cube and into the tub the new bun started tugging at my bun's hair and they got into a very lazy fight. I didn't want to end the date on such a bad note so I put them back in the cube and bounced them around in my lap. However, the new bun continued to nip at my bun's hair and they got into it again. I wouldn't say that they are full fledged fights, but more so them just tugging at each other's fur with a purpose. They are my first pair I have actually had to bond. All of my other pairs I had they got along instantly with each other so I am not sure how to go forward with their bonding. Is it a good sign that when they do "fight" it is much less intense than when they first went at it? I assume since they're both dominant they are just trying to establish a pecking order but I hate having to pick up little clumps of fur after each failed date. I don't think it is a territorial issue because they don't leave droppings all over the cage or pee to mark their territory. Has anyone had experience dealing with a pair similar to this and was successful in bonding them? I have exhausted all of the websites that has tips on bonding rabbits but they all just say the same thing. I just want them to start getting along better so they can both not be stressed out all the time and so my bun can finally have a friend again. Please help!

 

[John Wick]

While it can be frustrating and disheartening, sometimes it's good to go at a slower pace. It sounds like you're taking positive signs as a signal to move forward a little bit, but it can be good to stay where you're at. I find bonding is sometimes achieving the off-balance of positives and negatives— you want to rack up as many positive/neutral interactions between the rabbits as possible. If there is a certain location or set of circumstances that increases, stay there. Doing short food dates can be helpful, so there is exposure without nipping. Once again, there can be a temptation to let them stay on the date after the food is gone, but sometimes it's beneficial to end the date on that neutral/positive note, rather than pushing it until something negative happens.

Yes, it is positive that fighting is less, but since there is fighting, that's a sign that you may want to be more cautious in moving forward too quickly. It is very common for the bonding process to take a couple months— I believe some people say 5% of bonds are instant and 5% are incompatible-- unsure how true that is, but in its essence, it's saying that majority of bonds need time to work.