bonding update advice needed

[black_jack]

okay,last week as my parents were staying the week, we blocked jack andhetti's access to under/on top of the bed as they sometimes tinklethere and we didnt want them too.

As a result of this jack andhetti have slightly less space than they normally would and have chosento lie down next the area that is sectioned off for scamp. wehave noticed that as a result of this scamp can now nibble hettithrough the bars and lie down next to the cage without beingattacked.

So having left it a couple ofmonths since we bought scampy and followed the close proximity bondingtechnique do we now move on to the bit where they actually meet interritory that they normally wouldnt?

Scamp is a little bigger nowbut with two bunnys that are just short of being a year old vs a 3monthbunny how is scamp going to fair? I am really worried aboutthis what should i do?

 

[black_jack]

okay wehave just tried it. Hetti attacked scamp but i pulled her furso she couldnt do any damage.

Jack was as sweet as anything.

What do you do when one partof a bonded couple accepts the new bun and the other partdoesnt?

 

[naturestee]

Did Hetti immediately go for Scamp or did theyignore each other for a bit? Did Scamp do something to upsether such as get near her or Jack? My two were a real pain tobond. Loki would nip all the time, but he almost never showedsigns he was irritated or aggressive before he bit. I foundthat putting them in a larger room (they had been in the bathtub)helped a lot. After a day of fairly heavy aggression, theyslowly started calming down. Part of it was that they neededto be able to get away from each other.

When Hetti goes to attack Scamp, spray her with water and tell her"No!" Try not to get anyone else by accident unless they areattacking, too. Another thing that helped me was to put themnext to each other and pet them, telling them how good they are whilekeeping them from biting each other. You should get yourhubby to help with that. Now, if I'm petting one rabbit theother runs over for some snuggling and petting of their own.If Scamp can eat greens, you could feed them their salad on one bigplate. Praise them when they don't threaten eachother. The idea is to get them to associate each other withgood things.

If she doesn't see this thread, PM Stephanie. She knows what she's doing and has a bonded trio.

 

[Stephanie]

Did you start the new rabbit off in their territory? If so, that's one of the problems right there.

We had similar problems with our bonded pair when we brought Valuranin. Abby did not like him at all and attacked him viciously.

Sounds to me like you need to start from scratch. First, separate thenew bunny immediately. Keep him in his own cage, away from the othertwo. Let him out on his own in the shared space, so they can mix theirscents together. Then you need to do some bonding with them, in aneutral territory. I used my bathroom for this, as none of the rabbitsgo in that room.

Bring both rabbits into the neutral territory. Sometimes I would takethem on a short car ride, in the same carrier. Just around the blocksort of thing, enough to make them nervous and disoriented. I didn't dothis every time, just the first few days of training.

In the bathroom (or whatever room your rabbits don't go into): It helpsto have a spray bottle on hand to use if any aggressive behaviorensues. Also, put a bowl of water out and some hay for nibbling. Thenlet them do their own thing and just sit there very quietly, doing andsaying nothing.At the first sign of any aggression, spray theoffender and say NO.

Expect fur to fly. With me, it took a full two weeks to get Abby tofinally accept Valuran. As soon as they begin to ignore each other,good. That's what you want. As soon as you see grooming, it's a donedeal.

Do this two-three times a day, for 20-30 minutes at a time. I startedat 20 minutes a day, then worked up to 30. Don't give up hope. When Iwas doing this, I very nearly gave up on it, so have patience. Trustme, this really works.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to PM me.

 

[black_jack]

jack ignored scamp but hetti went straight for her.

We started them by puttingthe new bun in there room but sectioned it off so i suppose u could saywe started her in hetti's territory.

We tried to get the bunsin the front room but none of the buns are easy to handle so it is hardto get them in the same space together. Is it safe to put all3 buns in together?

Jack occasionaly getsfunny with scamp but only when hetti is around??



Thanks for the advice havelet baby bun out with jack for a bit to mix the scents and try get jackto side with scamp more will keep trying but am worried as hetti islarger than scamp and could do some seriousdamage?

 

[black_jack]

Stephanie wrote:

Did you start the new rabbit off in their territory? If so,that's one of the problems right there.

We had similar problems with our bonded pair when we brought Valuranin. Abby did not like him at all and attacked him viciously.

Sounds to me like you need to start from scratch. First, separate thenew bunny immediately. Keep him in his own cage, away from the othertwo. Let him out on his own in the shared space, so they can mix theirscents together. Then you need to do some bonding with them, in aneutral territory. I used my bathroom for this, as none of the rabbitsgo in that room.

Bring both rabbits into the neutral territory. Sometimes I would takethem on a short car ride, in the same carrier. Just around the blocksort of thing, enough to make them nervous and disoriented. I didn't dothis every time, just the first few days of training.

In the bathroom (or whatever room your rabbits don't go into): It helpsto have a spray bottle on hand to use if any aggressive behaviorensues. Also, put a bowl of water out and some hay for nibbling. Thenlet them do their own thing and just sit there very quietly, doing andsaying nothing.At the first sign of any aggression, spray theoffender and say NO.

Expect fur to fly. With me, it took a full two weeks to get Abby tofinally accept Valuran. As soon as they begin to ignore each other,good. That's what you want. As soon as you see grooming, it's a donedeal.

Do this two-three times a day, for 20-30 minutes at a time. I startedat 20 minutes a day, then worked up to 30. Don't give up hope. When Iwas doing this, I very nearly gave up on it, so have patience. Trustme, this really works.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to PM me.

Have given this a go but hetti growled really loud and just went forscamp when she wasnt going for her (all 5 seconds) shelooked very annoyed and her heart was beating really fast u could seethe anger in her eyes and then she started up again

 

[Stephanie]

Where were you in the house when Hetti wasacting this way? I suggest a small space where you can reach themquickly. Also, water is a very good detriment, they don't usually likegetting wet and it doesn't hurt them.

Is Hetti spayed? It is much easier without all those hormones.

 

[naturestee]

Just keep trying. If you can, letscamp run and try to keep Hetti near you. Pet her and tellher how good she is. If she gets really stressed out, onlyput them together for a few minutes. As they get used to eachother, you can increase their time together.

It will take a lot of time and patience to bond these guys. Ithink you can do it though. Just keep the end in sight.

 

[Stephanie]

Yes, it is going to take a lot of time and patience. Keep up the good work though! I know it can be VERY frustrating.

When I was bonding Abby to Valuran, I was just about ready to give upbut kept with it and now they're best friends. She was very viciousinher attacks too, so I feel your pain in this.

 

[naturestee]

Stephanie wrote:

When I was bonding Abby to Valuran, I was just about readyto give up but kept with it and now they're best friends. She was veryvicious inher attacks too, so I feel your pain in this.

Same here. I think James still has a bit of a grudge againstLoki for attacking his baby Mocha. And once Mocha started tolike Loki, she was so confused by his attacks. It really hurtto see that, but I kept going. The whole thing really had mestressed out.

 

[black_jack]

we were in the corridor and i was in the middlei stroked hetti but then she just got up and had another go?cant believe she growled tried to hold her down but this just made herworse i dont get her at all.

Gotta perservere though its horrible she's so mean. scamp is the only one who has not been neutered.

 

[Stephanie]

I know what you mean. I was heartbroken at howAbby was acting towards Valuran, especially as Valuran was very skinny,hadn't been properly cared for. Here is this big bully bunny kickinghis butt at every turn. The poor thing used to crawl on my lap to getaway fromher.

Now he only comes near me when he wants a treat!The ingrate.