Rabbit bonding and behavior

[Rita Iacarella]

Hi, everyone, I have posted about my two rabbits Boo and June. They live side by side in a large divided room.
They are both dominant Does and would fight terribly when we tried to bond them. They have been living together this way almost two years. In the past few months I notice them trying to groom each other through the small holes in the fence. I would love to put them together but am afraid they will hurt each other. The last time they were together Boo had a head tilt for an hour so that is when we decided to separate them. My question is should we try to bond them again or just leave well enough alone. Thank you. Rita

 

[JBun]

It's always possible they could be starting to like each other. Unfortunately you can't know without at least some limited bonding attempt. Though if you do decide to try, because of your rabbits previous head tilt occurring it seems there would be some risk to it.

If you decide to go ahead, I would only do a very closely managed contact and if there isn't immediate interest and a calm interaction but has signs of upset and aggression, I would immediately stop the contact before it can cause your rabbit any stress that could result in the head tilt happening again.

 

[Rita Iacarella]

Thank you for your response We might try a very brief closely guarded contact. Will let you know if we do and what happens. Rita

 

[Lionhead owner]

I had two girls and they HATED each other on sight. They couldn’t even be allowed to see each other from across the garden. We obviously tried all of the neutral territory, in hutches near each other, swapping toys…the whole lot. The vet suggested neutering both of them, but we felt it was cruel to wait for months til they were old enough, so we gave the second rabbit back to the family we got her from who then kept her with her biological sister. We then took our first rabbit back to this lady, waited until she was neutered and let her choose her own male pal who turned out to be her own biological brother. We are still nervous though. Can I ask how do people keep their bunnies warm in the freezing cold weather.

 

[JBun]

I had two girls and they HATED each other on sight. They couldn’t even be allowed to see each other from across the garden. We obviously tried all of the neutral territory, in hutches near each other, swapping toys…the whole lot. The vet suggested neutering both of them, but we felt it was cruel to wait for months til they were old enough, so we gave the second rabbit back to the family we got her from who then kept her with her biological sister. We then took our first rabbit back to this lady, waited until she was neutered and let her choose her own male pal who turned out to be her own biological brother. We are still nervous though. Can I ask how do people keep their bunnies warm in the freezing cold weather.

When housing outdoors, it's important that they have part of the enclosure protected from wind and the elements, and also a part that is insulated from the cold. Some people use straw, or other rabbit safe bedding.

This is only for cold temps to a certain point. If temps get to be bitter cold and really low, then rabbits either need a partially(and safely) heated shed/enclosure, or need to be indoors instead(not too hot of a room). Though once a rabbit has adapted to indoor temps and lost their winter coat, they have to remain indoors until outdoor temps have warmed up again.

Here are some tips on having rabbits outdoors in the winter:

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-care-advice/rabbit-housing/outdoor-rabbits-in-cold-weather/
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Cold_weather_concerns
If you need more info on this, it would be best to start your own thread, so we can keep this thread on topic.