Bonding bunnies

[Eve]

I took Rodney and Layla outside for theirbonding session today. It went great. I'm so glad I can combine theiroutside playtime now.

Rodney was following Layla the entire time, wherever she went so didhe. He was also copying her body language a lot, if she ran and did abinky then sat down, he would run and binky the same wayandthen sit next to her. Does that mean he likes her?

Here are a few photos, but they aren't very good as I was in a rush. I'll take some better ones soon

Layla

Rodney and Layla

 

[naturestee]

:inlove: What sweethearts! Layla's so cute. I don't think I've seen pics of her before.

 

[manda]

great to hear they are getting along

i wish my buns would!

 

[Eve]

Thanks Naturestee! Sheispretty cute, but I need to fatten her up a bit, she stillfeels really skinny under all that fur.

And thank you Manda! How long have you been trying to bond your bunnies? Good luck, I really hope they get along :hug2

 

[peapoo_bunny]

yay! they get to play outside together!! gladeverythings going good with them! sounds like theyll be bonded reallysoon:bunnydance:

 

[manda]

its just been4 weeks here.

how long with yours?

i had my cages side by side for a couple of weeks also

 

[Eve]

Thank you peapoo_bunny!How are Peapoo and Petey going living in the same cage?

Hi Manda, I had my cages side by side for about a month and it's beenabout one week of bonding sessions so far. How old are your bunnies? Ilove yourdisplay pic, what beautiful ears!:inlove:

 

[peapoo_bunny]

peapoo and petey are doinggood...today they had about an hour to run around and play together andthem i gave then 30 min. in different rooms to play..just thought theymight want a little break away from each other for a few minutes

sounds like your bunnies are getting along great..rodney is neuteredisnt he? and layla isnt spayed yet? thats how our two are..i hopethey dont stop liking each other once peapoo is spayed...could thathappen?:?

 

[Eve]

I'm glad to hear Peapoo and Petey are doinggreat. It sounds like they have lots of playtime, they must be veryhappy bunnies.

Yep, Rodney is neutered and Layla isn't spayed yet too.I'mnot sure how old she is so I'm going to wait for quite some time beforeI getit done.

I've also wondered how Layla will be after sheis spayed. I'malso worried she might fight with Rodney when her hormones kick in.Hopefully Peapoo will be the same around Petey after she's spayed. Areyou thinking of doing it anytime soon?

 

[peapoo_bunny]

we are hopefully doing it sometime thissummer... mom wanted to wait until i was out of school (nextwk) so i could stay home and take care of her

 

[Eve]

Hi peapoo_bunny! That sounds like a good ideawaiting till you have holidays to get her spayed. I really should havedone that when Rodney got neutered, I had to take about a week off uniand work to keep an eye on him.

An update on Rodeny and Layla -

The bonding sessions in the back yard were going really well, so I decided to see if they would get along in my room this week.

Because I let Rodney and Layla have turns at running around in my room,Layla now thinks that the room is her territory, and Rodney thinks itis his territory, so I hope I didn't do the wrong thing by letting themboth out at the same time.

At first they chased each other a bit, but it didn't look aggressiveand they were soon playing with their toys individually. They alsokeeppushing theirheads against each other, doesthis mean anything?

At one stage Layla started humping Rodney's head.I felt so soawful for him. He is my sweet shy little boy and I hated seeing himhaving to endure that. He just sat there and didn't move, the poorlittle thing. I seperated them after that because I didn't want him toget stressed out.

If Rodney doesn't move and lets Layla do this to him, does that meanshe is 'top bunny'? Am I supposed to let her do this to him?

This has never happened in the back yard before, was Layla showingRodney that she is boss and the room is her territory? Should I not letthem play in my room anymore, or should I keep doing it occasionally?

