Conan the Bunbarian & Xena Bunnier Princess

[Troller]

UPDATE: Just as I posted this they got into a scuffle...sigh, so close.

 

[Troller]

Overnight was not a good night for us. They woke me every 30 min with their scuffles, mostly Conan running away. It really seems Conan is afraid of Xena now. I wonder if there ever will be grooming again. Conan looks ragged from fur pulling, and Xena got barbered a bit on the side of her nose. Just before I separate them for good I decided to take a car drive with them and see if that has any affect. Either way I got to build a cage for two, whether their separated or together in it so for their ease it would be best if they can at least get along in the neutral territory/temp pen otherwise I'll have to divide the pens making it for pretty cramped quarters for the time being. I'm exhausted from lack of sleep and have a ton of things to do before the day is out.

So passes the second 12 hours and unlike the previous twelve this one sucked. I only hope we get another shift out of this.

 

[Chrisdoc]

I can see you´re not having an easy time with this. It is such a shame, I know that deep down these two love each other. I´m crossing everything I´ve got. As they say, things can only get better.

 

[Troller]

So two car rides a few hours apart and I got 12 hours all together of quite rabbits lounging. I wouldn't say things are cool between them, Conan still runs away at Xena's approach but at least there's been no scuffling or fur pulling. However, they just started getting a bit more active now so we'll see what the next 12 hours bring.

 

[Troller]

So its done. Sixty hours through and not much to show for it. My house is a mess from creating a new neutral area. The pet room is a clean but untidy place because i had little chance to put away the building materials. The cage is sound but on hindsight I realize that the set up will he a bit tricky for future clean ups (the design works better for two bonded rabbits and not two caged mates) and I raced the clock to build dividers that don't offer enough of a separation but I had no time for more then one NIC panel. In another thread I questioned if i should just let them be together since I sanitized the whole room and area but i just wasn't sure. I could have gambled since they didn't fight in over 50 hours together but neither did they cuddle so I just went the safer route.

I'm a little bummed out. I lost a lot of sleep, made a proper mess and have no substantial answer to these two and their bonding. I mean if they flat out fought I'd have been ok with that and settled on two separate rabbits. If they bonded I would have of course been thrilled. Instead I got them hanging around each other, Conan running away for Xena most of the time or cautiously visiting her. They've been at this for months and hours at a day! They even groomed each other in the past. But this weekend, just meh...

Anyway I'm i'll be really busy this week and now will have to think on what will I be doing next.

 

[kirbyultra]

Wow, that's a lot of time. Sorry the buns couldn't be more encouraging. You're such a great bunny daddy though, giving it your all for them. It's not much and not what you were hoping to see but after all, they always tell me that a date that didn't go badly is considered a good date.

 

[Troller]

Came back this morning and just to be experimental let both rabbits out of their cage and out into the pet room. This is the first time that in shared territory they didn't fight! Now I'm not going to say they're friendly, Conan would run whenever Xena came by' but they used each others litter boxes, ate from each others food dish and drank from each others water bottle as well as loafed in one cage together. So in other words they co-existed. I'm guardedly estatic. Maybe the few days together actually had a positive affect. Poor Conan though, I feel be's getting bullied here. Hope things lighten up.

 

[PaGal]

I was so hoping that they would show clear signs of being bonded for you. It is a shame that they have not. Maybe because they have such laid back personalities it takes longer for them to decide whether they have a hate or love relationship.

 

[Troller]

I'm not sure I should call them dates anymore but i put them in the bonding pen for two hours tonight. All was quiet, a little boring in fact. There was a few minutes where Conan and Xena rested heads together but then something spooked Conan and he ran. My wife has off so I told her if she was feeling brave to open up their cages and let them roam the pet room. In a way its her first bunny date solo so I hope to hear good things.

More and more I'm thinking my marathon weekend had a positive aftect on them. Though I am just the slightest bit worried all i did was super stress them so their not being their normal selves. But thats the pessimist view, like you mention PAGal it could be just them being so laid back it's hard to tell. Friday I think I'll do another day/night date, this one in the pet room with possible cage dividers put down.

 

[Troller]

Well another non date, 4 hours in the bond pen and 30min in the shared pet room. No fighting, but still Xena chasing off Conan of Conan running at Xena's slightest approach. I'd be dismayed but in truth I've put them in some intense situations and there's been no fighting at all so I take that as a good sign. I'm not sure how to proceed from now on but I guess I'll just wing it. Can rabbits bond without showing aftection, or is coexistence like a bond? Things for me to ponder.

 

[Troller]

Today 30 min in the shared and cage open area, 5 hours in the bond pen, and one 20 min drive. I was pleased to see Xena grooming Conan, and today Conan didn't run away from her as much. But best of all we've had consecutive days (4 days) of multiple hours together and no scuffling. I feel that something is finally giving I just got to keep at it. Sadly though both my buns have plenty of little nicks and scratches to show for it and my wife questions if it isn't a little abusive. Hell I question.

