Nibbles' and Junie's Bonding Adventures

[ZRabbits]

mdith4him wrote:

Tonight went pretty much the same as the last date. Juniper groomed Nibbles quite a bit and they both lay down nose-to-nose or head-to-head several times without us petting them. Nibbles seems to like (or at least be okay with) her grooming him, and he goes after her when she stops. He's still made no indication (that I can see) that he's willing to do anything nice for her.

No matter how hard you try some bunnies just won't bond together. It's not the fault of the bunnies, it's just the way it is. Though Junie is outgoing and friendly, Nibbles sounds more reserved.

And the non-bonding is definitely not a reflection on you and what you have been trying to do. Sometimes it's just not meant to be. Maybe it's time for you to bond to them individually. That's what we did here. As much as I would have loved my boys to bond, it didn't happen. So we bonded with them individually, and they and we are happy with what's occurred. And our boys are so well adjusted now and they have become such gentleman. Independent and strong. But truly look forward to our touch.

K

 

[mdith4him]

So how do we know when to keep going and when to give up?

I've read about how bonding can sometimes take months and we have made some progress since the initial interactions. At this point, is there something that we should be seeing from Nibbles that's a sign that he's warming up to her? In bonding that does take months, is what we're seeing something that will be worked through eventually or does it look more like this won't happen?

I really want to keep trying. We can accommodate two rabbits in two separate NIC cages, but it would obviously be easier to keep them in one together. I feel bad for Junie--she seems to want a bunny friend so bad! Even though we're trying to bond the two of them, we're also taking plenty of time to bond with them separately. Nibbles seems very comfortable with us now and Junie has been friendly since day 1.

 

[mdith4him]

We had another date tonight, but moved it to the kitchen.

We have a small, apartment kitchen with a vinyl floor. It's obviously bigger than the tub, but small enough (and slippery enough) that there wouldn't be any major chasing going on. We blocked the entrance with a NIC grid gate.

Initially, both rabbits were very curious and wanted to explore (neither had ever been in there). They would bump into each other every few minutes and Nibbles was his usual nippy self. [I feel bad for thinking this, but it was funny to watch them try to run on the vinyl...they both were slipping quite a bit!] They both gingerly walked around for awhile, sniffing everything, and occasionally interacting (not usually all that nice). The kitchen and living room flow into each other and the NIC grids were positioned on the carpet just outside of the kitchen's doorway. Nibbles soon found the small patch of carpet from the living room that was available and plopped down. Junie came over a few times and he nipped at her to make her run away (no fur came out, though, so that was good). I started petting him and he eventually stuck his feet out behind him and seemed pretty relaxed. She hopped over again and licked his ears and face for a minute. I stopped petting him when she started her grooming. She was right next to him, side-by-side, but her stance was clearly one of "I'm ready to run." When she stopped licking, she put her head down to ask for grooming, too, which of course he did not respond to, but he didn't turn and nip her. She never fully lay down, but she soon relaxed a little bit and looked quite comfy. I pet both of them for a time (both had their teeth chattering!), then stopped. They stayed together for several more minutes before she got up and moved away. We put them back in their cages after that.

 

[ZRabbits]

Sounds like a positive date. Especially when they were somewhere else.

I keep hoping for both Nibbles and Junie. I know how hard you have been working with this bond.

Sending good thoughts and hopes that Nibbles finally gets the message that a little grooming goes a long way. And Junie doesn't get frustrated waiting.


K

 

[mdith4him]

This past week has been so busy!! We have had a few dates over the last four days, some pretty good, some really bad.

The second kitchen date went poorly--Nibbles was trying to chase and nip at Junie the whole time. She would approach him cautiously and he would turn and get after her. She would scamper away if he tried to approach her. We had another bathtub date after that which started out bad (nipping, running, etc.), but ended fairly positively with Junie licking Nibbles' ears and head. He didn't nip or pull fur when she stopped either.

