Bonding questions

[naturestee]

So far, Loki and Mocha have cages a few inches apart. They play in the same area at separate times and the poop/pee war is subsiding. They started having "dates" in the bathtub on Tuesday and just finished their third. We have to pet them most of the time, as Loki nips and then Mocha turns into a clawed, furry pogostick. Sometimes they play nice though. They fought today again, but they both ate a little lettuce, Loki flopped on one side of the tub, and Mocha dug at the towel on the other side.

I have read about stressing them by putting them in a box and taking them for a car ride or running the vacuum. Have any of you done that? Some articles said to do it right away and act like you can't possible bond your bunnies without it. Others don't use it at all.

I've also read about a bunch of other tricks like giving them salad( currently doing) or putting peanut butter or banana on their heads to make the other rabbit lick them. What have you guys done? And is it necessary?

Thanks!

 

[brimmhere]

asfar as bonding... this is what i have done when introducing newbuns



outside we have runs setup for them to play freely in, we put two of them side byside so that they can see and smell each other but not actually get toeach other, i do this for a few hours then i hold one have hubby holdthe other and let them sniff each other then place them inthe pen together to see how they react to eachother, normally doing loads of pets and treats at the sametime to kinda keep their little minds off the fact that theres anotherbun by them hehe ive only had to split up 2 buns once forfighting, and i was right there so there was no harn done, but otherthan that ive not had any bad issues, they will do theirnormal mounting each other but no down right nasty fights.

 

[Snuggys Mom]

I did the bathtub thing. It worked for me, but took several days. I also tried the vanilla on the back of both necks thing. This is supposed to make them both smell the same. I don't know if that did any good or not. Snuggy just licked the vanilla off Baby's neck and then started chasing her again.

Good luck! Hang in there.

Laura

 

[Stephanie]

http://www.mybunnies.com/bonding.htm

This is the site I used, given to me by Buck, to bond my three rabbits.It was a long, two week process, but it was well worth the effort. Ifyou follow it toa "tee", you should have no problems.

Now I have two bucks and a doe all sharing one cage.

 

[naturestee]

Thanks, Stephanie, I have been reading thatone. I'm pretty sure this will take longer than twoweeks. If we are not petting them, they usuallyfight. Sometimes they nip while we are pettingthem. It took the first 20 minutes of mainly just pettingthem before they decided to ignore each other for a little to play orflop. I'm working hard enough keeping James from gettingdiscouraged. He's ready to call the bonding offalready! :shock: I told him it took my parents' cats longerthan this to stop fighting, and the younger one is the most skittish,submissive cat I've known! Not to mention that cats do nothave as much of a social hierarchy to work out and the older onedecided to parent the kitten.

I might have to try the vanilla. Or the peanutbutter. They like different things. I'm stillthinking of doing the stressing thing over the weekend.Anyone have experience with this?

 

[Stephanie]

Are they fixed? That usually does help a bit.

With us, it was actually our doe Abby that was the bully, she wouldattack Valuran (the new one to the group) viciously. I mean, fur wouldfly. And often. My husband was ready to give up. I was ready to giveup. It really seemed hopeless to me.

We did the stress thing with the two rabbits that needed work. We putthem in the same carrier and on a short car ride, then right into thebathroom, which is neutral territory. I would put out water and hay,then sit very quietly and still to let them do their own thing.Everytime Abby would lunge at Valuran, she would get a squirt with thewater bottle. I would do this at least twice a day, sometimes threetimes daily.

Eventually, she began to ignore him, which is what you want to happen.Finally, she groomed him. I just about danced around I was so happy.Any time she showed signed of accepting him, I would give her raisins.

Now look at my herd. Chompers (buck) is the lop eared, Abby (doe) is the black, and Valuran (buck) is the grey Mini Rex.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions or anything. It can andwill happen, it just takes a lot of time and patience, but as you cansee, well worth the effort.

 

[naturestee]

Yup, both fixed. Mocha was spayedabout a month and a half ago. Loki came neutered, but I don'tknow when that happened.

Thanks very much for the advice, I really needed to hearthat. I'll have to have my husband read this too- he's givingup way too easily. We're only putting them together once aday as I need his help. They both have to be petted andcalmed down almost constantly and I can't do that with two rabbits atonce. I'm hoping to get to the point where one will calm downenough that I can handle them alone. Then I can do it twice aday.

The odd thing is, they sometimes lick each other. Not much,but some. It happens more when Loki is in his cage and Mochais out playing.

I have trouble telling when Loki is going to nip or lick because he isso laid back. He just lazily reaches over and nipsher! No ears back, no tail up, no tense eyes,nothing! So I usually stop him every time he reaches forher. All it takes is a soft finger on his nose or hand on hisneck. Usually. That's one of the most frustratingthings. It's easy to tell when Mocha is going to attack- shelooks like a demon bun!

 

[Stephanie]

Yeah, I know what you mean. We saw a side ofAbby we didn't know existed! I'm surprised her head wasn't spinning andpea soup spraying out her mouth. It was bad.

We went about it the wrong way, of course, when we first broughtValuran in. I think we had him for a week or so before I followed thatlink's advice. When we brought Abby home, she and Chompers wereinstantly in love and there was no problems.

Just keep with it. The things that you work for the hardest are the things that mean the most.

 

[Carolyn]

:clap:

What an excellent picture!

Buck would be so proud of you. Look at Chompers!! I love that little guy!

-Carolyn

 

[Stephanie]

I know Carolyn, I thought of Buck with thispost. I'll never forget the high compliment he gave me when tellingsomeone else I was the "bonding expert".

 

[Carolyn]

Well, You ARE!

-Carolyn

 

[Stephanie]

*blushes*

Thank you!

 

[LuvaBun]

Carolyn wrote:

Well, You ARE!

-Carolyn

Yes, I have to agree. Whenever anyone has a question about bonding, Ialways hope Stephanie replies. Her photos of Chompers, Abby and Valurantogether speak for themselves -SUCCESS!- Jan

 

[TinysMom]

Stephanie wrote:

I know Carolyn, I thought of Buck with this post. I'll neverforget the high compliment he gave me when telling someone else I wasthe "bonding expert".

I was the one he told that to - and he was right. I thoughtKyo & Tio would never play together without killing eachother. Their neuter was April 29th and just last week theyfinally started "playing nice".

They still have separate cages so I'm not 100% sure you'd call them"bonded". But they get along almost all the time and evengroom each other sometimes....so I'm happy!

Peg

 

[Stephanie]

Thanks everyone.

It's such a good feeling to see them playing together, sleepingtogether, grooming, eating, just everything they do. I'm sure those ofyou with bonded rabbits know what I'm talking about.