Ape337
April
Well, Humma and Faith had their first date today.....
Not bad, but not good either. Hubby and I put them in the bathroom together. It's a neutral place and with a lineolium floor we hoped that would throw them off a bit. We put them down at the same time and put a plate of greens in between them. They both ate merrily with each pausing a second to look toward the other and sniff.
The issue came when they were done eating. They both moved toward each other to take a closer look, and Humma chomped her face! Hubby immediately squirted him with the water bottle and they both froze for a few seconds. Faith didn't seem fazed by Humma's reaction. She approached him again and when he reached for her she flattened her chin on the floor and froze. Humma chomped again! Again the spray. They separated and ignored each other a minute or 2, then Faith went to find Humma again. Same result. She submitted, he chomped. He must not be biting hard bc I didn't see marks on her, but we were also very quick with the spray. He chomped her backside once too, then we decided to end the date. We gave both tasty hay for a minute, then separated them. The date was around 10 minutes.
Well, we will keep trying. I'm not experienced enough with rabbit bonding to now how bad this date was. They never actually fought so I think it's ok? I felt so sorry for Faith bc she was sooo submissive to Humma, and he chomped anyway....
That was date #1(copied from my bunny blog) 2 days ago
I started a separate thread for this now bc it's not going well.
Last night was date #2
It only lasted about 7-8 minutes if that long. We started the same way with sharing a plate of greens in the bathroom. All ok. After the greens were gone Humma approached Faith, they touched noses and Faith jumped/twitched, then backed away. Humma chased her once and bit her side. 2 times they got together and we separated them bc of biting. The difference this time was Humma was the one presenting for grooming, and Faith starting the biting. The second separation left 2 wet bunnies (from water squirts) and 2 chunks of Faiths fur on the floor. Hubby bitten on the leg accidently by Faith.
I think the bathroom is a mistake. Faith is a jumpy bunny, and when she does it creates a lot of noise bc it's a linoleum floor. Also I think they may have separated themselves if they hadn't been running in place on a slippery floor. I also think maybe Faith doesn't trust Humma now bc he bit her? IDK I just feel sorry for both of them.
Tonight I'll try a carpeted hallway, more greens, a litterbox with hay, and maybe toys. I'm hoping the sure footing of the carpet will make both feel more secure, able to flee quickly, and remove sudden, unnecessary startling noises. If this date escalates or goes the same as last night I will stop bc I don't want them to hurt each other.
Any input or advice is greatly appreciated and desperately needed. I'm pouring through as much of the forum's material and links on bonding as I can. Thanks for listening.
Not bad, but not good either. Hubby and I put them in the bathroom together. It's a neutral place and with a lineolium floor we hoped that would throw them off a bit. We put them down at the same time and put a plate of greens in between them. They both ate merrily with each pausing a second to look toward the other and sniff.
The issue came when they were done eating. They both moved toward each other to take a closer look, and Humma chomped her face! Hubby immediately squirted him with the water bottle and they both froze for a few seconds. Faith didn't seem fazed by Humma's reaction. She approached him again and when he reached for her she flattened her chin on the floor and froze. Humma chomped again! Again the spray. They separated and ignored each other a minute or 2, then Faith went to find Humma again. Same result. She submitted, he chomped. He must not be biting hard bc I didn't see marks on her, but we were also very quick with the spray. He chomped her backside once too, then we decided to end the date. We gave both tasty hay for a minute, then separated them. The date was around 10 minutes.
Well, we will keep trying. I'm not experienced enough with rabbit bonding to now how bad this date was. They never actually fought so I think it's ok? I felt so sorry for Faith bc she was sooo submissive to Humma, and he chomped anyway....
That was date #1(copied from my bunny blog) 2 days ago
I started a separate thread for this now bc it's not going well.
Last night was date #2
It only lasted about 7-8 minutes if that long. We started the same way with sharing a plate of greens in the bathroom. All ok. After the greens were gone Humma approached Faith, they touched noses and Faith jumped/twitched, then backed away. Humma chased her once and bit her side. 2 times they got together and we separated them bc of biting. The difference this time was Humma was the one presenting for grooming, and Faith starting the biting. The second separation left 2 wet bunnies (from water squirts) and 2 chunks of Faiths fur on the floor. Hubby bitten on the leg accidently by Faith.
I think the bathroom is a mistake. Faith is a jumpy bunny, and when she does it creates a lot of noise bc it's a linoleum floor. Also I think they may have separated themselves if they hadn't been running in place on a slippery floor. I also think maybe Faith doesn't trust Humma now bc he bit her? IDK I just feel sorry for both of them.
Tonight I'll try a carpeted hallway, more greens, a litterbox with hay, and maybe toys. I'm hoping the sure footing of the carpet will make both feel more secure, able to flee quickly, and remove sudden, unnecessary startling noises. If this date escalates or goes the same as last night I will stop bc I don't want them to hurt each other.
Any input or advice is greatly appreciated and desperately needed. I'm pouring through as much of the forum's material and links on bonding as I can. Thanks for listening.
