Bonding bunnies

[Eve]

Hi Everyone!

I have a few quick questions if anyone would be able to help.

I have had my new bunny Layla for over a month now, and her cage hasbeen in the same room as Rodney's cage. They have been getting to knoweach other through the bars and seem to be on friendly terms. There hasbeen no biting, just sniffing each other and looking on with interest.

Layla looks fairly young, but I do not know exactly how old she is. Shehas almost doubled in size during the time I have had her.

How much longer would you recommend I wait until I begin the bondingprocess? I do not want to rush anything and have all the time in theworld. My only issue is that Rodney was a free-run bunny before Laylacame, and now he has to be caged so that she can get her fair share ofrunning around. Rodney seems to be getting a bitfrustratedabout being locked in his cage as he isn't used to this.

AsRodney is a teenager (7 months old), should I wait untilLayla matures a bit before properly introducing them, and around whatage would that be?Or shouldI waituntilLayla is much older and get her spayed first?

Thanks for taking the time to read this, any comments would be greatly appreciated!

 

[cheryl]

Eve..im no expert on bonding bunnies,although mybunnies bonded more or less straight away,maybe you could just slowlyintroduce them nowand see how they get along with eachother,just watch them and their reactions and just see how they go,theyhave had a month to get used to each other through the cage so that isgood.

maybe someone else will have a different opinion

cheryl

 

[naturestee]

How long ago was Rodney neutered? Youwould want to give him a month to make sure all his sperm have diedoff. Other than that, you probably could start bondingthem. Keep an eye out in case Layla gets cranky with him whenshe hits puberty, if she hasn't already.

 

[Eve]

Thanks Cheryl and Naturestee! Rodney wasneutered 2 months ago, so he should be sperm-free by now. I might takethem for a car ride together on the weekend, as there isn't anywhere inthe house that is neutral territory. Rodney has been exploringeverywhere, including the bathtub.

After reading about all the potential fighting, I am pretty scared about letting them meet. Hopefully everything will go well.

Thanks again for the advice

 

[cheryl]

Eve..im sure everything will go well with the bonding,let us know how it goes



cheryl

 

[Eve]

Thank you Cheryl! I'll update you onhow it turns out on the weekend, and hopefully document the occasionwith photos.

 

[peapoo_bunny]

im sure everything will be fine eve!! one thingihad trouble withwas remembering that they knowwhen im nervous, so i tried to stay calm...lol...didnt always work..im sure everything will be fine!

 

[Eve]

Thank you peapoo_bunny! Your bondingstory of Peapoo and Petey has really inspired me. They looked socontent together, I really hope that Rodney and Layla will one day getalong so well.

 

[peapoo_bunny]

i hope your bunnies get alonggreat! im sure it'll be ok:bunnydance:!! peapooand petey aren't completely bonded yet, peapoo runs away from himsometimes when she doesn't want to be around him, but we're gettingthere! it mightbe awhile though!:?

 

[Eve]

How is the bonding going peapoo_bunny? I hope it's all still going well!

I am over the moon right now, I am so incredibly happy. I just had myfirst bonding session with Rodney and Layla, and it went suprisinglywell.

My boyfriend and I let them out together in the bathroom, which I setup with baskets of hay, toys and food to make their first meeting lessconfronting. I was waiting anxiously, equipt with water guns to breakup fighting andplastic carriers incase they needed to beseperated.

At first they completely ignored each other for quite some time, whichas I read was a good sign. Then they started sniffing each other andrunning around doing binkys. There was absolutely no biting oraggression.

Then they both sat in the basket chewing hay, and snuggled up together.Rodney kept laying his head flat in front of Layla, so I am assuming hewanted her to groom him. Layla wouldn't groom him and kept binkyingaway when he did this, but she kept running back and lying next to himagain.

When my dog started barking in the backyard, Layla got really scaredand ran up to Rodney and hid her head in his fur! It was the sweetestthing I'd ever seen.

I am just so glad they didn't fight, I was waiting for the worst and this was so much more thanI had hoped for.

Just a quick question: I read that I should keep their bonding sessionsfairly short at the start. If they are getting along well is it ok tolet them play for longer periods of time?

 

[cheryl]

ohhh that is so good to hear,it's great that thebonding went so well,it's good that they accepted each other,i bet theyare both so happy that they can finally meet fur to fur lol without thecage seperating them,if they are getting on so well with each other,iwould just let them play together,but i would just watch them for awhile to see how things go



cheryl

 

[Eve]

Thank youCheryl! I'm soglad they seem to get on well, now I can have theirbondingsessionsoutside in the backyard. They both love going outsideso they might have more fun together there. Andthen I won'thave to stand in the cold for 1-2 hours watching one bunny, and thenstand out thereagain while the other bunny has it's turn.

 

[petkeeper]

I am currently trying to bond bunnies aswell. It is not going well, but I have 2 males. Ihave neutral areas in my house but that is still not helping!! I amthinking once both are fixed, not just Rex it will help...but Mini isnot old enough to get fixed yet.

It is scary when fur starts flying! I seperate them when theyget to that point. Rex was bonded with a male Holland Lop andhe accepted him very quickly...but Harley (the holland Lop) was moreagressive of the two maybe that make the difference.

I wish you the best of luck with your bonding. Maybe youcould set a pen up outside in the yard for them to sniff around in,that would be neutral and easier to break up a fight then if you weredriving.

Good luck.

Shannon

 

[Eve]

Thank you Shannon! That's a goodidea, I might block off an area in the yardwith a play pen sothey don't have as much room to run around in, incase I need toseperate them quickly.

Good luck with bonding your two bunnies! I'm sure it will be easierwhen you get your other bun fixed. How much longer do you have to waittill he is old enough? How long have you been trying to bond them for?

 

[naturestee]

Congrats Eve! It sounds like it'sgoing great! I agree with Cheryl- if they're not fighting orstressed out, you can have long bonding sessions. I let thebunnies decide how long their sessions are.

 

[Eve]

Thank you Naturestee! This has really made myday. I can't wait to try it again tomorrow outside. I'm just sosurprised they got along, because Rodney is so quiet and shy, and Laylais so bouncy, pushy and bites a lot. I guess I had better spend somemore special time with Rodney before he ditches me for his newgirlfriend .

 

[peapoo_bunny]

Eve wrote:

I'm just so surprised they got along, becauseRodney is so quiet and shy, and Layla is so bouncy, pushy and bites alot.

lol...thats so weird! your first bonding session soundsjust like what happened with me...peapoo is bouncy :bunnydance:andpetey is shy and quiet! im glad your bunnies are gettingalong good!! if it keeps going like that it sounds like theyll bebonded in no time!!

 

[Eve]

Thanks peapoo_bunny! I hope so too!

Today Rodney and Layla were chasing each other a bit, as though theywere chasing each others tails. I seperated them because I got scaredthey might hurt each other. They weren't biting, just running around alot.Is this behaviour normal? Should I seperate them if theydo it again or am I supposed to let them do this?

 

[naturestee]

Sometimes they chase each other forplay. Did they look stressed out? If they don'tlook stressed and aren't pulling fur or anything, it's probably okay.

 

[Eve]

Thanks Naturestee! They didn't lookstressed and weren't pulling any fur out, just chasing and acting veryhyper. They did it again today and you're right, it looks like play.