could it hurt if...

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manda

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Ryo is having her out time right now. (in non nuetral territory i have yet to introduce the rabbits in)

i wonder if it would hurt to get alex and set by Ryo and just hold him to see if the act agressive to each other
 
I don't know anything really about bonding bunnies, but wanted to let you know that I'm sure someone will be able to help you soon! :)

Hugs!! :heart:
 
nevermind, i talked it over with myself i went ahead and not only did that... but let them have a 10 minute bonding session in the bed room.

i am unsure how it went.... Ryo didnt try to kill alex, but there was two lunges that i stoped, and Ryo pulled Alex's fur (just a wee bit) and she did some growling.



i dont know if thats normal or if i went and screwed up again (i dont think so because they snuggled a bit too) should i keep it up in the bedroom, or bring them back upstairs?
 
Sounds like it went pretty well. It was in Ryo's territory? Did it seem like biting-like hair-pulling or a side effect of mounting-type hair-pulling?

Snuggling is always great. :)

sas
 
its was biteing like fur pullingnot trying to mount.

yeah snuggling is great, but Ryo's ears were pulled back and i was thinking she was going to bite Alex any mintue.

It was Ryo's territory first until i got Alex. they both have run of it at seprate times during the day. so its really not non nuetral.


so ya think i should keep their bonding sessions in the bed room?
 
Has Ryo been bonded to you? Is she mostly the aggressor? As previously noted (I think), Pipp can't stand seeing me holding or petting another bunny (or a cat for that matter). She seriously tries to kill the other bunny. If so, may be an idea to not pay much attention to Alex around her.

And Darry STILL mounts and plucks fur from Radar -- she really picks on him- and they rarely groom. But they're always sleeping together.

Both of my bondings happened without much help -- Dill would fight withSherry when she pursued him (including one or twobrief but real fights with the two of them rolled in a ball), but they had almost the whole house meaningSherry had room torun away. After I realized he'd onlychase her a few feet,I started lettingthem both out at the same time, andafter a week or three, they up and bonded.(Which was initially unfortunate seeing as Sherry was a foster).

Does Ryo actually seek out and chase Alex?Or is it more just a 'don't bug me' when he comes up to her?

It sounds like the initial attempts with your guys are going better than the intial attempts with my guys.

sas
 
In the mean time though this is a good situation for switching cages and litter boxes if you're not doing it already. Get them used to having each other's scent in the other's territory and break up the "my terrority, your territory" parts of the house while you are still bonding in neutral area.

I swap out Misty and Charlie's litter every now and then, and let Charlie play in Misty's room and vice versa.

___________
Nadia
 
Ryo is bonded to me, but she has never had a problem sharing me with Alex. Alex was the agressor for the most part, these past month its been equal. well, really no agression. but yeah, Ryo today was the aggressor. Ryo doesnt chase Alex. Alex just hopped by her and she decided she didnt like that.

i have been switching there cages EVERY single day since i got alex. I have tried switching litterboxes but they will not use each others. they would pee and poop right beside it.

thanks for being so helpful
 
manda wrote:
i have been switching there cages EVERY single day since i got alex. I have tried switching litterboxes but they will not use each others. they would pee and poop right beside it.

thanks for being so helpful
Click to expand...

LOL, ok so then you have it covered... It does sound like things are going really well though. For a first meeting it could have been way worse. Give it time - and keep trying.

__________
Nadia
 
I think it may be time to just let them run together in big areas. They've never really had serious fights, they've been snuggling, and you'retearing your hair out, maybe they'll do better in a free run situation without any intervention. Just make sure they're in a BIG area with lots of escape routes, and see how much time they willingly spend together.I think the worst that can happen is a few bald patches.

Good luck!

sas
 
i feel better now.

my plan is to get them out together 2 or 3 times a day for justaround 20minutes each time for now. I am not in a hurry at all for them to live together, but i cant wait until they can be out together and get along. so they can be out for 12 hours a day. poor Ryo, when it was just me and her she got out time atleast 7 hours a day. now she has to split that time equally with Alex.
 
also,i keep there run area small. like the size of their cages (combined, like how they would live together)

maybe thats one of my troubles. and they have nothing to hide in, i have been scared to do that because one time i did and they had an argument in there, and i couldnt get to them as soon as i would like.

but i reckon im supposed to let em pull some fur.

i betcha its my fault and being worried all the time thats making this take ages


pipp, if i were to let them run out in the big area and not intervene how long should i do it? all day? one hour?
 
The trick about having somewhere to hide is also having two or more exits. If you had themin a smaller area with a hidey-box andthey both ended up in thebox, thenthey're more inclined than ever'argue' about the space.

Can you just bunny-proof a whole room and let them in it for at least a few hours? They'll be busy exploring, maybe together, maybe not, but you'll see if they're aggressive when they simply cross each others' paths. (I don't think they will be, and if one bunny is, the other one can simply run off). And the true test will come at the end of their exploring time whether they cuddle up together.

I don't think time together in a small area is much different than putting them in a cage together, they're bound to be a little more cranky. They don't have much to do other than confront each other.

sas
 
yep i bunny proof this room (the bed room, non nuetral territory) if thats what you mean.

i've done that upstairs on nuetral territory and they snuggled and groomed the whole time. too bad they didnt start out that way down here in the bed room.
 
i have everything set up for them to be let out together in the bed room. they will have the whole room to themselfs, thats about 280 sq feet (big bed room)

i have four places for them to hide from each other. and i cut one box where Alex can fit in it, and Ryo cant (there is a huge size diffrence in the two) i am just not emotionally stable enought to do it at the moment. i have had it set up for two hours now, just staring at it.

if they nip and chase i shouldnt jump up and stop them. if the start cirlcing i should prepar to perhaps seperate them. if they have a lock down rolling on the floor fight (only happened once in the begining) of course i would break that up. So I will set here on the couch as calmly as I can and watch them. BUT i am thinking of waiting until tomorrow when hubby is off work. since i dont have a ride if i needed an emergancy vet because Ryo ripped Alex's throat out when i had my head turned. but i am always thinking of the worse.

incouragement please?:?
 
well i gave up the courage and did it. now i want to give up.

it went horrible. i couldnt keep the off each other. they were fighting (actually fighting) and they kept coming back for each other. i had them out for about a half hour, and that last little bit was sooo awful. i had to put them up on a bad note because i feared they would fight to the death. i hope i didnt set it back too much longer.

if i knew bonding two rabbits was going to last six months and be the hardest, scariest, most stressful thing i have ever done... i wouldnt had gotten another bunny. this is a bonding nightmare
 
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