trying to bond 2 neutered stubborn rexes

[oihane]

Hi there, Sorry in advance for the long post!

I posted a topic a little while ago I think about a possible bonding dilemma I'd have...well, I've got it now. I have Rupert, he's probably around 7 months old now, and he's been neutered for perhaps 5 weeks now. I got him when my cousin's gf felt sorry for him cause he had been in a pet store for around 4 months, and then she ended up being unable to care for him, and I was the only person she knew who knew anything about rabbits, or would be willing to take one in.

Here's a picture of Rupert:

Rupert's getting better, but he's still a pretty nervous little thing, and is a bit more aggressive. he loves attention, but he has little bouts of aggression towards me. he doesn't like it when I have to push him away from something, or put my hand towards him a little more quickly...I dunno, he's a little hard to predict. He's also cage territorial. I deal with all this usually by pressing my hand on top of his head a bit, and telling him to "be nice" or something in a stern voice. it usually helps a bit I think. I don't trust him quite yet though, cause he can be a little unpredictable at times.

Okay, so enter Baxter. Baxter was at the humane society (apparently found in a park somewhere), and a friend of mine got him about a year ago. He was neutered I believe at the humane society, and he's at least a year and a half old, anyway. my friend ended up having me take him because she's going to school in North Carolina for at least a year (wasn't the plan when she got him) and she couldn't take him with. I'm not really sure if she wants me to keep him permanently, or just for the year or two she'll be at school.

Here's Baxter:

Baxter is a little sweetheart. He was a little more skittish when my friend first got him, but I think with age he mellowed out a little...but I've never really seen any aggression out of him. I can do pretty much anything in his cage and he's totally cool. He's pretty docile, and very adventurous. I keep having to get him when he's climbing up on things I don't want him to. He didn't get a lot of attention at my friend's house (she didn't really make time for him...it was dumb of her to get him, really)...so he pretty much melts into a furry puddle when I pet him. He's very sweet.

Well, so...now I've got 2 neutered male bunnies both crammed in my room. I don't have my own place yet unfortunately (I'm unemployed. I'm hoping to get a decent job and maybe move out sometime this year, but for now, I'm stuck), and my bedroom is really the only place I can keep them in. So I'm trying to start the process of getting them to get along.

Baxter's been here for a few days now. The first day he came here, I was letting him run around my room when I was getting his cage ready, and he and Rupert sniffed through Rupert's cage bars a bit, and then through Baxter's when I let Rupert out. No real aggression, just sniffing. Rupert did a few "binkies" and then stretched out next to Baxter's cage:

So, so far so good? well...it got a bit worse. I didn't switch their cages the first night, but I did the next, and I've been switching them since. The first night and the second day Rupert kept running over to Baxter's cage, grabbing the cage bars with his teeth, and shaking them. Baxter was curious about Rupert, but pretty much did his own thing most of the time. I had to watch them really carefully because whenever Baxter would come over to the cage to sniff nose-to-nose with Rupert, Rupert would sniff, and then growl and try to nip Baxter's lips and nose or feet (when Baxter was standing up and leaning against the cage). So I had to keep pushing him away when he did this, telling him to "be nice", and when he was, I gave him lots of pets.

Well, so...since then, Baxter has been a little more aggressive...I haven't seen him try to nip much, but he growls a little, which eggs Rupert on, of course. It's an ordeal trying to keep them in check when one of them is running around, let me tell ya. Last night Rupert was being better, he'd sniff and then turn away as soon as I told him to "be nice", and then he'd get rewarded. Baxter certainly isn't helping though, he keeps shoving himself under his hay manger, which then exposes his ears and stuff through the bars, and I'm trying very hard to keep them from getting nipped.

Tonight, Rupert was a bit more aggressive, towards me. If he knew I was going to come forward and push him away a bit when he was starting to get aggressive towards Baxter, he'd growl and lunge and try to nip me. He got better a little later, after I established a little more that I was "alpha bunny" and pet him for awhile. The confrontations got a little better, and then there was a scuffle and Rupert got pretty pissy towards me, so I put him back in his cage. I might be a little too quick to keep them away from each other, I'm just trying to keep little bunny lips and ears from getting bitten.

So I know I'm nowhere near really introducing them outside of a cage (in a neutral area, I know that), and it's only been a few days, but you guys have any thoughts? I've never tried to bond bunnies before...and unfortunately i couldn't let them choose their own mate. I know that if worse comes to worse, I'll just have to keep them separated, but I'd hate to think that there's no way they can get along. If they could just get to a point where they don't try to fight through the cage bars, I'll be a lot happier.

Thanks in advance everyone!

 

[Flashy]

Bonding two males is hard, and whlst can be done, it depends on the rabbits, and it can be harder/less successful than other types of pairing.

Maybe it is worth putting some sort of small mesh around the cage so that you know that they can sniff each other, but they can't actually get to each other and harm each other. To be honest though, I think that what you are doing may just be winding them up, so it might be prudent to keep them completely separate and then go from go when it comes to bonding.

