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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum BONDING I am starting to think bonding these buns is impossible

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    • Ruby n Max
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        I apologize for the long winded post, but there is a lot that I think may be of importance with this one.

        Short version: I have four rabbits paired off that I cannot get to bond.  I have tried long car rides, bath tub sessions, table top sessions, cage switching, stunt doubles, just about everything that I can find on bonding, and it isn’t working.  I have bonded several pairs in the past, but this isn’t sticking.  I live in a tiny studio apartment, so I don’t have a new space to move them to for bonding, and the closest rabbit rescue that does bonding is at capacity, and they are 6 hours away.  Any ideas?

        Long version: Four years ago my husband and I adopted our second rabbit that our first rabbit picked out at the shelter.  We wanted her to have a friend during the day while we were at work and school, and after 9 months and a move across the country, they were bonded.  Ruby had wanted to stay an only child, but she was clearly becoming distressed from our busy schedules, so we kept up the bonding process until it stuck.  The funny thing is that the last 3 months we lived in our previous apartment Max and Ruby did everything together, there just had to be a fence between them, or Ruby would go after Max.

        Almost two years ago Ruby went in for minor surgery, and ended up passing away 6 weeks later due to a massive infection from an allergic reaction to the suture materials.  Our vet had also put her on panacur at the same time since her e-cuniculi test came back positive and we wanted to eradicate the parasites before they reared their ugly heads, so I think between the infection and the dying parasites, her body couldn’t take it any more.  A few weeks before she passed away my husband found Ben abandoned in a park.  We took him in, only planning to foster him, but Ruby died and we couldn’t bear losing another bun.  Max and Ben had been almost completely bonded before Ruby passed, but had a falling out afterwards.  Max wanted to be alpha, but Ben was very young and headstrong (still is ).

        We brought Max and Ben speed dating a few weeks later to find a new girl, and brought home Lavender.  My main objective was to get Max a new friend to keep him company (he was devastated by Ruby’s passing), and my second objective was to find a new alpha that would lead the herd.  Max and Lavy were bonded in 3 days, but Lavy didn’t care much for Ben and he still wanted to be on top, so we still had no alpha.  

        I realized a few months later that Ben was extremely awkward with other rabbits and that was what was driving the others away, so we brought them all speed dating and came home with Blackberry.  The idea was that a new bun with no prior opinions could be bonded with him so he could learn how to live with other rabbits.  She got along with everyone; she bonded with Max the same day, Ben in 3 days, and tolerated Lavender the same day.  But, when she went to live with Ben full time, all heck broke loose.  Lavender grew to dislike BB, and told her as much by growling at her and trying to fight.  I think this is what led BB to not like Max since he has always been submissive to her and BB associates him with Lavender.

        Over the last year and 2 months we have been steadily working on getting these guys bonded.  We have done car rides, table top sessions, switching cages, stunt doubles, and tub sessions.  We went on an 8 hour car ride (one way) and stayed in a hotel for a few days; they only made it an hour at the hotel before they started to fight.  We went on another trip (13 hours one way) and stayed in a hotel for a few days; they made it 2 hours before fighting.  At least we got to go hiking a little during these trips.  While we were at these hotels we still tried to do bonding sessions, but we could never make it very long before fighting broke out.  We even switched cages every day, and we still had a lot of territory issues.

        My husband and I are at our wits end.  These guys pee everywhere, not good since we rent.  We have also stagnated on our bonding process.  While I have seen huge leaps in progress over the last year, at the same time I don’t know what more we can do to keep the progress going.  I do see the potential for this to work as Max and Lavender are submitting to BB, and Max tolerates Ben as long as Ben doesn’t keep mounting him or harassing Lavy.  They do really great in the car, but as soon as we get to a hotel, they establish territory, even in the same pen, and it’s over.  Ben also is very high strung, even for a rabbit, and feels the need to mount everyone incessantly until someone snaps.  Even BB gets tired of him mounting during bonding and will nip him to stop.  Thankfully he doesn’t lash back at her.  Blackberry however will not take Max and Lavy’s submitting to her and keeps going after them.  She doesn’t just nip, she bites with the intent to harm (pulls out lots of fur that also takes skin with it, bites at their eyes, etc).

        The good thing is that we are moving back across the country in a few months, so what I am really trying to do here is get them on the verge of being bonded before we move.  Of course, being bonded before we move wouldn’t be bad either, but I am trying to be realistic here.

        Any ideas?


      • OreoBunny
        Participant
        14 posts Send Private Message

          I would definitely say that you shouldn’t give up. Are either of the bunnies already bonded to each other? I am a youtube fanatic and would recommend watching thebunnyshed1’s video on how to bond multiple rabbits. Just keep trying and don’t give up.


        • RetroSquid
          Participant
          257 posts Send Private Message

            Definitely don’t give up. I’ve been chipping away at this bonding session since about November, now, although it’s slow, each day brings it’s own set of rewards (And challenges).

            I think we’ve technically been trying to bond Link, our boy, off and on for over a year, now. A few health issues and hiccups along the way, but every day, there is a little more progress, for the most part.


          • NuggetBuns
            Participant
            348 posts Send Private Message

              Since you have 4 buns, can you try bonding 2 together and the other 2 together? That way you have 2 pairs that are happily bonded and then try bonding the 2 pairs together? I wasn’t sure if that’s what you were trying to do or just bonding the 4 all at once. But I agree with Oreobunny, watching bunny bonding videos help a lot. Good luck and don’t give up!

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          Forum BONDING I am starting to think bonding these buns is impossible