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Tally943

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Hi, I just joined to get some basic advice on bonding 2 rabbits. I seem to be doing a good job so far but I just want to make sure. So I actually want to start by asking what are the best and easiest salads to make everyday? I just buy a salad mix (mostly spinach, I know I just read that its bad for them :?) A very small amount of fruit, like apple or banana. Then a few carrot slices and maybe something extra I have in the fridge or garden. (cilantro, parsley, etc.) Then they also get hay and 1/4 cup of dry food a day.

Ok and they the introducing part. I got Patrick at the Animal Protective League around St.Patricks Day. (yes that's why they names him Patrick lol) He is a dutch, he was about 5 months old, and is fixed. Then just recently I got a second rabbit, also from the APL. Her name is Dolly, she is a mini-rex and also fixed. She is about 4 months old now, but it bigger then Patrick lol. Moving on , I tried to do everything right, I knew to get him a rabbit that was about the same age as him , a fixed female was best , and around the same size also. Patrick is in a huge dog cage that he loves , while dolly is in a XXL petstore cage. I know I hate petstore cages too but it was a cheaper option since I already owned one and I plan on moving Patrick and Dolly in the same cage. I also made a playpen in an area where that Patrick is unfamiliar area, or neutral territory. So I let dolly settle in for a few days and then on like the 4th day she was here I put Patrick out first in the playpen , then after 10minutes or so , I added her to the playpen. At first everything was going good , they just looked at each other , then out of no where I see Patrick humping her :eek:ldman:
I know it means that he is dominant , lol , but still, I have never seen that side of him, except maybe when he peed on the couch. Anyways, I have been doing this everyday, where I will let one out alone in the playpen for a half an hour, then put the other one in , so they are together for a half an hour, then put the first one back in their cage , while the second one is out for a half an hour. I have already noticed a change in Patrick , he seems happier , I think I caught him giving her bunny kisses but I'm not 100% sure. They only negative thing is that Patrick has been litterboxed trained since I got him , and he peed out of the cage yesterday , she also peed out of the cage but she has done that before since she isn't trained yet. Their cages are right next to each other. So when do you think I can get them moved in together? I am fine waiting for a while, but some websites say 2 months , some say a year. I am getting a family friend to make me a custom built cage so no worries on the cage not being large enough. Thanks Everyone! :big wink:
 
Don't think there is any set timeline you can go on. With any bonding, it's trial and error. We had a pair of bonded females that were together for more than 5 years and there was still humping involved. Good luck.
 
Spinach is ok, but you need to have it in a salad on a rotational basis. Good things for salads are herbs, like cilantro and basil. Parsley also needs to be rotational. You can also include romaine and dark leaf lettuce varieties (never iceberg lettuce).

Here's a list of rabbit-safe greens: http://rabbit.org/suggested-vegetables-and-fruits-for-a-rabbit-diet/ some things on the list like Kale should also be rotated as they are high in calcium.

As for the bonding, as it seems to be going well, I would start to increase the length of the dates, push it to 45 minutes, then an hour etc. Once they're getting along for several hours at a times, then I could consider letting them be together. When you first put them together for the day though, make sure you're home all day in case anything happens. Sounds like it's going well though :)
 

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