We've taken a few nights off (just didn't have the energy for it some nights!), but last night we took both of them on a car ride. We lined a cardboard box with a beach towel, then brought them down to the car individually before putting them in the box together. My husband drove around for about half an hour and I sat in the back seat with them. Not once did Nibbles nip her! He HATES being in the car, so he didn't look too pleased, but she didn't seem to mind it as much. They spent most of the time lying down, often together, only moving around every now and then when the car came to a brief stop. Junie kept trying to push her head under Nibbles (at one point she had stuffed 3/4 of her body under him before he finally moved away!) and eventually, Nibbles started trying to push his head under her. Not sure what all that was about. Nibbles didn't seem quite as stressed as he usually does during car rides, but I'm not sure if it was because he had another bunny with him or because the box was maybe easier to get footing in as opposed to the slick bottom of his cage. In any case, it seemed to go really well, so we'll try it again some other time soon.

We're still hoping this pair will work out. This weekend will mark four weeks of bonding for the buns.

 

[mdith4him]

We took another car ride this evening. Nibbles looked scared the whole time and was breathing really hard. Junie seemed more comfortable. They both hopped over to each other several times and lay down all snuggled up. Both tried to shove their head (or body) under the other one at various times.

This time, when we got back, we immediately put them in the tub together. He lay down immediately, still breathing quite heavily. She sat next to him and groomed him a couple times. They stayed together for several minutes. He eventually sat up and thumped once really hard. I thought he was going to lunge at her, but he just sniffed her head, then started grooming himself. She moved to the other side of the tub and they both just sat by themselves for a few minutes. He eventually came over toward her and did his rough nuzzling thing. It looked like he nipped at her, but no fur was pulled. They sat next to each other cautiously for awhile, with her head bowed in front of him. I climbed in the tub and gently moved his head so it was on top of hers. He licked her twice!!!! :bunnydance:
Just twice, but still, it's the first time (I think) that any friendly licking has come from him. I tried to get him to do it again, but he didn't. I took them back to their cages shortly after that.

Tiny steps of progress, but I was so excited by his licking!! Hoping for more tomorrow!

 

[ZRabbits]

So thrilled to hear! Definitely small steps of progress.

Can't wait to hear how it goes today.

K

 

[mdith4him]

So after our hope-filled last bonding session, the last two (one in the tub, one in the hallway), have been awful. Nibbles pulled a bunch of fur from Junie. She licked him quite a bit each time, but no reciprocation from him.

I feel so bad for both of them. Nibbles just seems angry when we put him anywhere with Junie. Junie looks so desperate for companionship. Their cages are connected/separated by NIC panels. We've put cardboard up against the panels because he just nips her through the bars otherwise. They've managed to chew a corner off one of the panels and can sniff at each other through it. Any time Nibbles is near it on his side, she hops over and sticks her nose through the bars and just sits. Waiting. It's like she's saying, "PLEASE LOVE ME!!!!" It's kind of depressing to watch her. I really hope that breakthrough comes soon.

 

[MILU]

Oh no.. I was hopeful this would have a happy end and be a beautiful love story for Nibbles and Junie... I thought there wouldn't be any problems bonding a male and a female bunny.. living and learning...! I hope someday they get to be friends at least!

 

[ZRabbits]

So sorry to hear the bonding still hasn't happened. If Junie is looking for companionship, maybe you should step in and be her companion.

I have found all my boys are very well adjusted and have bonded to my husband and I. They have no problems knowing and seeing other bunnies but they all look to us for that companionship.

Rabbits know what they want and no matter how hard you try to bond a pair, it just doesn't happen sometimes.

Maybe I'm selfish but I do love the companionship of all my boys and they love it right back. Don't feel guilty at all not trying to bond Kreacher and Dobby again, because they are happy being individuals and getting individual attention.

I give you credit for all your hard work and time put into this. Hoping some day the bond does form. If not, IMHO, don't feel guilty, Nibbles and Junie have you and sometimes that's all a bunny needs.

K