We started again tonite, with the 2 of them in the bathtub with a fleece blanket on the bottom. Ooooh boy. Moose was not a happy little man, he kept trying to bite my little Monkey's face! I had a squirt bottle ready, and by the time we called it quits, Moose was soaked from all the spraying I had to do to get him to stop biting her. Poor babies... He wasn't scared at all of the dustbuster this time, so that didn't help... time to find a new scary thing for him I suppose.

Oh dear I am sorry you are having a tough time, I had no idea it was going to be so hard for you to bond them. *waves magic voodoo pokey stick of love potion on moose and monk* There! That should do the trick!

Hehe but really, have you tried that cube like Petzy so they touch in the car or on the washer spin cycle? Sorry if I've missed that in a prior post! What is next!!! You better be ready to cheer me on for my trio lol. There will be lots of complaining I am sure!

*hugs* keep at it I know you can do it!

I'm going to try the cube, just gotta figure out where I put the spare grids lol.

Target has them on sale by the way, they are back down to 14.99 a box - if you can't find any spares!

Might go get some... if the bonding doesn't work out, we have the room to keep them separate, we'd move Monkey back into the computer room here, and keep Moose in the dining room. We'd have to build Monkey a new cage, the one she's in was just temporary til they bonded lol. At that point, we'd look into finding Moose a different buddy.. but hopefully they work out!

Oh, and if they aren't making any progress, we're gonna call up the lady we got Moose from for assistance.. she's bonded tons of buns, she'd be able to help if anyone can

they may chase each other in a small circle in the cube the first time but you can reach in with your hands to push down their heads. They will stop.

Monkey, how are things going? Made any more progress?

Fly Petzy down - I heard Petzy is going to be the new Victoria from "It's me or the dog" trainer...but for buns!

I made myself a NIC cube like the one Petzy has, and had M&M in it tonite. Monkey wasn't impressed, she spent most of her time growling at me. Moose was interested in trying to squeeze himself through the 1.5 inch squares in it lol. Silly Moose. They were pretty good other than Monkey growling, I'll keep putting them in the cube and see how they do the next few days.

What is this cube you speak of? I must have missed this.

Don't give up on them yet. You haven't been very consistent with the bonding due to health issues, and it's not uncommon for a successful bond to take several weeks (even months) of DAILY sessions. If after a month, you are still not getting anywhere and you're following all the tips and tricks, then I would try to contact the rescue and see if they can offer suggestions or possibly a bonding retreat. I would not run out and adopt a third bunny, b/c then you're avoiding the primary issue (2 bunnies not bonding), and you're risking making the same mistakes and ending up with 3 separate buns. Even tho so many buns need homes, another bun is not always the answer. We see this time and time again that a person has one bun and within 6 months of unsuccessful bonding they end up with 4 buns trying to get 2 pairs (which may or may not work out).

Silly question, but: Are you being stern with them? Do either of the buns respond to your voice? I had better luck with using a stern voice "NO Meadow!!! NO Max!!!" just before they were about to scuffle than I ever did with using the water bottle. Or use the two together. Just before you squirt, say "NO!", so eventually you should be able to just say no to get their attention and not get them wet.

Beka, I think the "cube" is just that. A small cube made out of NIC grids so that she can confine the bunnies to a small space, same as using a small carrier for the two bunnies.

I gotcha! That sounds promising. I ended up blocking off a section of my bedroom with a NIC grid fence for closer quarters and that worked well!

The cube is good cuz I can sit up on the couch with it rather than trying to get down on the floor. And I wasn't gonna rush out and get a 3rd bunny hehe. It would be a last resort thing if we cant get these 2 to bond after a long long time. Now that I have the cube made I can make progress with them, without worrying about my knee. So daily sessions begin again

MB, now that you've found some more comfortable ways to do sessions - I would actually call this "beginning bonding sessions" and the previous times more bunny dates or socialisations. Maybe you can think of it as "going steady?" lol. It really does make a difference to embark with a determined attitude and consistant sessions. I think you'll notice a real difference. Hopefully now you can go full steam ahead that your off the bathroom floor!! (oh, I remember the discomfort, leaning over the tub in the cold!)

Posted By Beka27 on 02/07/2010 08:01 AM
What is this cube you speak of? I must have missed this.

The NIC cube is just like a box only you can see better what is going on. you can use a spray bottle on them easily, too, if you had to. Plus, it has a top that you can close without losing sight of them. You can securely thread a rope through for suspending it off the ceiling for a rocking session. It has to be ziptied well, though. On the downside, It is a bit heavy to lug around but I prefer it to many means of containment during bonding.

 

Mine is all zip tied together, couldn't find the connectors so i used a ton of zip ties lol.

One thing to be careful about when using the cube is not to let any feet get stuck in between the grids, especially with a tiny bun like Monkey.

LMAO @ the CUBE!

It's like bunny prison! LOL!!!!!! :o) Very cool!

It occurred to me that the monthly Rabbit Advocate meeting here is going to be focused around bonding, what with valentines day beign this month and all. I was already planning on taking M&&M to it, as I am going to get some training on pawdicures and stuff so I can volunteer for the monthly outreaches, and I'd prefer to practice with my own 2 rather than subject someone elses baby to it lol. So... I'm going to bring a pen and my water bottle and my mittens and try a session while I am there, with many rabbit savvy people around to assist if necessary We'll see what happens!

Ooo good luck! Let us know how it goes!

Monkeybun, I just got an image of you all bundled up, plus wearing mittens and holding a water bottle and saying what a viscous bunny you have so you have to be extra protected, then whipping out the 1.5 lb. Monkey. Ooooooooo. Scary scary beastie. LOL

Pure evil in a compact form, I tells ya!

She's actually gettign better, I can pick her up and brush her a bit now, she's trusting me more and more every day... until I put her and that icky boy in the same room together.. then I am in such trouble! hehe

At least you can pick her up. Sammy is being a silent sphinx under her basket for the past hour. And she now is growling and lunging at me in the morning, then running away and binkying. Year of the Tiger-bun.

Ahh I love this thread. All these descriptions of Miss Monkey loo crack me up. *sprays more magic love potion on monk and moose* I bet Monkey and Bun would have an insta bond. She's already in the mail!

Well, I didn't really have time to do a bonding session there lol. Was too busy But Monkey was everyones favorite.. her and the flemmie that was there. Monkey even let someone else pick her up! Immediately after she was given back to me she snuggled right up under my chin and sat there in my arms for a good 20 minutes tho She wouldn't let me put her back in her carrier, I had to walk around with her. I'm under orders to bring her to the next meeting