Getting concerned that they won't work out...

[Rescuemom]

So... Today I did a bunny date again with Crush and Callie outside of their cages in a much larger area.

Of course, Callie has humped Crush since day one with him just taking it and sitting back. But I did notice he never truly 'accepted' her. If she nibbled or nudged around his ears, he'd flop-turn himself away from her. But he, for the most part, allowed her to hump and dominate him.

Today, however, was a different story. She would NOT stop harassing him to hump him. They're both spayed and neutered, with Callie being about nine months old and Crush being three years old. Today, he seemed to get irritated by her constant harassment and actually turned around and looked like he was trying to nip at her to tell her to 'back off'. To which, she paid no attention.

I shooed her away, ended it on as positive a note as I could with him getting treats with her around, and put her away to give him a break.

Am I too hopeful for this pair?

If I can't bond them, I likely won't try bonding Crush again, as I really can't take on any more buns, and my fiance is already trying to tell me that if I can't bond them and eventually have them in one cage together, that I should rehome Callie. Which isn't something I want to do at all. He clearly doesn't like bunnies as much as I do.

Anyway.... I'm at a loss, guys.

Any suggestions for what to try? Callie completely ignores EVERYTHING ELSE, including treats, when Crush is around, and just humps him as much as she possibly can. Will this ever calm down? Should I let them work things out assuming no biting or fighting happens? Should I be giving Crush the leeway to tell her when enough is enough?

I just don't know what to do right now..

 

[I_heart_Fraggles]

They should calm down with the humping....But you should encourage other behavior. What about putting applesauce on there heads to encourage grooming?

 

[Rescuemom]

Callie won't eat anything unless she's alone, in her cage, lol. Crush might, but he was so frazzled by her today, that he wasn't eating even his treats that he normally devours, until she was out of his sight..

 

[agnesthelion]

I think it's too soon to tell that they won't work out. Youve had her for a couple weeks, right? And is she the bun you rescued that wasn't living in very good conditions?

I think moving to too much space too soon can cause a step back. Also, it might have been good for Crush to tell her a couple times to knock it off. Nerve wracking though! Because you don't want them to get into an all out fight, of course. But sometimes they'd need to work it out on their own.

I'm actually dealing with a very similar thing with Archie and Agnes. Archie being the humper. I'm not sure how fast you are moving with their dates but I'm moving very, very slow, with a brief date every day for very small increments in neutral territory which is a fairly small space.

Anyway, the humping has really calmed down. Yesterday he barely tried at all.

Even though your buns won't eat while dating, you still might try the applesauce like Katie suggested. Mine didn't eat it either, but it did cause them to groom themselves at the same time so it was a good distraction.

My personal opinion is that if the buns aren't outright fighting and trying to kill each other, then they can be bonded. It might take some time, but it can happen.

Good luck!

 

[ldoerr]

My girls tried to KILL eachother when I first introduced them to eachotheer. It took a few months but they are now fully bonded (as of this Thursday). I would keep up with it. You might want to get a squirt bottle just in case. Do NOT give up. I am sure that if you put a lot of work and time into it it will work out

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Slow and steady.

 

[Mariah]

It took me 5 months for Kiwi (spayed 1.5 year old female) and Papaya (6.5 month old neutered male) for them to lay together! They have been "friends" for almost a week now with only one bunny fight last night. The fight wasent that bad. You can look at my thread in the infirmary titled "Kiwi & Papaya".

Don't loose hope! I almost did but my patience has finally paid off!

 

[hokankai]

Crush needs to be able to tell Callie when enough is enough, otherwise she's not going to know her boundaries. If you take him away without him asserting himself you're pretty much setting him up to be completely controlled by her. She's young and obnoxious right now, and he's mature and chilled out.

I wouldn't give up yet though. Next date if he starts to get annoyed, just squirt her to get him off. That way he feels like what he did to tell her "stop" actually gets her off of him, and she learns when enough is enough.

I agree that you really need to keep the area small until one of them starts to groom the other willingly. And I wouldn't worry about nips and bites unless it becomes violent. I know with rats and chickens the rule is "no blood, no foul" when it comes to introducing new additions.

 

[Blue eyes]

Small areas. That's also what I've always been told too. It's not until they're making good progress that the area can be expanded, and then only a little at a time.

 

[Rescuemom]

Thanks guys. I'll keep them to the baby-gated hallway then, where they were making good progress and keep that until I see more affectionate behavior betwixt the two.

Thanks for the support! I just don't want to be stressing Crush out too much.