Confusing scenario but are you sure it wasn't just rubbing off onto his face? I mean...everything else sounds insanely perfect and very bond worthy. Him grooming her is a very, very good sign though for sure. Sometimes my buns will yank at hair on the others though not hard but almost like they are trying to get a knot of hair off when grooming .. or maybe he was just trying to be playful? My buns will nip and yank at us when they are feeling playful and do the same things to each other.

I can't give any clear answers but I definitely don't think this is a bad sign.

When Mocha (the male and dominant) would hump Lulu He would sort of latch on to her hair and pull it out too. I think it is ok as long as its not pulling skin off with it! I was always really bad at letting my bunnies hump each other without doing anything about it but I tried the best I could. Do you think you or your bf could take a video during a bonding session so we could see what they are like? Bonding has always fascinated me and I love looking at how other bunnies react. Also some pictures too maybe?

It is AWESOME that he is already grooming her! It seems like he is the dominate one (?) If so Mocha didn't groom Lulu until about a week before they were bonded!

I completely agree with Mocha! If you can get a video, I'd also LOVE to see it!

My buns also didn't groom each other (well the boys latch on instantly and were grooming during the first session but I think that's mainly because Tanger is a VERY submissive bunny) but the boy and girl didn't start grooming until they were almost completely bonded!

Well that makes me feel better. I almost squealed when he groomed her head. I wish i knew how she felt because she just sits there the whole time. I will try to get a video if we do a bonding session today.

Well, I squealed for you when you said there was grooming involved! It's such a good thing for them to groom NEXT to each other but to groom EACH OTHER! bAHHHHH. Major SQUEAL! I'm so excited for you -- I LOVE hearing about bonding buns so keep the info coming!

As obsessed with buns as my boyfriend and I are now I'm sure FAR in the future we will be bonding more and need all the advice and experiences we can get in the meantime!

This is super helpful because I got a month before I have to rebond thump and oreo. very worried about it but it does seem like things are going in good directions for you. =D

I haven't read this thread in a few days...glad to come back to good news!

When Peppy and Milo were bonding, Peppy (the dominant one, of course..) would also latch onto Milo's fur while humping him, and try to pull some out. We didn't try to discourage the humping too much unless it got excessive, but if Peppy started pulling Milo's fur while humping we would try to slide a hand under her head to prevent her from grabbing him.

Ahh I miss having a pair! Sweets and Bunjamin are adorable .

Thanks Peppy and TL I really hope it works out.
NikitaSue good luck when that comes time!

UPDATE: So we had a neutral territory bonding session. Sadly we haven't done one since the fur pulling incident. But we're hoping them being in the same room almost 24/7 and have out time (separated by pen) together would help. Until tonight. I decided to try one since we're home and I finally had a small bit of free time. It started off pretty bad. The nose bow war and then bunjamin thumped at Sweets. I always step in and groom them if the nose bow war gets aggressive looking.

So me and Andy decided to try to bribe them into getting along. So we put smushed apples on their head. It of course worked they both groomed each other. Bunjamin groomed Sweets way more. I think he is more into food then her. I thought she was enjoying the grooms though because her eyes got squinty. He still humps her though even when she has smushed apple on her head. *sigh*.

We ended on good note with me petting them together next to each other. They do well with that like in the car-ride. But I can't be there all the time. Andy jokes that this will end up being a trio with me being the third bun. Any advice? I'm not sure where to go next. This is hard. :X

FrankieFlash: That sounded like a GREAT session! I know the bow wars may seem like a downer but that is just a dominant thing and it will get over. Where were you when you did the session? How long was it? I would continue to do it in that same spot until you can have a session for about an hour or so and you don't have to be as hands on. Just take a book or your laptop and sit in with them. Increase your time every session! If you move to fast and give them to much freedom it could cause a lots of chasing or fighting.

Thank you mocha for responding. We were in a living room that I had cleaned so it was neutral inside my xpen. We left Andy out but I hate to leave it completely since we can't reach over to stop fights. Maybe I should get the broom though and step out. We were in there for at least a half hour maybe more. Too much freedom would be...? We don't let them out for run time together cuz I know that would end bad.

With bonding you want to slowly increase the space you let them have together. Like with my bunnies I did the NIC cube (only for one session though), the Bathtub, then an xpen, then a hallway, then the living room. Just slowly increasing the space you give them. I honestly don't think that they would fight in the xpen you have them in now to be honest. My bunnies only fought once or MAYBE twice during the whole bonding process and it started out with chasing. You bunnies seem to be relaxed from what you described above.

