Odd Bonding Process? Is this Safe?

[bunnycaress]

So about almost a month ago, my younger sister got a bunny for free from a family friend, We named her Nina, she is almost 6 months old and is very friendly. She is not yet spayed because we are waiting till she's finally 6 or 7 months to, but I've always wanted a bunny and having Nina around made me really happy, so as a suprise my boyfriend got me a dwarf rabbit and she's also a girl and not yet spayed, we named her Winona (after the actress who she reminded me of) and she's 3 months old. However, my younger sister went on vacation for two weeks and left me to babysit Nina. Prior to getting Winona, Nina was introduced to us in our room and marked her territory everywhere because she's not yet potty trained, So when nina was brought here and introduced to Winona ( which we made the mistake of not bonding them in a neutral area as we were unaware) they of course didn't bond and fought? Nina tried showing dominance and humped Winona and Winona bit her which resulted in them chasing each other, so we kept them apart in seperate cages ( we are getting a pen but can't right now because they can't be together ) Slowly, they bonded by being next to each other a lot, and since Nina has a huge cage it's the size of a mini pen. The past couple of days when they are free roaming, Winona will go into Nina's cage and eat her hay and drink her water and she'll go near Nina and they'll just sniff each other, regardless we still kept an eye because we know unspayed bunnies can be unpredictable. But today, Winona went under Nina's chin and Nina groomed her, we were very surprised and thought Winona was being submissive although when I looked into it, this meant Winona was the dominant bunny and was demanding for love. Winona still continues to go into Nina's hay and cage but Nina doesn't seem to mind much. We feel safer having them together but as Nina and Winona aren't spayed, im curious if if it's safe/ok to let them be around each other all the time now? and maybe get a pen for them to share? Feel free to ask any questions!

 

[majorv]

Just a warning that at anytime their relationship could turn sour, especially when the younger one turns hormonal.

 

[John Wick]

I would advise against any time period that may be unsupervised. As @majorv and you mention, young rabbits are unpredictable and "baby bonds" are often affected once one or both rabbits develop and act on their hormones. It's relatively easy to have two young rabbits get along because hormones are not at play yet. There's really no way of knowing when it will come or if technically, but obviously the older they get, the higher chance it may occur. There are cases where unfixed rabbits get along, but I believe they are far and few, and always under the expectation that something may happen along the line. I also have heard females tend to be more territorial, so that's another reason to be vigilant.

I'd say if they enjoy time together, it's fine to let them interact when you're there, but it can be very dangerous to let them be unsupervised for any period of time, and understand that the moment something occurs, that will be a sign that separation is needed until both are spayed, recovered, and given time for hormones to regulate after the spays. There are many stories of owners whose young rabbits are cuddling at one point and then suddenly begin fighting at another because of potential hormone development.