Swapping cages can work well, but equally, each bond is different and needs to be done differently. I have seen bucks of mine do what yours do, and I know there is no hope is hell of bonding them because they won't forget that aggression they feel.

Have you thought of maybe trying a car journey? If someone drives and you sit on the back seat with a rabbit either side (in a carrier or box of some sort) and then when the engine is on put them together, and keep and eye on them. A car journey can make a huge difference to rabbits.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Little boys can keep their little hormones for 10 weeks is what I think I've been told. I know he's not out of the woods yet so that could be a big issue.

Set their cages really close slowly...... bond them in the car in a cage or something.... on top of the laundry machine while it runs..... There are a bunch of things like that if you really want to bond them.

Mini-rex have strong little personalities sometimes.... and boys are tough.... BUT I think that they have shown some positive things towards a bond.

When I put a baby bun in with my mini-rex and cottontail - they tried to eat him! Poor Tony wanted to be friends. They all still fight so we have to keep them well apart! Bo and Clover are beginning to be friends again since that and Tony is nearly 2 years old (the baby).....

I have faith - be patient. Those boys are both just adorable. Baxter looks like a complete sweetheart and Rupert looks like a character for sure. Let him get settled more and I think he'll be fine. Remember, he's realized he has a new place to claim - he doesn't want Baxter to take everything!

 

[Maureen Las]

Bo B Bunny wrote:

Little boys can keep their little hormones for 10 weeks is what I think I've been told. I know he's not out of the woods yet so that could be a big issue.

Set their cages really close slowly...... bond them in the car in a cage or something.... on top of the laundry machine while it runs..... There are a bunch of things like that if you really want to bond them.

Mini-rex have strong little personalities sometimes.... and boys are tough.... BUT I think that they have shown some positive things towards a bond.

When I put a baby bun in with my mini-rex and cottontail - they tried to eat him! Poor Tony wanted to be friends. They all still fight so we have to keep them well apart! Bo and Clover are beginning to be friends again since that and Tony is nearly 2 years old (the baby).....

I have faith - be patient. Those boys are both just adorable. Baxter looks like a complete sweetheart and Rupert looks like a character for sure. Let him get settled more and I think he'll be fine. Remember, he's realized he has a new place to claim - he doesn't want Baxter to take everything!

Rupert still has hormones in his system
My concern is that by the time Rupert's hormones have leveled off that Baxter will already have formed a negative opinion of him and may be aggressive out of past experience.

I have had this happen (not with hormonal buns) but difficult buns that I have attempted to bond with Rudy who is very mellow.

Rudy will attempt to put his head down and accept grooming from almost any of my buns initially but after being bitten in the face multiple times he will become aggressive with the bun and retain that suspiciousness.

Iwould keep them together but apart ...maybe get some x-pens for each bun but not try to put them together for at least another month, maybe longer. It's OK to switch litterboxes and all of that but you don't want Baxter to turn on his new potential buddy.

I have only been able to bond one set of neutered males but inyour case hormones , As Bo said are an important issue right now.

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Keeping BO and Clover near each other has been the one thing that keeps them from fighting. They used to play together all the time. Now, it's just getting to be where they won't box each other ... so SEEING and Smelling is a big part right now. I agree.

 

[oihane]

I think what I'll do is get something to block off the cages when one of the rabbits is out...I was just covering one cage with a blanket when the other was out. But yeah...instead of switching cages maybe I will just switch litter boxes. And I'm going to give Rupert a bit more time to chill out, and Baxter some more time to settle in and get more used to me. Though I don't think that'll take long...like I said, he's a sweetheart who loves attention. Last night I had him all stretched out on the floor with his eyes closed in about a minute, lol. Rupert's not quite that trusting or mellow yet. But he does love to be pet, and I'm making progress with him too.

And yeah, the cages are definitely not ideal. I really like some of the setups I've seen with I think the x pens or whatever...I just don't have that kind of space right now, unfortunately. The cage Rupert's in (the one in the pic is Baxter's, Rupert's is a little bigger than that one...probably at least a half foot longer) is not one I would've picked out...it's difficult for a number of reasons...but it's the one he came in, and there's a no return policy on the cages where my cousin's gf got him. I would definitely like to do a bigger pen-type thing someday though. Perhaps when I finally get the opportunity to move out..I'd definitely like to make sure I find a place that's got room for the bunnies. I feel bad for them right now, but there's not a ton I can do about it at the moment. I might give Rupert Stu's old cage, it's a bit bigger than the one he's got now...maybe the same length, but a little wider, and give Baxter Rupert's cage, cause that one's bigger than his...I dunno. We'll see. Course now I have all these cages...one of which I don't need.

Thanks for the replies everyone, seriously. This is definitely more of a challenge than what I dealt with when I had Stu, who was like, the easiest little bunny on the planet.

I'll update again soon! Thanks again!

 

[Bo B Bunny]

Definitely let us know how they are doing!

Pictures are always a good way! LOL! I love seeing the little mini-rex!