There has been a few times when Bunjamin was really humpy that Sweets would run away and he would chase but I also distracted him with food in that case. lol or pets. I think the space thing I've probably screwed up because we've been in many different spaces for bonding (different sized bathrooms, etc)

It really did sound like a good session, FF! You should be happy -- your buns are doing much better than so many other accounts I've read! Just remember that bonding can take months of work! So you're definitely on the right track for bonded bunnies!

As for giving them more room... I wouldn't give them more room until you feel confident that you can leave them alone in the space you are giving them now without worrying about them fighting. That is the goal. As they achieve that, then THAT is when you expand the area they have. Gradual by gradual is what you have to do.

Don't get down though... it's so frustrating but in the end it is COMPLETELY worth it and from the sounds of it your little babies are on the right track! And quite quickly. Just remember -- ALWAYS end on a good note. If they fight, break it up and do something so it ends positive like giving treats and such! Bonding bunnies is almost ALWAYS going to have some scuffles. So I wouldn't worry. Everyone, including us, fights with friends. It's just a fact of life. And it's a fact of life for bunnies that they MUST work out who the top bun is. So DON'T FRET! Positive thoughts! And try not to be so stressed or worried with your buns when they are in bonding sessions! (I know it's difficult!) But they can sense your anxiety and that may put them on edge! Even if one session goes badly, make it end on a positive note, and take it as it goes! The sessions sound very good but your confidence doesn't! Work on that confidence girly! Give them both some credit! They could def be taking to each other much worse!

I'm excited for you, FF! In my opinion, you're off to a very good start. I'm excited for your little guys to become bonded!

I just called Sweets a guy... Don't tell her! Little Babies to Bond! ****

lol I won't tell her TL. I guess this is where my impatience comes in. I like to see immediate results lol. *taking deep breath* I'll work on it!

I know the feeling. I seriously had to fight out the feeling not to just throw them all in together. They probably would've mangled each other with all the bunny bratitude radiating between the three of them!

Lots of deep breaths! And the more you keep us updated on your bonding -- the more we can help and tell you if you are over-stressing or thinking it too much! We get bunny bonding stories and you get LOTS of bunny bonding vibes!

Well I have bad news and good news. Bad news is looks like this isn't going to be a trio

Good news is I feel really good about our bonding session tonight. It lasted over an hour. I started off in the pen with them but stepped out and kept broom handy to separate them if necessary. It wasn't necessary. Bunjamin humped a lot, sure. But Sweets held her ground. If she didn't want it she ran away and there was only a couple times he started to follow her and stop.

They both did binkies in the pen. (haven't seen binkies from sweets in a week or so). And they both groomed each other without any interference from me. I actually refused to pet either one until the end I pet them together so we could end on good note.

Bunjamin actually does more grooming than sweets does. And he made her fur really soft. He groomed her for a good 5+ minutes straight! She flopped in the cage with him and tried to get him to cuddle. OH and they sat in the litter box together for about 7 minutes or so too. Just munching and pottying. I almost hate to separate them but I don't want to rush things like you guys said.

I have some pics and vids to share tomorrow since it's late and I'm tired but I wanted to share the good news

Oh so cuteeeee! I'm so glad it's going well! I'm cheering you guys on! =D

You're right!!!! I"M SQUEALING INSIDEEEEEEE!!!! I can't wait to see pictures of these little cuties alllllllll squished together in a litter box or cuddled up... OMGGGGGG. I'm so excited for you guys!!!

Here is a tidbit. I have to resize the rest:

Aaaawwwwww!!!! TOO CUTE! I'm so happy for you

Oh my goodness FF that is so cuteeeeee! =]]]]]]

So tonight during bonding....

THEY FLOPPED AND GROOMED EACH OTHER!

I know this is super shaky and not super clear but I didn't want to disrupt them:

Eeek!!! So adorable!!

Awhhhh! That is too exciting! You have made so much progress in such a short amount of time! =]

I'M SO EXCITED FOR YOU, FF! They are working out soooooo well!!! SO ADORABLE!

Yayy!! So happy for you . They are sooo cute!

Thank you everyone! I am so happy about this. I want to scream it from the rooftops!

I think you should do binkies and flops instead