Hi everyone!

[DPrice]

We have 3 rabbits in our home. Basically, we are 2 families under 1 roof.

We have Hopster, a brown lion head lop and Bun Bun, a white polish dwarf ( I think). We bred them and kept one of their sons, Little Papa. Everybody's fixed of course now. They've been bonded together for around 4 years. Bun Bun, the white one in my profile pic, is the dominant.

Recently, Hopster got tilted head which freaked us out. She's done with her meds but I think a little tilt will be permanent unfortunately.

Not sure, but I think they all have been stressed the last couple of weeks. I think the other wabbits took care of Hopster. Now Bun Bun is trying to reestablish dominance.

Two questions:
1) How long does the dominance reestablishment typically last? I don't remember from the first time.

2) Is it difficult for tilted head rabbits to submit again?

It's been a few days now. There has been a good bit of humping and chasing going on. It's kind of off and on throughout the day. I haven't seen any violence but I'm wondering if our Hopster is starting to get too annoyed or if she just doesn't feel like she can groom Bun Bun too much with her tilted head.

Thanks for reading all of this if you made it this far! Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Mileybun]

I have no experience with bonding but just wanted to welcome you to the forum!

 

[JBun]

There's no specific time for how long it takes for rabbits to bond or rebond. There's also no way to say if a rebonding attempt will work out. It's all dependent on the individual rabbits involved.

Sometimes when a rabbit falls ill, the bonded companion can become overly aggressive towards the ill rabbit, causing the bond to fail. So this is something you'll want to keep watch for. Especially as the stress can negatively impact the health of a rabbit who's immune system may already be affected by the prior illness.

Of course there is a chance they'll rebond just fine, but I would suggest being careful with how much stress your head tilt bun is put under trying to rebond. I would suggest taking it slow, and maybe even starting the bonding process over from the beginning, including separation if things are feeling too tense and stressed between them.

 

[Blue eyes]

When the one got headtilt, by chance did you take just the one rabbit to the vet without the other rabbits? If so, that can cause bond issues. In the future, bear in mind that bonded rabbits must stick together, even for (especially for) trips to the vet.

 

[Jennifer1111]

When the one got headtilt, by chance did you take just the one rabbit to the vet without the other rabbits? If so, that can cause bond issues. In the future, bear in mind that bonded rabbits must stick together, even for (especially for) trips to the vet.

That’s interesting to know! I’m now starting to do “bunny dates” to (hopefully) pair my neutered male Lionhead. I opted to rescue a bun verses buying one from a breeder this time. It’s so sad to see all the homeless buns out there that doesn’t have a loving home to live their lives in.
Thank you for sharing that little bit of knowledge. Ive often wondered about that exact question.

 

[DPrice]

When the one got headtilt, by chance did you take just the one rabbit to the vet without the other rabbits? If so, that can cause bond issues. In the future, bear in mind that bonded rabbits must stick together, even for (especially for) trips to the vet.

No I didn't. That is very interesting. Fortunately, they all seem to be getting along with only occasional mounting. Thanks for that tip. I did recently that you could put them in a rub together and go on a little ride in the car. This sounds a little cruel though.

In the past, I would do that to take and get their nails clipped. We had a sweet 2 year deal for only $35 total at a pet store where I could bring them in anytime I wanted. Sadly, they went out of business.