Bonding Bunnies Fight! Need help :(

[kristin11]

Hi guys, I'm new to the site and reaching out to all I can for some help here. I'm bonding two of my buns for the first time. Winston is a 1 1/2 y.o holland lop whom I've had since he was around 3 months of age. I brought him to a rescue where he met up with three different buns. After everything, we all decided on Ginny. my ruby eyed white, even the rescue woman was very happy with the choice because she shared it as well. Well, since we were about 40 minutes away (due to traffic) i put them in the same box and they huddled together the whole way..no aggression whatsoever. After they both were settled, I tried a bunny date in my tub since its neutral. They went nose to nose (both wanting grooms) or ignored each other. They even groomed themselves in front of each other so things were looking good. The next few days went the same. Still nose to nose but no aggression from either. Ginny would nip at him because she wasnt getting groomed but besides that they were fine with each other. Well the one night they were both in the tub, my boyfriend needed the shower to get ready for work. I thought maybe I should bring them in my living room (semi-neutral) and see what would happen. Well at first, nothing did. Then Winston started to mount Ginny and she did not like that one bit. Things started to get a little crazy so i pulled Winston aside and put him on my lap and pet him. Well they did it again and stupid me put my hand right in the middle because my towel was too far away and Ginny bit me, by accident of course. Well..after my boyfriend was done I put them back in the tub because I didnt want to separate them on a bad note. Being in the tub, Winston tried his move again and they started getting aggressive so I threw a towel on one and moved them away from eachother. Well they both flopped down on opposite sides of the tub. I figured Id put them away and maybe give them the day off the next day. Well much to my surprise, when i woke up they both had escaped. I have NO idea how they did because Im always careful when securing the two of them. Well fur was everywhere. After inspection, Winston had a pretty nice bite on his ear and Ginny had one on the scruff of her neck. Both have been seen by my vet, and they're fine and will heal on their own. I was so upset by this and are keeping them separate for a week so they can calm down. Theyre still in the same room and next to eachother but not close enough to be able to bite through the cage. I have been switching their litter boxes still to get them used to each others scent. Im just so worried that this has destroyed their bonding progress and will never bond now. Has anyone been through this? or a similar situation? I just need help..Im so discourage and feel so awful for my buns. I only got Ginny this past Saturday so its been under a week. I feel like if this hadnt happened we'd be at a different place right now..ugh!:help:tears2:

 

[BunnyWabbit]

The two fights your rabbits had were not because they aren't compatible. The first was because they weren't ready to be in semi neutral territory. The second is because they were in each others territory without being bonded. This is normal behavior for unbonded rabbits in the situations you described.

Make sure the habitats are more secure so it doesn't happen again. If they are physically alright I would do a bonding session in a neutral area and see how it goes. If they seem to be doing worse than before you can stress bond them or give them a break for a couple weeks in case one of them is holding a grudge before you try it again. If they are back to the head to head groom demands then I would just keep at it until they make progress.

I think assuming they will never bond is an over reaction. It's way too early to tell.

 

[nora123]

I would take them for another car ride together then put them back into a neutral place again sometimes if you put them next to each other and they can see each other but they are not bonded it can cause them to be more territorial ive bonded quite.a few bunnies and they are all different but they need to stay in the neautral place for at least a week also i found putting objects neutral to both of them helps because it gives them something to nosey at and occupy them so they dont immediately take notice of each other hope this helps.

 

[kristin11]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I had spoke with a woman from House Rabbit Society who has experience in bonding and said that keeping them separated for a week would be a good idea, then to do a stress bond. She said that keeping them in the same room but a distance away is fine, as long as both rabbits are acting normally, eating, behavior, ect. Winston doesnt seem to mind right now. When she comes up near him in her enclosure he puts his head down like he wants to be groomed lol, even though shes definitely not close enough for that! He has to run by her when he goes for his exercise, in which I kind of stand in front of her enclosure so he doesnt try anything, but he hops right on by out the door without an issue. Then I just close his door so he cant go back in and harass her, and he gets his out time as well. Time will tell, though if things go okay or not. In the meantime, i triple check the latches and all to make sure its definitely secure. Ive even slept in there to make sure they werent being naughty or sneaky :nonono: Ill keep everyone posted on how things are going and will still take advice or like to hear personal stories from those who had a rough bump in their bonding.