Bonding Question

[HarryandLuna]

Hi all.

I introduced a new female bun (Luna) to my 10 month old male (Harry) last week. It was almost love at first site they were cuddling and grooming each other within a couple of hours. I’ve had to keep Luna seperate while I am at work and overnight as she’s not properly litter trained and Harry is free roam so Luna has been kept in a small pen in hopes of fast tracking the litter training.

However tonight I’m now noticing the they are cuddling and grooming one minute and then the next minute they are circling and mounting each other ( they haven’t done this since the first intial meet).

Should I stop separating them ?

 

[Katie]

Are they spayed/neutered?

 

[HarryandLuna]

Harry is, Luna is only 10 weeks old so she isn’t yet

 

[Blue eyes]

Actually you should completely separate them. Almost any baby rabbit will get along with an adult rabbit...until hormones kick in. With the onset of her hormones, either rabbit can act out. Circling can be a pre-cursor to fighting.

"Bonds" with a baby just don't count as true bonds. Once she's spayed and had time to heal, then the intros can begin. Whether or not they decide to bond is anyone's guess.

In the meantime, allowing them together at all runs the risk of them fighting. If they fight, it could destroy their future chances of bonding for real.

 

[Imbrium]

^ Everything Blue eyes said.

After her spay, it takes 3-4 weeks for a female's hormones to be completely gone. At that point, you'll need to start the bonding process from scratch. Here are some great articles about bonding:
https://www.cottontails-rescue.org.uk/information/bonding-bunnies/
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/bonding-bunnies.html
http://www.saveabunny.org/rabbitcare/bonding-guide
http://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Bonding_rabbits_together
https://rabbit.org/hop-on-board-perspectives-on-rabbit-mounting-behavior/