 

[Troller]

I do give them plenty of treats for their benifit and to assuage my guilt.

 

[Troller]

Today, or rather this weekend is a big one for me. I make what I feel is the last push in this bonding. Both rabbits have spent multiple hours, nearly days, with no fighting. They may not be cuddly but I can trust they can coexist without me physically being around and sleeping within earshot.

I started it with a drive. Last two times I did this you could tell Xena was spooked but as usual Conan was calm. So much in fact, and it may just be wishful thinking on my part, but I saw Conan grooming her and it seemed protecting her in the carrier. I truly don't think I'm imagining it, but it is just a sense I got.

When I got back I put them in the cage (that i freshly sanitized again) with no divider and now I wait. Though its a bit cruel, I plan to keep them in the cage together with no out time until Sunday. Then I'll let them out into the pet room, and a day or two later let them run the apartment and see what's what.

 

[Azerane]

It sounds like it was a bit of a frustrating experience, because as you said it wasn't anything really solid to go on. Wishing you all the best whatever you decide to do next.

 

[Troller]

Hello folks. I believe i have arty:Bonded Rabbits!:woohoo

Now I shouldn't jinx it, but they spent all weekend scuffle free in their cage and in the pet room. This after nearly two weeks being together almost non stop in neutral territory. Okay, there was one instance of a small amount of fur being pulled but that was either Friday or Saturday and might have been Xena's patented get out of my way nip. Last night my wife told me there was a grooming war going on, with Xena chasing Conan to groom him, Conan grooming Xena and both grooming each other for long periods of time. Now they don't seem like the cuddliest of bunnies but that may grow with time, or even if they're never super affectionate as long as they don't mind each others company and can live together freely. Tomorrow I may let them out into the living room and see how it goes but for now I just want to bask in the enjoyment of two rabbits chilling together in the same space.

Thank you all for your advice, your interest and most of all your positive thoughts that kept me going when I was almost ready to give up.

 

[PaGal]

What a wonderful picture! I can only imagine how happy you are.

With the two unaltered females I took in, they are bonded. I'm positive that the owner just put them together as young buns in the same cage and that's how it has been. I'm sure they were together with other buns at the feed store where he bought them. They do groom each other occasionally and will lay next to each other but they spend most of their time apart and although they don't scuffle now and then one will run from the other. When they are out of their cage they tend to do their own thing. I guess what I am trying to say is that although Zena and Conan are not all lovey dovey that does not mean they are not bonded. Again, the calm personalities may also play a part. Other bonded buns may have a closer appearing relationship because they feel the need for support due to fears whereas flemmies do not seem to fear much.

 

[Chrisdoc]

OMG, I don´t believe it...I was so happy to see this. What a fantastic pic of the two of them. I am just so pleased it´s finally happened and so glad you didn´t throw in the towel. We were all convinced and they do say that bonding isn´t easy.

Hope we get updates on their new life together and lots more pics, I just love these two bunnies.

:woohoo:woohoo:woohoo:energizerbunny::yahoo::yahoo::yahoo::yahoo::yahoo::yahoo:

 

[Troller]

Hey folks. I let the rabbits out into the full territory and it entertained me that it took forever for them to actually come out of the pet room. Well they finally did, and it looked like they enjoyed stepping out and moving around. I was worried that they would start territorial fighting but they either hovered around each other or wandered around separately so it was cool.

It's so relieving giving my buns out time at the same time. It means they get the extra exercise with little limits and I dont get the headaches of juggling different experiences for them. Plus it was very cute seeing them out and about together in areas where I would ever only see one at a time. Xena ran around doing Bunny 250 (she's athletic but as a flemish takes more breaks) and binkying. Conan just liked being hack in his tube. So all was enjoyable.

Oh, and i tried nectarines with them and they both liked it, so now I got a new treat to give them every once in a while. Well I guess I can say one more bonding hurdle is over with so either these guys are well and good or they are doing a terrific job of fooling me

 

[Troller]

Another odd thing I've been noticing is just how much time bonding took from me these months. I'm generally busy here and there but I always made time for the rabbits individual needs, the bonding date set up work and then the date itself, which took anchunk of time. Now it seems I'm done and the last few days I've been kind of besides myself with some spare time, wondering what I should do. What a luxury problem. I'll get back to my hobbies I'm sure, it's just I never realized just how much time and energy I dedicated to the whole process until I was near done. Even now I'm a bit antsy preparing myself if things should go bad.

 

[Chrisdoc]

Michael, I know you´ll now be able to enjoy more time for yourself. I can tell you the pleasure of being able to let the buns out together makes up for everything and being able to relax when they are out is even better. When my two finally solved their issues, it is now great that I´m not stressing just in case any scuffles break out. Enjoy your new free time, you certainly do deserve it.