Bunny Bonding Beginning

[MyBabyBunnies]

Well I've been putting off bonding the bunniesbecause I was so scared of them fighting. I finally took Mocha and Zoeyover to my parents and put them together. We started them off in theback entrance way. It went really well. Only a few times did Mocha biteher but nothing serious. I think I jumped the gun a bit because Isprayed him for doing it but none the less, he learned quickly and allI had to do was come near him with the bottle and he backed off. :lol:Naturally I got pictures and videos so tell me what you think!

As you can see, it went REALLY well.

This was funny, both wanted to be groomed and neither would groom theother so this is how they spent most of their time. :lol: I guess youcould say they butted heads.

(I'm trying a new video uploading site so if it doesn't work, I can try another site.)

http://s37.photobucket.com/albums/e72/mybabybunnies/Bonding/?action=view&current=movie3.flv

But it was so hot inside that I eventually took them both out in thegarage. It's a disaster from the move still but I could still easilyhave access to them and it was much cooler. Mocha finally gave intoZoey's grooming requests. It's funny because Mocha is the dominent oneand Zoey is the submissive one yet Mocha was grooming Zoey. He groomedher so much she was actually wet. :lol:
http://s37.photobucket.com/albums/e72/mybabybunnies/Bonding/?action=view&current=movie1.flv

 

[Spring]

This was funny, both wanted to be groomed andneither would groom the other so this is how they spent most of theirtime. :lol: I guess you could say they butted heads.

Hahahaha! I was laughing so hard about the conversation they were probably having

"You groom me"

No, no you groom me"

"But I insisit.. groom me!"

ROFL! That's great!

 

[parsnipandtoffee]

Ahhh, well done, they look so cutetogether. My boys are bonding and the dominant one is grooming theother. Oh to see inside a bunny's mind!

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

I looked in the bondingpost foranswers to my questions but I didn't see the answers I needed (sorry ifI just missed it).

I was thinking about the wonderful bonding session I had with Mocha andZoey last night and it hit me that I needed to figure a few things outsoon.

I plan on moving Mocha and Zoey from neutral territory into the rabbitrun as long as we continue to have good bonding sessions. But how longshould I wait before moving them from neutral territory and into therun?

I plan to do some bonding in the run for a while and then I'll startputting them in the hutch together. How long should they be put in therun for when all is going well?

I'm also thinking that instead of moving them directly from the run tohousing them together, I'll probably do a few bonding sessions byputting Mocha and Zoey in the same half of the cage and alternatingwhose hutch they go in to make sure there is no aggression and once anysign of aggression is gone, is it ok to start housing them together allthe time?

My last question is how long should each bonding session be? Should Igradually increase the time they are together? Last night they weretogether for an hour and I made sure to end it on a good note -- Isplit them after Mocha groomed Zoey for a minute or 2.

 

[naturestee]

Wow! It looks like it's going GREAT!

I think the nose-rubbing thing is so cute! Mocha and Loki didthat too. It took a while for Loki to learn to groom Mochaback.

Those two both fought a bit, and Mocha was very territorial, so if Iremember correctly I waited for at least a week of good bonding (nofighting, with some cuddles/grooming) before moving to the nextstep. You might be able to do just a few good long bondingsessions in neutral territory before moving them because they're doingso well. It depends on how comfortable you are. Thesame works for the other steps- when you feel that they're consistentlytrustworthy and friendly with each other, you can move on.Before moving to the hutch you should feel safe enough to turn yourback on them or walk away for a minute to get a glass of water orsomething. If you don't feel like you can leave them aloneyet, don't do it.

Is it possible to let them explore each other's hutches with eachother? I don't know how your place is set up. Thatway you'll see if they get territorial over their homes.

You can start having bonding sessions that are as long as the bunschoose them to be. If they start getting stressed orirritated, find a good note to end it on and then separatethem. Otherwise, if you have the time to watch them you canleave them together.

