Bunny Bonding Question

[Shadslan]

I have two rabbits (a male & a female, both fixed) who I have been working on bonding. They were fine for several months, and I had them in the same pen and cage with no issues. They are both supposedly lionheads, but the female is bigger than the male. Shelter said she is a lionhead, but I suspect she is mixed with another breed.

The female started having issues with mushy cecotropes, so I cut back on the amount of pellets I was giving her to encourage her to eat more hay. When this happened, she became food-aggressive and ended up eating all of the food- his and hers. He could still eat initially, but he likes to save some for later, and she would have it all gone right away. And she started chasing him and pulling his fur out.

So I have separated them, but am wondering if we should try to re-bond again? They are in the same area in side-by-side cages/pens, so they can still see each other. And he still will groom her through the fence. He also has broken out several times and gotten in her pen to be with her. We joke that he's a little bunny Romeo. But all of those times, she has responded by nipping him and chasing him all around, and there will be fur everywhere. I've fixed it so he can't do that anymore, but it seems like he still wants to be around her, so I feel bad separating them. Should I start the re-bonding process all over again in a neutral area? Just worried that they could never resolve the food issue. She is still a bit crazy about the pellets, although she eats a TON of hay now, and the cecotrope issue has cleared up.

 

[JBun]

I think first you'll need to resolve the pellet issue, since that seems to be a primary trigger affecting her happiness and their bond. What type/brand of pellets do you feed? Have you ever tried any different types of pellets or did you just reduce the amount fed to clear up the problem?

 

[Shadslan]

I am feeding them Modesto Milling Organic Rabbit Food. They have eaten other types of pellets in the past but have been on the same food for the entire bonding experience and before (probably about a year). I only cut back because I did a lot of research on the mushy cecotropes and realized I was giving her 1/3 cup pellets twice a day when she really only needs 1/2 cup for the entire day. So she wasn't hungry enough to eat any hay or eat her cecotropes. She is doing really well now, but is still a bit nuts over the pellets. She will eats them out of the scoop as I'm pouring them into her dish! I also feed them unlimited hay and some veggies everyday, so she's not starving!