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stacyg1805

New Member
Joined
Aug 24, 2004
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Location
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Hello All! I have a bunny named Smokey,she is a girl and she is a few months old. She is so cute andI love her, but I always feel as though she is lonely, so I got her afriend.....bad idea????? Smokey does not like her!She is very territorial I guess and she can't stand the other bunny(Pepper). We introduced them in a neutral area and even got abigger cage for the both of them, but we can't keep them togetherbecause Smokey will kill her! She chases her and throws herup against the wall. I don't know what to do, I have readthat it takes time, but I don't want to get close to Pepper ifeventually I am going to have to give her away. I keep thecages next to each other but it doesn't seem to be working.

Smokey is also a large bunny and Pepper isn't so I think she feels asthough she can pick on her. She also knows we love her andwould never get rid of her.....but I also don't want to get rid ofPepper. I just want them to get along.....

Someone help............

 
Hi Stacyg1805!

It sounds like pepper and smokey are two males. The same thing happenedto me with my two bunnies. My two bunnies are males and I used to keepthem in the same cage together.....until they got older and they wouldfight everyday:X. My angora was bigger than my jersey wooly and myangora would always chase after my wooly and try to bite him:X. So theonly solution we had to do was seperate them.:( I got two seperatecages for both of them, one for my angora and one for my wooly. Theynever fighted eachother since they were seperated:). I think you shouldbuy two seperate cages for Smokey and Pepper. Its the only solution tomake them stop fighting. Good Luck with your two buns, and besure to let me kno how it goes.

:DCassandra:D(angoralover)P.S.- I'm quite sure they would be two males cause I've never heard offemales fighting.:?
 
I know you will getmany, many opinions on this- here's mine for what it's worth. When Iwas a kidI had a bunch of bunnies. A couple dozen or so.Keeping in mind I was a kid and much less educated than now, never theless, none of them ever really "enjoyed" being with each other the wayour current bunny Sebastian enjoys being with us. He is a "single"bunny and I don't plan to get him a buddy. He is totally and completelybonded with his humans and has no need for another bun. Idon't feel his quality of life would be improved with another bunny. Infact, I think it would suffer. I've read a lot of posts where peoplegot another bunny hoping to give their current bunny a friend andinstead ended up having to have two of everything and it all wasabig pain in the rear end. That obviously isn't always thecase. A lot of people have the time and the love for more thanonebunny, but if your motivating factor is to make sure thatSmokey isn't lonely, then Smokey's reaction must be the most importantpart. Do a search and go through some of the old posts. Lookfor some of the ones by Buck on bonding. He knows his stuffand can tell you how to do it right if you want to try to make thingswork out for Smokey and Pepper. Good Luck!
 
Thanks so much for your imput. I dowant them to get along, but like most people, I work 8 hours a day andI don't exactly have the time it may take. I guess thisproves that Smokey is fine being alone.....

Thanks Raspberry and Angoralover....

P.S. By the way...they're both girls! Who would of thought?
 
I recommend the House Rabbit Society's articles on bonding: http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/multiple.html

And I'll add my two cents (as posted in a past topic)-

It's true, a playmate is not necessary for your bunny if youspend time with them, but until you've seen bunnies groom each other,snuggle with each other, and play with each other, you'll find yourselfhard pressed to provide that level of companionship with your rabbit.

Personally (IMHO), I would prefer that my rabbit be happy and contentwith another being of the same species, that they can communicate withand provide that level of companionship, than to keep that from themjust so they are more attentive to me.

There are many rabbits who do not seem to like other rabbits. Thinkabout it: they were seperated from their kind at a very young age, andraised by beings of a different species. They've forgotten theirlanguage. They've forgotten they are truly rabbits, not justrabbit-sized people. Seeing a rabbit realize what he really is, come toan "awakening", so to speak, as a true rabbit, and finally finding thatcompanionship: it's really quite amazing.

I'm just saying, and I know people have different opinions on this, butthe way two rabbits interact is truly unique. It's been so enjoyable towatch my rabbit's relationship blossom. And now I get the same love indouble the dose.
Click to expand...
 
WelcomeStacyg1805,

I'm so sorry that this is happening. You try to help out andthis is what you get.Don't know if both girls arefixed or not, but it might make a difference.

You may wish to check out the following sites for more help. It can backfire if you try to do it too fast.

Bonding Two or More Bunnies:[url]http://www.mybunnies.com/bonding.htm[/url]


-Carolyn
 
Yes, please do Stacyg.

It's a pleasure to meet you.