Sorry for the hundreds of questions

 

[LuvaBun]

Pernod is 'top bunny' and she often humpsPerry's head. Perry sounds like he has the same kind of personality asRodney - quiet and laid back. He just lays there and accepts it, andPernod stops after a few seconds, and they carry on as if nothinghappened. At first I tried to stop her, and then I read that this wastheir way of sorting things out, and if the submissive bun (Perry) isnot stressed then it's best to let them do it. I think it is just herway of reminiding him who is in charge, and he seems happy to go alongwith it.

I think Layla is just letting Rodney know that it is OK for him to bein 'her' room, but that she owns it so don't go getting any big ideas. As long as they are Ok with each other afterwards, I wouldn'tworry. BTW, they look so good together

Jan

 

[Eve]

Thanks so much for the advice LuvaBun!

They are both ok with eachother afterwards, and Rodney doesn't lookstressed. He just sits there and doesn't move when Layla humps him. Iwas surprised he was so calm about it, because Layla is new, and theroom has been his territory for 7 months prior to her claiming it asher own.

Does Perry get bullied by Pernod, or is their relationship fairly equal even though she is top bunny?

 

[LuvaBun]

Eve wrote:

Thanks so much for the advice LuvaBun!


Does Perry get bullied by Pernod, or is their relationship fairly equal even though she is top bunny?

You're welcome, Eve .

No Perry isn't bullied by Pernod, but he does know that she is incharge. Pernod has never bitten or even nipped Perry, and sheis quite protective of him - she just uses humping to keep him undercontrol . They do seem to be pretty equal,but I always try to pet bothof them if they are together, so they don't get jealous. They groomeach other equally, and share their food, so no problems at all really.

If Rodney is OK with Layla taking charge, things will be fine. Perhaps he and Perry just like having a female dominatrix

Jan

 

[Eve]

LuvaBun wrote:

Perhaps he and Perry just like having a female dominatrix

:laugh:

Thank you Luvabun! That sounds like Pernod and Perry have a greatrelationship. Thank you forexplainingthat, I wasinitially worried that if Layla is top bunny she will just push Rodneyaround.

Rodney is ok with Layla being in charge, but I've been a bit worriedlately because all she seems to want to do is hump his head. Beforethey used to play chasing games, snuggle and be really nice aroundeachother. Ever since the first time Layla mounted Rodney, she has beenobsessed with doing it every chance she gets. Rodney is calm about itand has never been aggressive towards her, but I'm worried he isstarting to get a bit annoyed at her now. I try to seperate them aftera few seconds, but this usually means the end of their play timetogether because she will just go back to doing it.

Do you think this stage will eventually pass? Could it be that Layla isgoing through puberty now and that is why she does it so much?

 

[naturestee]

It could be related topuberty/hormones. Sprite humped Fey a lot before they werespayed. It might be something that passes with time, but youcould also think about spaying her soon. About how old is she?

 

[Eve]

Thanks Naturestee! I'm not sure how old she isbecause the family I got her from weren't sure of her age. I've had herfor over two months now, and in that time she has doubled in size, soI'm assuming she was fairly young.

She was very persistent about humping Rodney when I let them out today,and she even sprayed his face with urine. I have checked her genitalsand can't see any testicles, so I don't think she is male, unless theyhavn't dropped yet. :?



Edit: I have just looked at a number of articles with pictures showingthe differences between the males and females, then had another goodlook at Layla. She had a cone-like shape pop up with a slit runningthrough it. Sorry for the bad description, but this sounds like afemale right?

 

[LuvaBun]

Does sound like she's a she . Fudge, myfirst rabbit and also female, used to spray until we got herspayed. Are you thinking of having her done? She willprobably still hump Rodney, but not as much.

Jan

 

[Eve]

Thanks Luvabun, I'm glad to hear she sounds likea girl! Yep I am definately going to get her spayed, I just wanted towait another 2-3 months to be certain she is of the right age for it. Iam so petrified of her being operated on though.

Layla has been humping Rodney like a little maniac, and I might have tostop the bonding sessions there until she is spayed, so he doesn't gettoo annoyed with her.

 

[peapoo_bunny]

hey eve how are the bunnies?:wink: