Scoutshouse
Member
In June, my fiancee and I adopted Scout. He is a very happy 7 month old Dutch bunny. Lately we thought he may be getting a little lonely and bored with his toys and our company, so we decided to investigate getting him a girlfriend. After much research online, studying their behaviors, we found and decided to adopt a beautiful doe who we named Hera. Her age is unknown, but she weighs about two pounds more than he does. Both Scout and Hera are altered (and completely phased out of their pre-altering hormones). We adopted Hera about a week ago and we love her.
Now we are putting our knowledge to the test. The first day we brought her home, they had no contact (sight or smell). We just wanted her to get adjusted. The next evening we re-arranged the room and put their cages side by side with about a foot gap. They both pretty much ignored each other although seemed to mirror what the other was doing.
Since then, we let one at a time out and about the room with plexiglass blocking the front of the other cage so nobody gets hurt, because we had tried allowing them to smell each other through the cage, and had one minor incident (no wounds) with her biting his nose as he stuck it through to smell her. It did not cause him to fear her, as he went right back up to the cage to smell her again. We have learned through our research that females tend to be territorial and dominating, and the behavior seemed to support that idea since he was sticking his nose into "her" cage. It did not seem like she was actually angry or like they wanted to fight. They still regularly do things in front of each other while each ignoring the other, such as eating, grooming, and even flopping; still separated by the cage wall, and still being rotated with which one is in the cage and which one is roaming freely.
We also have been daily alternating them between cages to help dissipate any sense of entitlement to territory that either bunny has regarding "their" cage. They both seem to be adjusting to that idea, and actually seem to care hardly at all about the other's presence, mostly. They often will flop or sit next to each other, just separated by the plexi/cage...not interacting, but staying near each other.
We have not observed any thumping, grunting, circling (although they haven't had that opportunity), or other indications of aggression. They are both litter trained but upon the beginning of this introduction process, they have been abandoning the litterbox some of the time - we figure this must also be a phase related to this process.
We have no intention of rushing the process, but we are eager to have them meet face-to-face; however, we are terrified that if it goes badly, we will have two upset bunnies who will be set back in the process, if not completely ruined. We are seeking any advice or thoughts from people who have successfully completed this process before and know what works.
Also, more specifically, we are still learning to read and interpret their body language, so what should we be looking for during this first meeting that we can immediately identify as positive, negative, or something that definitely means they need to be separated?
Now we are putting our knowledge to the test. The first day we brought her home, they had no contact (sight or smell). We just wanted her to get adjusted. The next evening we re-arranged the room and put their cages side by side with about a foot gap. They both pretty much ignored each other although seemed to mirror what the other was doing.
Since then, we let one at a time out and about the room with plexiglass blocking the front of the other cage so nobody gets hurt, because we had tried allowing them to smell each other through the cage, and had one minor incident (no wounds) with her biting his nose as he stuck it through to smell her. It did not cause him to fear her, as he went right back up to the cage to smell her again. We have learned through our research that females tend to be territorial and dominating, and the behavior seemed to support that idea since he was sticking his nose into "her" cage. It did not seem like she was actually angry or like they wanted to fight. They still regularly do things in front of each other while each ignoring the other, such as eating, grooming, and even flopping; still separated by the cage wall, and still being rotated with which one is in the cage and which one is roaming freely.
We also have been daily alternating them between cages to help dissipate any sense of entitlement to territory that either bunny has regarding "their" cage. They both seem to be adjusting to that idea, and actually seem to care hardly at all about the other's presence, mostly. They often will flop or sit next to each other, just separated by the plexi/cage...not interacting, but staying near each other.
We have not observed any thumping, grunting, circling (although they haven't had that opportunity), or other indications of aggression. They are both litter trained but upon the beginning of this introduction process, they have been abandoning the litterbox some of the time - we figure this must also be a phase related to this process.
We have no intention of rushing the process, but we are eager to have them meet face-to-face; however, we are terrified that if it goes badly, we will have two upset bunnies who will be set back in the process, if not completely ruined. We are seeking any advice or thoughts from people who have successfully completed this process before and know what works.
Also, more specifically, we are still learning to read and interpret their body language, so what should we be looking for during this first meeting that we can immediately identify as positive, negative, or something that definitely means they need to be separated?
" is extremely terrified, separate them only if you feel it's been too long. This is important to decide who is top bun! If that rabbit starts biting the other, I would separate them; sometimes they get bitten in spots that are hard for you to check after.