-Carolyn
 
same sex (male and male or girl and girl) bondingdoesn't work as often a male and female. We are trying to getour bunny, Emmit to bond with our new bun, Amelia, and trust me, I knowit is hard. It's a long process too. Here are a fewtips:

Have them meet around the same time everyday: rabbits arecreatures of habbit, and this will help them get used to their newbuddy.

When you have them meet, make sure to separate them after a few seconds of a tussle, if not right away.

Do not let them chase each other. I've heard that is bad.

Don't be afraid of bonding with Pepper. She's probably very scared as it is.

Talk to them softly when you put them together, and pet themboth. It's easier to have another person helping you when youhave your "bonding dates".

Try to get them to eat around each other. Eating is a socialactivity, and if they eat near each other that can help them becomemore social.

I suggest separate cages. Even after they've started to getalong, it's not safe to put them in the same cage-especially if you'renot watching them. One can corner another one and they cannotescape.

Put their separate cages near each other, but make sure they are notwithin reach....4 inches apart or so, so that noes, paws, etc cannottouch, but they can smell. Put their food bowls on the sidesclosest to each other, and their litter boxes on oppositesides.

Let them explore each other's areas when the other bunny is not around. Then they can get used to the other's smell.

Switch droppings from litter boxes.

I can't think of anything more...but I hope this helps. We'vebeen trying to bond them for about a week, and it is a LONGprocess. We finally got them to calm down enough to be petnear each other. It's difficult because they both want to bedominant. I hope things go well with you. Make sureyou do a lot of reading. Do a google search about bunnybonding and read as much as you can. That is really helpingus.

Good luck!

-Carrie, Martin, Emmit, and Amelia
 
i'm so nervous about this... my daughter is getting another bunny today. we have a DIY cage using the metal grids many of you use. it's 3 grids high (three levels) - and two grids wide. we are going to section off the top grid for her new bunny during the introductory period. IF something happens and they don't bond... we'll add another grid level to the top so each bunny ends up with two levels of their own.

please send "bonding" thoughts our way for the next few weeks.
 
Hi Stacey

Perhaps you started the bonding off too early and without enough restriction. This is the way I am starting my buns off (I have just started this process). Maybe you could use this method- it might be useful :)
Benji and Pippin each have a hutch, and for about a month their hutches were a couple of feet apart and facing each other. They went in the run at separate times, but I left their droppings in there, so the other would get used to the smell.

Now-we've decided to move on with the bonding, and my dad built this:

NewRunPipnBen001.jpg


It's just over 8ft by just over 4ft, and was built from the original run- the darker bits.

You can see the partition in the middle. For the next month or so this is how it will remain. They will get very used to each other.

NewRunPipnBen016.jpg


At first- Benji (left) would try to bite Pippin through the wire, and whenever Pippin was near would try to scratch him.
A few days later, there was less growling and biting.

Now- a week or so on- Benji has begun to lick pippin through the bars, and I constantly find them lying down, squidged up against the middle bars as if they want to be next to each other. If the partition wasn't there then they would be snuggling up.

After about a month I will start giving them 10 minute periods or so while I'm there, in a neutral territory to bond.

They will have been in the separated run for so long, being able to lick each other's foreheads (which they are already doing after a week) and squidging up to one another, again what they are doing right now, so they will be so used to each other, that hopefully they will not fight or feel the need to protect their territory.

The great thing about this kind of run, is that the rabbits are right next to each other, getting used to each other but neither can hurt or get hurt by the other one. They can be as close as they like- and one can run away and not get chased if the other attacks.
Then they might make up again and can then come closer, maybe sniff and nuzzle each other- but completely at their own leisure.

Hope this helps- it definately seems to be working for me

Good luck :D
 
sorry all, i didn't realize how old this thread was when i responded to it. i did a search to learn more about introducing our new bunny...

unfortunately your outside unit won't work for us, as they are indoor bunnies... but that sure is a nice run your dad made!
 
no i hadn't. that was a great link... thank you.

i have a question. the new bunny is a male... about 3.5 months old. our older bunny is a spayed female... 7.5 months old.

he is thumping every so often... what does that mean?

at this point there was a little chasing but now they are eating and relaxing in the same room... so i figure this is a good thing!
 
He's just thumping because he's nervous. Sprite does that during bonding sessions too. Just go slow, you probably won't get them fully bonded until after he's been neutered. Any time now his hormones will kick in and he'll probably be more interested in mounting her than making friends, and she probably won't be happy about it.
 
oh good, then i can make an appt for this week with the vet!

they are both very calm in their condo homes... and i am very hopeful they will be able to live together soon. :)

you are all so helpful... thank you
 
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