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

They are somewhat territorial but not overly.They both chin but yesterday I put Zoey in Mocha's cage and she didn'tget territorial, she just got mad because she couldn't get at her halfof the hutch. When I put Mocha back in he could not have cared lessabout it.

I think after today's bonding session I'll put them in eachothers halfof the hutch and see how they react to the other being on their half.

I'm hoping all goes well and I can leave them together for good inabout a months time. So I plan to do the neutral territory every dayfor at least another week and as long as there is absolutely noaggression, then I will put them in the run, and again once there isabsolutely no agression what so ever, I will put them in the hutch andonce I am sure there will be no fighting, I'll take the divider out andlet them have run of the whole hutch.

I was terrified to put them together because last time I put rabbitstogether, it turned into an all out fight but after last night, myconfidence has improved and I'm not nearly as worried now. The onlything I found weird was that there was absolutely no mounting orattempts to last night. There was only a few minor nips on Mocha'sbehalf which I think meant "hey, pay attention to me" because he alwaysnipped her after he put his head in front of her and she ignored him.

I was given a tip to get Zoey to groom Mocha but I want your guys'opinions on it. I was told to rub something on the top of Mocha's headlike peanut butter, grape juice, or something else she likes. That wayshe is enticed to groom him. Is it ok to try? I'm thinking her problemis that she never learned to socialize with other rabbits, Mocha didbecause she was with Spice until they were close to a year old.

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

Well I put them in eachothers hutch at the sametime and the results were not expected. Mocha could have cared less, hewas only concerned with exploring and then sitting in the corner andjust chilling. Zoey on the other hand, she was MAD. She was clawing thewire, running around and she even nibbled on Mocha's ear. :shock:

I'm debating on switching their housing arrangements every 2 days sothey have time to establish territory in each part of the hutch andthen have to move into the other rabbits part and eventually becomeused to it.

 

[Runestonez]

Sounds like you are doing great with the bonding!!

I just wanted to say how beautiful your bunns are!!:bunnydance:

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

Runestonez wrote:

I just wanted to say how beautiful your bunns are!!:bunnydance:

Thanks! These are only 2 of mine, the youngest (Zoey - orange and blacklop) and the oldest (Mocha - brownish uppy eared). I have a white andbrown one as well. You'll have to excuse how scruffy Mocha looks, sincehe's an outside rabbit his coat gets sun bleached and since he shedsdarker, he always looks scruffy and blotchy with the multi color coat.

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

Another great bonding session again! They weretogether for 2 hours without a hitch until the last 10 minutes whenMocha bit her and chased her when she ran. All it took was a spray tothe head from the water bottle and he turned around and ranaway.I had to wait for a good note before I separated themand a few minutes later, Zoey came running over and groomed Mocha so Iseparated them right after that. Zoey and Mocha both groomed each othertons today so that's great!

I also put a little food on the ground and neither showed any agression while eating with the other rabbit, even over treats.

Mocha kept flopping over in tight spaces and Zoey would come along andhop right on top of him, he'd move and Zoey would flop right where hewas laying before she came along.:disgust:At least he nevergot mad about it! I'll post pictures another day, I have way too muchstudying to do.

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

Oh ya, and I started a sort of anti-territorial'program'. Every 2 days I will be switching the half the hutch thatthey are in. I figure that gives them enough time to settle in andestablish each side as their own and then I switch them and they haveto learn to get used to the other rabbit being in their territory. I'llkeep doing that until I start introducing them in the hutch.

 

[naturestee]

MyBunnyBoys wrote:

Oh ya, and I started a sort of anti-territorial 'program'.Every 2 days I will be switching the half the hutch that they are in. Ifigure that gives them enough time to settle in and establish each sideas their own and then I switch them and they have to learn to get usedto the other rabbit being in their territory. I'll keep doing thatuntil I start introducing them in the hutch.

That helped me a lot with Fey and Sprite.

I can't wait for more pics!:colors: