how will i know when my rabbits can live togethrr?

[flemish giant]

 so i dont want to rush the bonding i just want to know when they can go together. ive had polly for a week and they have escelated to grooming eachother sharing the litter box laying by eachother and staying the whole day together (i just seperate at night when i cant watch them). im going to try feeding their veggies together today too. im jist worried bc polly eats a lot slower.

[tanlover14]

Typically you can assume they are successfully bonded when you can supervise them for 24-48 hours together (non-stop) with no fighting.

Find a few days you have free to watch them constantly and see how it goes!

If one eats faster than the other – you could try making two salads. And maybe giving them a little extra just so you know Polly is getting her share also. Give Polly the smaller one and your fast eater the bigger one to keep him company while she eats her salad from her dish.

[flemish giant]

Constantly as in not go to sleep? For 24 hours?

[tanlover14]

I just set up camp next to their area – you’ll want to put them in what will be their “shared” area together. Whatever that may be – condo, x pen, whatever.

And then I put my blanket and pillow and slept next to them. You will wake up if they fight – they’ll bang around. haha! I have always woken up.

[flemish giant]

Oh OK. I think I’ll do a few more dates and then try that. They stay in my room so I’ll probably just sleep on my couch.

[MoveDiagonally]

I slept next to mine during the overnights and I always woke up during a scuffle. They’re noisy when they fight.

Good luck!

[flemish giant]

Is it too soon to let them stay overnight though?

[tanlover14]

I don’t think there’s such thing as too soon. It’s more about how their progressing in their bonding. It sounds like they are doing great and ready for that next big step! Cuddling, sharing litter boxes, and you’ve been keeping them together for long periods of time. I think they’re ready!

When I bonded my trio – they instantly fell in. We did an overnight after two days of bonding and they’ve been together ever since!

[flemish giant]

Oh OK. I’ll start tomorrow then. I think I’ll let them out to play together (where they’ll play together in the future). And then put them in the cage at night and see how they do.

[flemish giant]

Well I let them stay overnight together in a dog pen in the living room and no fights. I think I’m gonna do this for a few days but how many days are enough until they’re confirmed as being bonded? I’m going to steam clean the upstairs (where they’ll stay) BC when I let them out to roam around they fought. They were fine in the cage together but when I let them out they had a bad fight. I think it might be because of the bed so I think I’ll block it off.

[tanlover14]

You mean they fought when you let them roam around in your bedroom together?? This would be them almost certainly being territorial.

If so, I’m not sure how easy this would be for you… but I’ve found the best way to fix this problem is by changing the room up and putting things in different spots. Clean the floors and anything they are always hanging around on. The change confuses them and they enter the room like they have never seen it before. I have ALWAYS done this when adding in a new bunny and it’s hysterical to watch them because they have NO clue it’s the same place and explore like it’s completely new. I’ve always had really good luck with that. Or can you put maybe a barrier around the room so it’s cut off a bit. If they have too much space at first it can cause chasing which can lead to fights. Play around with the “roaming” area and see what you can change around to confuse them then try it again. Make sure to clean everything (vinegar works the best!) so their scent isn’t everywhere around there either!

[flemish giant]

I can’t really move stuff around in my room the way I have my furniture is the way it fits and works in my room. Will steam cleaning the floor and maybe cloroxing the couch and the bed posts help?

[flemish giant]

And yup the only time they’ve fought is when I let them out for exercise.

[flemish giant]

Will it? I’m working on blocking of the underneath of my bed.

[tanlover14]

I wouldn’t use Chlorox as it will be very toxic if it seeps into something. I would stick to using vinegar on the areas you want to chlorox.

[flemish giant]

But that will stink stuff up won’t it?

[Dobby]

When vinegar dries, it doesn’t smell anymore, so you’ll just have to deal with the smell for a bit. I’d imagine the smell of bleach would last much longer than the smell of vinegar.

White vinegar is pretty amazing. You can use it in the washing machine to get rid of soap residue on clothes, to clean coffee machines or humidifiers, to clean the kitchen counter without harsh chemicals, etc. The list goes on and on.

[flemish giant]

OK I’ll do that then. Yea I used to use it to clean my guinea pigs cage.

[Author]

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