Trouble with bonding

[LionBunnies]

Hi!

I've let my rabbits meet 3 times.
I'll tell you about all the meetings:

First meeting:
In a neutral room.
They "fought" a littlebit, but nothing serious.
I sprayed water, and they stopped fighting.
The one rabbit groomed the other one
Then when we let them out a littlebit in our apartment (to see how they would react to eachother there), they started a serious fight.
They ripped of lots of hair from eachother. We separated them immediately.

Second meeting:
In the bathtub. They fought a littlebit, but nothing serious.
They sat next to eachother and just stared into the air.

Meeting number 3:
Today, in a neutral room.
At first they seemed curious about the surroundings.
When they discovered eachother, they started a fight.
Immediately.
It seems like they HATE eachother.
Once they see eachother, they start fighting!
The "date" lasted for about 2 minutes.
We separated them.

It seems like their personalities doesn't match.

What is wrong? Is there hope?
I'm so unmotivated right now.

I hope someone can help me out and answer some questions

 

[Pet_Bunny]

There is hope.

It took me 18 months to bond my two girls, and they became the best of friends. With more experience now, I matched other bunnies and paired them up at our shelter.

 

[LionBunnies]

Thank you for your answer

But how shall I make them become friends?

I feel like I've tried it all
If you know what I mean.

I cannot keep on trying to bond them for over a year (unfortunately).

 

[kirbyultra]

Are your rabbits neutered/spayed? Are they boy/boy, boy/girl, or girl/girl pair?

Since it doesn't sound like they like each other on the onset, I would let the bonding session go no longer than 60 seconds. Time it with a watch if you must. If they can be in the same space like a bath tub for 60 seconds without anyone getting fur pulled or fighting, then that is "progress". Seems like 2 minutes is thus far, too long!

You could also try to stress them prior to the bonding sessions. Put them in a cardboard box, laundry basket, or a travel kennel - quickly put them together and then go for a walk in the neighborhood or drive around in your car. Or put them on an operating washing machine during the spin cycle to rock them around. The purpose is to put them in a controlled, stressful environment together. That way they won't have a chance to be aggressive towards each other and hopefully seek comfort from each other in the stressful situation. Go for about 10-20 minutes like this, then put them in the bath tub or neutral room to see how they behave on their own for 60 seconds. See if they do better after a little co-stress.

 

[LionBunnies]

Hi!

Yes, both of them are spayed, and its a girl/girl pair.

I'll try to put them in a travel kennel and "scare" them a littlebit.