Bunny bonding: Anything I should know?

[danaii]

Ok, the long version is in the Introductionssection. The short version is that we're getting a spayedfemale Holland Lop, 1.5 years old, tomorrow to be buddies with ourcurrent neutered male Holland Lop, 5-month old bunny.

They had a bunny date today and it went really well, and we're bringing her home tomorow.

Anything I should know? What one thing do you wish you hadknown before bonding two bunnies together? Any tips andtricks? Thanks!

 

[undergunfire]

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12072&forum_id=17




I am getting a black lionhead doe on March 18th and she is gettingspayed on March 28th. I am going to try to bond her with my twoneutered bonded boys. Read through those articles, you can learn a lot!


- Amy:brownbunny

 

[aurora369]

Basically any behaviour that does not involve fighting is a good sign.

Ignoring each other, grooming in front of the other bunny, flopping in the other bunnies presence are all good signs.

Signs of love at first sight are snuggling and grooming.

The method of bonding that I used to bond my three and am using to bonda rescue bun to a friends bun at the moment seems to work reallywell. This method can only be used if there is absolutly noaggression shown by either bun (humping is okay, as long as there's nofighting after).

I set up a pen in a neutral area, put the buns in and supervise for thefirst little while to make sure that there is no fighting. Ithen just leave the buns in the neutral area for a week or more tosolidify a bond. Once the bond has been created you can movethem into the area you wish to keep them permanently.

You can do some short bonding sessions first, to evaluate how well theyget along. I did some short sessions with mine, then a longcar ride and then into the pen. A couple weeks later, theywere 100% bonded and I haven't had any problems yet.

--Dawn