ButterscotchPuddin
New Member
Sorry if this is long but I am trying to include all relevant information..
I recently adopted another rabbit to hopefully bond with my resident male who is neutered and is estimated to be about 2-3 years old. My new bun is a female, spayed and is also estimated to be around 2 years old. She is much larger than him and is a total sweetheart but appears to be very dominant (even towards me and my cats lol). I did not do the “speed dating” because it is unavailable where I live, I was not even able to meet her before the adoption.
They each have a large enclosure set up side by side in my bedroom. When in their enclosures they spend their time sitting next to each other, legs stretched out and appear very comfortable. He even brings his toys over to show her when he is playful.
I attempted the first bonding a week or two after she moved in and at first things were on a positive path, some mild chasing and mounting but also laying directly beside each other and both asking to be groomed. By the end of the first week doing this we were up to sessions that lasted 3 hours with little trouble. However lately they seem to be less and less tolerant of each other. I’m starting to see some true aggression (I think anyways) with real biting and circling within minutes of the session starting. I separate them when this happens and spend some one on one with each of them after.
I’m wondering if something I did may have caused this. I have researched bunnies and bonding but I am by no means an expert and am looking for some tips/tricks that may help smooth things out. Also looking for opinions from people with experience on the scare bonding techniques, it makes sense to me when I read about them but it also seems to be slightly controversial.
Finally I will end with a question about hay consumption. My male has very little interest in his hay. He has access to large amounts of hay in different varieties (Timothy, oat, meadow, orachard grass) but I rarely see him eat it. I have tried hay racks, homemade toys etc which help a bit but he still eats very little. I should add that he has been seen by a vet, they said he appears to be fine physically and to bring him back in if he totally stops eating/pooping. I feed him a controlled amount of pellets and offer him a huge variety of vegetables as well but he literally will only eat parsley and arugula. Is there another way I can encourage him to eat more hay.
Thanks
I recently adopted another rabbit to hopefully bond with my resident male who is neutered and is estimated to be about 2-3 years old. My new bun is a female, spayed and is also estimated to be around 2 years old. She is much larger than him and is a total sweetheart but appears to be very dominant (even towards me and my cats lol). I did not do the “speed dating” because it is unavailable where I live, I was not even able to meet her before the adoption.
They each have a large enclosure set up side by side in my bedroom. When in their enclosures they spend their time sitting next to each other, legs stretched out and appear very comfortable. He even brings his toys over to show her when he is playful.
I attempted the first bonding a week or two after she moved in and at first things were on a positive path, some mild chasing and mounting but also laying directly beside each other and both asking to be groomed. By the end of the first week doing this we were up to sessions that lasted 3 hours with little trouble. However lately they seem to be less and less tolerant of each other. I’m starting to see some true aggression (I think anyways) with real biting and circling within minutes of the session starting. I separate them when this happens and spend some one on one with each of them after.
I’m wondering if something I did may have caused this. I have researched bunnies and bonding but I am by no means an expert and am looking for some tips/tricks that may help smooth things out. Also looking for opinions from people with experience on the scare bonding techniques, it makes sense to me when I read about them but it also seems to be slightly controversial.
Finally I will end with a question about hay consumption. My male has very little interest in his hay. He has access to large amounts of hay in different varieties (Timothy, oat, meadow, orachard grass) but I rarely see him eat it. I have tried hay racks, homemade toys etc which help a bit but he still eats very little. I should add that he has been seen by a vet, they said he appears to be fine physically and to bring him back in if he totally stops eating/pooping. I feed him a controlled amount of pellets and offer him a huge variety of vegetables as well but he literally will only eat parsley and arugula. Is there another way I can encourage him to eat more hay.
Thanks
