Bonding help

[Natikat]

Hello! Can anybody help us with advice?

So we are trying to bond our two male and female rabbits.
(They are both Spayed and Neutered for a long time)

We did the stress bonding where we drive with them on the car and then put them on a small card box
What we think is happening is that both the male and female are trying to be the dominant one.

We had them in that card box with hay and giving them water for about 9 hours but they didn't progress a lot because the male tried to mount her a couple of times and the female always fought back. When the male tries to approach her she grunts to him and he gives up.
The relationship seemed more strong over time but then he tries to mount her again and then everything repeats but a little worse.

Any tips for better relationship between them and break this cicle? We were afraid to try to increase the space since they still fight a couple of times. It's not a lot majority they ignore each other and lay down like the first picture but later they did like the second picture but then another fight occured.

Now we were a little afraid about the fights so we separated them at night. Should we try again? If so how do we try it?

Thank you

 

[John Wick]

Every bonding process is different. They may benefit from a slightly bigger neutral space instead. Also, starting with hours-long dates is not recommended. Short (10-15min) dates in neutral to accumulate neutral/positive interactions tend to be the first approach, rather than marathon-ing. See here for a bonding process overview: Bonding Archives | BinkyBunny

Yes-- they should be separated at night when not supervised since they are not bonded. Unbonded rabbits should never be left alone together.

 

[JBun]

If you're trying to bond all 3 at the same time, you may need to change that and start bonding two, then try adding the third in when the first two are doing well and bonded. But just know, trios can be very difficult and sometimes are not successful. Many times the third rabbit will get left out from the two rabbits that bond more closely together.

It might also be that you're just moving too fast and need to take a more gradual bonding approach with them. All rabbit bonding is different because of each rabbits individual personality. So what works for one rabbit may not work for another. If one method of bonding isn't working, it may mean it's time to change tactics. You have to be very flexible and very observant with bonding rabbits, and be able to adjust accordingly.

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/bonding-bunnies.html
http://cottontails-rescue.org.uk/information/bonding-bunnies/
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Bonding_rabbits_together