My rabbits won’t be friends! Help!

[Wish&Promise]

Hi everyone!
I’m new here and also new to rabbits and I am having serious problems bonding my two rabbits.
They are two females who are both spayed, one of them is older (a year old) than the other and we have had her for longer.

When we rescued our second rabbit we did our research and tried to follow all the advice we could find e.g neutral space, cages close to each other and bonding sessions regularly.

It’s now been 6 months and they are still not friends.

The little one (the new one) is very gentle with humans however she seems to be the most aggressive when it comes to other rabbits.

They tend to fight a lot, usually the little one starts it, so we split them up and try again another time.

Please advise!!! This is my first time with rabbits so please help!!!!!

 

[Slerpflerf]

Have you tried any stress bonding?
Females are by far the hardest bond unfortunately.
How long ago were the neutered - females can take 6 months for their hormones to drain.

Is there any places local to you that do bonding services? Some bonds can be made easier by having someone else help you with the process too

 

[Wish&Promise]

Unfortunately we do not have anywhere locally that has binding services. Yes maybe Promise (the smaller and the one that starts the fights) is still hormonal as she was only neutered 3/4 months ago.

What stress bonding methods would you advise?

We have tried in the car but this caused problems as they are both long haired rabbits so you can imagine the mess .

 

[Allen Wrider]

So as it happens, I am also bonding two females in almost this exact situation. The older of the two is almost a year and a half and the younger is the fire starter.

But, following a suggestion by @Imbrium , I began to stress bond them last night and they didn't fight at all for the time they were together. Stress bonding situations can include a car ride, a shopping trip, even in a basket on top of the washer or dryer (what I did last night).

Female/female bonding can be the most difficult, but if you are patient and they haven't had any serious fights, they should be okay.

 

[Imbrium]

Yes maybe Promise (the smaller and the one that starts the fights) is still hormonal as she was only neutered 3/4 months ago.

What stress bonding methods would you advise? We have tried in the car but this caused problems as they are both long haired rabbits so you can imagine the mess .

I (and others) have gone into stress bonding in much more detail in another recent thread - I recommend giving it a read. F/F bonds are tough but not impossible. Also, it only takes 3-4 weeks for a female's hormones to dissipate, so Promise shouldn't be hormonal any more. If you give that thread a read and try stress-bonding, feel free to post a video clip of your bunnies back in this thread and we can take a look at it. Sometimes a video can really help more experienced bonders get a feel for your particular rabbits .

 

[Blue eyes]

Just jumping in here. I did not read the thread Imbrium has linked above. Wanted to add a good read that discusses stress bonding in general -- what it is, which methods are condoned and which are discouraged.

https://www.cottontails-rescue.org.uk/stress-bonding-what-does-it-mean/