Do I have bondable bunnies? I’ve tried the slow method and the fast method! I just took my two buns for a car ride after 3 weeks of being apart with zero contact! I set them in a outside pen ( neither of them have ever been outside before so this is 100% a new natural area ) and domino my male bunny starts to bite coco! Coco never runs she just pins her ears back and keeps her head low to the ground all scrunched up. Domino never draws blood he just rips her fur out. Coco is never aggressive and actually one time she groomed him, but domino is always aggressive towards coco no matter what I do. Coco is a lot more timid then domino so right she’s hiding in her box but domino is chasing her and biting her again. If anyone would like I can upload a video of their behavior. I really want to bond them but I don’t know what to do at this point. After he chased her and bites her he leaves her alone and just doesn’t his own thing before going back and biting and chasing her again.
Still having bonding troubles!
- Thread starter Squiddy
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Nevermind! Domino just bit her again.
Domino is now grooming coco??? I’m so confused
Is this good??
I've given up on wanting to deal with the stress of difficult bonds. It's just not worth the stress to me or watching the rabbits being stressed, but that's just me. I'll only do love at first sight bonds now, so maybe I'm not the best one to comment. I wouldn't bother with a difficult bond like this, but I know some people are willing to go through the effort it takes.
It doesn't look totally unpromising, as he's not all out attacking her. To me it just looks like he's trying to chase her away from what he thinks is his space. So it's possible he could eventually settle down and be ok with her being around. As long as she doesn't get fed up and start fighting back. Then I could see an all out attack occurring, so you'll want to carefully monitor that possibility as it could turn brutal.
Grooming is a good sign. The problem I can see is that you are doing it outside, and once you start you shouldn't stop, but being outside you will have to stay outside to accomplish that. If you change the location of their area, or stop tonight and start up again tomorrow, the chasing and biting will likely start up again. The fast method, you want to keep the area the same and not stop once you start(which can mean a sleepless night or more). And even once the rabbits are getting along, you often need to leave them in this area for several days to possibly weeks, before you are able to move them to their new space, and then you may not be able to just put them in their shared area as it is, but you may have to restrict the space to a smaller area and gradually expand, as some rabbits will start to have problems if the space is expanded too quickly. The other problem you might be having is the bonding area is probably too big.
Though some rabbits need a lot of space to learn to like each other, more often it seems that a small space is needed and what is usually used to fast bond rabbits. And that is usually only like a 2 ft x 2 ft square space. Too large a space can lead to increased territorial behavior and the chasing and fighting you are seeing. It can also lead to avoidance and trying to stay away from each other. You want the rabbits to have to be close enough that they have to learn to get to know each other and not just avoid the other rabbit. And you don't want so much space that one of the rabbits thinks it has to defend it's space. Once they are getting along, then usually the bonding space can gradually be expanded a little at a time.
Now a smaller space isn't always the best method, but because of your rabbit reacting the way he is by trying to defend his territory, a smaller space is certainly something that I would consider trying out.
It doesn't look totally unpromising, as he's not all out attacking her. To me it just looks like he's trying to chase her away from what he thinks is his space. So it's possible he could eventually settle down and be ok with her being around. As long as she doesn't get fed up and start fighting back. Then I could see an all out attack occurring, so you'll want to carefully monitor that possibility as it could turn brutal.
Grooming is a good sign. The problem I can see is that you are doing it outside, and once you start you shouldn't stop, but being outside you will have to stay outside to accomplish that. If you change the location of their area, or stop tonight and start up again tomorrow, the chasing and biting will likely start up again. The fast method, you want to keep the area the same and not stop once you start(which can mean a sleepless night or more). And even once the rabbits are getting along, you often need to leave them in this area for several days to possibly weeks, before you are able to move them to their new space, and then you may not be able to just put them in their shared area as it is, but you may have to restrict the space to a smaller area and gradually expand, as some rabbits will start to have problems if the space is expanded too quickly. The other problem you might be having is the bonding area is probably too big.
Though some rabbits need a lot of space to learn to like each other, more often it seems that a small space is needed and what is usually used to fast bond rabbits. And that is usually only like a 2 ft x 2 ft square space. Too large a space can lead to increased territorial behavior and the chasing and fighting you are seeing. It can also lead to avoidance and trying to stay away from each other. You want the rabbits to have to be close enough that they have to learn to get to know each other and not just avoid the other rabbit. And you don't want so much space that one of the rabbits thinks it has to defend it's space. Once they are getting along, then usually the bonding space can gradually be expanded a little at a time.
Now a smaller space isn't always the best method, but because of your rabbit reacting the way he is by trying to defend his territory, a smaller space is certainly something that I would consider trying out.
