When to start bonding

[okiron]

So I have no experience in bonding rabbits. Lumi and Nilla were sheer luck. I got them from the animal shelter, I threw them in the same carrier on the ride home and tada they didn't kill each other. (Yeah, knew nothing about rabbits then) Lilith and Chubbs were littermates so got along from the get go. My other buns were all loners.

I'm seriously considering getting Lumi a friend. She's been alone since late 2007. I've been reading all the material on bonding rabbits but the one question I have is when? Should I start the same day I bring the bun home? Wait a couple days? Wait a week? Month? And by start I mean just put their cages 1 foot apart so they can smell, see and hear each other but not get to each other. I'll work on it gradually obviously, I just wondered if I should start them in different rooms while the new bun adjusts to his new surroundings or not.

 

[jcottonl02]

Hi Rina,

It depends if the buns are neutered. If you get a baby bun, I wouldn't recommend beginning the bonding before you neuter/spay him/her, and a few weeks after to let the hormones die down.
If you DO manage to bond them before the new one is fixed (which could be unlikely, due to high hormone levels etc.), then once you do fix them, it could totally wreck the bonding and you may have to start all over again.

If it is a neutered/spayed bun (eg. from a rescue), then you can begin bonding whenever you like.
Let your bun settle in first, I think- they will probably be stressed and confused, and would perhaps not make for great first impressions. However, in saying that, it could be good to immediately bring them into the world of your other bun, and so they are in totally new territory, and perhaps won't be so territorial- because it's not their territory- it has already been claimed by Lumi.
I am not sure. Perhaps someone with more experience can help with that aspect.

If you want to let your bun settle in, then I reckon give it perhaps a week before you start physically bonding. But, I think from the beginning you can place their cages/hutches facing one another/next to one another (not too close to scratch/bite through bars!) so they are completely used to eachother's presence straight away.

I reckon leave them for a few days, to a week, facing/next to one another, and then start introducing them in a neutral environment eg. the bathroom, that neither have been in before.

Obviously correct any 'bad' behaviour: lunging, growling, boxing, humping- although humping can just be a way of establishing the hierarchy. Sometimes humping can aggravate a situation, but sometimes it can be good at helping the buns establish who's dominant, and who isn't etc.

I'd start them off with perhaps 5-10 minute bondings. You want them to come away from each bonding with a positive experience. If you put them together for too long at the beginning (they COULD just click, but often there'll be territoriality, dominance, fights etc.) it could give them a negative impression of the other, if anything bad happens.

If they seem to be getting on like a house on fire, then start increasing bonding time rapidly. If they are not so great with eachother, then you may need to be a little more patient and take a little more time.

Hope this helps

Jen

 

[elrohwen]

Assuming both buns are already spayed, I would house them within each other's sight from the very first day. I would also recommend bonding sessions from the first week or two. The idea is to not let the second bunny get too entrenched in your home. If the new bun thinks your home is also his territory, you're more likely to get into territorial issues with the bonding. If the new bun still feels like everything is new to him he's more likely to bond quickly with your existing bun.

 

[okiron]

Well Lumi is already spayed and I'm trying to look for an already altered bun. I've heard female/female combos are a pain so I'm kind of going out of my way looking for a male.