mdith4him
Well-Known Member
Oh, my, a lot's been happening around here in the last few days...
Last week I had a massive, last-ditch effort bunny date with Nibbles and Junie. I had read a suggestion elsewhere that said you could put the bunnies together for a whole day (supervised, of course) to "force" them to relax around each other and encourage bonding. Well, it didn't work. I sat with them in the hallway for 7 hours and things ended the way they started. I've been trying with these two since mid-February and it just doesn't seem like it's going to work. Junie seems very desperate for rabbit companionship, but Nibbles strikes me as a "lone bunny" type guy. He just isn't interested in her in the least.
Anyway, hubby and I have decided to stop trying to bond the two of them. It seems to stress them out and Nibbles is now wary of us whenever we come in his pen because he thinks we're going to try to pick him up for a date! Ending the bonding process is great for Nibbles, but poor Junie still sticks her nose through the bars and lays down near where Nibbles is, if possible. I really feel like her life would be happier if she had a "hus-bunny."
We started looking around and thinking about the possibility of a third bunny for Junie (not that I would mind having another rabbit, lol!, but if Nibbles and Juine had bonded we wouldn't be thinking about #3). We found this little guy and after talking with his foster mom, he sounds great! She said he's friendly, loves being picked up and pet, and is a "jumper!" Just like our Junie, haha!
[Slight side note: The foster mom said he had met a couple other female bunnies before and had mounted them. She said that was a sign that a fight was about to start :?. I've always heard that mounting is just their way of sorting out who's dominant and is usually a good sign. Any thoughts on that??]
Ruffian
We're going to meet him (with Junie) on Thursday night. I'm excited, but there are some obvious reservations we have about getting a new bunny. We have space for him and extra veggies, pellets, and hay are relatively cheap, so that's not a problem. We are worried about traveling and how to do that with three buns (two of which would be bonded along with our lone bachelor). We don't go out of town often, but we do visit my in-laws about 3-4 times a year (they're 4 hours away). Those of you with more than one bunny (especially two unbonded bunnies), how do you manage traveling? If you take them with you, what do you set up for them to stay in? Do you leave them at home with a "bun-sitter?"
OK, that was very long. How does all this sound? Good? Not so good? Does it sound like we're biting off more than we can chew with three bunnies? Do you think it would cause problems for Nibbles with two bonded rabbits as "neighbors?" Can you think of anything that we haven't thought of or considered? We want to make sure we're thinking of everything before going ahead with this. Thanks!!
Last week I had a massive, last-ditch effort bunny date with Nibbles and Junie. I had read a suggestion elsewhere that said you could put the bunnies together for a whole day (supervised, of course) to "force" them to relax around each other and encourage bonding. Well, it didn't work. I sat with them in the hallway for 7 hours and things ended the way they started. I've been trying with these two since mid-February and it just doesn't seem like it's going to work. Junie seems very desperate for rabbit companionship, but Nibbles strikes me as a "lone bunny" type guy. He just isn't interested in her in the least.
Anyway, hubby and I have decided to stop trying to bond the two of them. It seems to stress them out and Nibbles is now wary of us whenever we come in his pen because he thinks we're going to try to pick him up for a date! Ending the bonding process is great for Nibbles, but poor Junie still sticks her nose through the bars and lays down near where Nibbles is, if possible. I really feel like her life would be happier if she had a "hus-bunny."
We started looking around and thinking about the possibility of a third bunny for Junie (not that I would mind having another rabbit, lol!, but if Nibbles and Juine had bonded we wouldn't be thinking about #3). We found this little guy and after talking with his foster mom, he sounds great! She said he's friendly, loves being picked up and pet, and is a "jumper!" Just like our Junie, haha!
[Slight side note: The foster mom said he had met a couple other female bunnies before and had mounted them. She said that was a sign that a fight was about to start :?. I've always heard that mounting is just their way of sorting out who's dominant and is usually a good sign. Any thoughts on that??]
Ruffian
We're going to meet him (with Junie) on Thursday night. I'm excited, but there are some obvious reservations we have about getting a new bunny. We have space for him and extra veggies, pellets, and hay are relatively cheap, so that's not a problem. We are worried about traveling and how to do that with three buns (two of which would be bonded along with our lone bachelor). We don't go out of town often, but we do visit my in-laws about 3-4 times a year (they're 4 hours away). Those of you with more than one bunny (especially two unbonded bunnies), how do you manage traveling? If you take them with you, what do you set up for them to stay in? Do you leave them at home with a "bun-sitter?"
OK, that was very long. How does all this sound? Good? Not so good? Does it sound like we're biting off more than we can chew with three bunnies? Do you think it would cause problems for Nibbles with two bonded rabbits as "neighbors?" Can you think of anything that we haven't thought of or considered? We want to make sure we're thinking of everything before going ahead with this. Thanks!!