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I will move them inside and restart the bonding process inside. I am going to see how they do in a smaller pen indoors. The problem with inside is domino is free roam most of the day since he loves to run around and play, so indoors I have no neutral teritory for them. Thank you for your advice!
Just try and deodorize the area you want to use, as much as possible, with a rabbit safe product. Vinegar water mix is what I usually use. It's the best you can do, and you already saw him still reacting the same way in a completely neutral area outside, so I'm not sure a new place is going to make much of a difference with him. I think with him it might just be a matter of him getting comfortable with her around, and that just takes time together(provided he doesn't get too aggressive with her). You could try changing the surroundings around the pen to make it look differently to him. Things like a sheet or tarp on the floor under the pen, a towel over one side of the pen, laundry basket, boxes, just odd things that he might not recognize and that won't have his smell on them.
First 10 minutes in the new small area was rough, but now they are both calm and domino is sitting beside coco.
Jenny Durling
Well-Known Member
They definitely have too much space in your videos. Initially I put up an xpen and sat on the floor inside holding the rabbits quietly next to each other for 5 minutes. I did that several times daily. If they seemed calm, I would let go an watch them. If there was any biting or aggression, they were put back in their side by side homes and we'd try again later. These two were 'love at first site' types at the shelter when we brought Natasha home, but like your bun, Rocky had already been free-roaming and considered the house all his so he got aggressive and territorial when we brought her home. It took two and a half weeks of switching them between homes and short bonding sessions before I could give them anywhere near the amount of space yours have. If you have a bathtub, it's a great place to work with them. Likely Domino has not spent time in there. If you have no tub, the bathroom itself could work. Once we felt we were making some progress, we put a divider in the xpen and let them hang out next to each other during the day. We couldn't let Rocky be free roaming during this period and I suggest you don't let Domino have any more freedom while bonding than you give Coco. One thing I learned was putting them together in a stressful situation actually helped. I suppose if they are both frightened they look to each other for solace. You can put them in a laundry basket and walk around the house shaking it slightly or put them in a box and take a car ride. Neither is completely terrifying nor dangerous and tends to do the trick. Keep trying!
I have since put them in a smaller pen and the fighting has stopped. They have their moments but domino biting coco is happening less and less in the smaller pen. Yesterday I took them around for a car ride and today I’m going to set them on top of the washer to see if that will boost any feelings among them haha. Thank you so much for the advice!
That's great to hear! I hope the bonding continues to progress well. It sounds like it's headed in the right direction.
BeccaSue
New Member
I kept my new girl bunny in a small exercise pen inside my older neutered male bunny’s room. He is completely litter trained and has the run of the house. After two weeks of them being in each other’s presence but not able to harm the other, they became inseparable. I don’t know if it was the right way, since I’m new to bunny parenting, but it worked.
Not trying to be Debbie Downer, but this bond is way too new to know what will happen. I believe your girl is only 10 weeks old? Which means she isn't spayed and her hormones haven't kicked in.
It won't be until her hormones kick in and many months have passed before one will know whether or not this bond will last. That will be the true test.
A baby often will get along with an adult-- and they may seem inseparable. But hormones can cause a sudden and extreme switch and the two could potentially start fighting and that fighting can even be vicious. (We've seen it happen here on RO.) So please keep an alert eye over the next couple months.
I hope they continue to get along. They are adorable together.
BeccaSue
New Member
You are correct there. We are hopeful. I will keep you updated.
They have been together in the dog kennel for a little over a week now, and thighs are going fantastic, but when I let both of them out for run around time domino imedietly becomes terirotial again. In the cage they will lay close to each other, groom eachother, etc, but the moment they are let out of the dog kennel together domino goes back to biting.
They have been together in the dog kennel for a little over a week now, and thighs are going fantastic, but when I let both of them out for run around time domino imedietly becomes terirotial again. In the cage they will lay close to each other, groom eachother, etc, but the moment they are let out of the dog kennel together domino goes back to biting.
You want to expand their space very gradually. So for example you might add an extra foot(or less) to their dog kennel using xpen panels or something like that, once he seems good with that for a day or so, add another foot, and so on. Too much space too quickly is getting him overly excited and causing the resurgence of his territorial behavior.
You don't necessarily need to stick with a foot added each time, you'll just want to gauge his reaction when you do add a little extra space. If he acts up and doesn't calm right back down in a few minutes, you might be giving too much space. If you add a little space and he seems perfectly fine, you may be able to add a little more the next time.
Unfortunately it sounds like he's the kind of bunny that everything is going to have to be slow and steady in order to get where you want in the end, with a happily bonded couple.
