Bonding woes

[Bramble and Blossom]

Hi there,

I’m really hoping that someone might have some advice for me. I have two bunnies, a neutered male and neutered female. They are from the same litter and used to be fully in love. But then one went to the vet unwell for a few days, and since he’s been back they’ve been fighting, and it’s brutal! They are now living in separate hutches, but next door to each other. Everyday I have them out to play together under supervision, and sometimes they are great, grooming each other and lying together. Then sometimes out of nowhere a horrible fight erupts. I seperate them and make sure they are ok, but they still seem to want to be together again, trying to get to each other through the playpen walls! Not in a threatening way I don’t think, it looks like they want to hang out. I am really worried that they will never be friends again, and never be able to live together. Does anyone have any experience and advice? I feel like I’ve tried everything and am pretty desperate.

Thank you!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

That’s actually pretty common and a reason many vets encourage both bonded friends to go to the vet together.
Can you house them so they can’t see each other? I feel seeing each other can make them stressed.
Then I would start bonding again from scratch, stage 1-stunt doubles-toys or towels swapped so they can get used to each others smell with no other stressful stimuli. Then car rides (with a partner to help) to start some stress bonding. Then bonding sessions in a neutral area, that’s big with lots of hiding places.

I don’t think it will take as long as a first bond, but I would go through all the steps again, and don’t progress until they are comfortable at each step.

[Bramble and Blossom]

Hi there,

Thank you so much for your reply. I’ve taken your advice and at the moment they are living in seperate rooms so they can’t see each other, and coming out for play time seperately too. I’m swapping them over so they both get used to both hutches, and rotating toys etc so they get used to the scent. How long do you think I should keep them away from each other before the car ride starts?

Thanks

[vanessa]

I’d try a week like that, then a week where they can see each other but be separated by a few feet (to reduce the stress, and start moving their cages closer until they are about 6 inches apart. Try that for a week. Then do the car rides. If seeing eachother causes issues, go back to not seeing eachother. It’s hard to say how long – I think 1 week minimum, to get over their hurt feelings.

[Bramble and Blossom]

Hello,

Thank you for this, it’s so nice to have a plan and feel like there’s some hope! I’m really grateful.

[vanessa]

It can be frustrating when bunnies un-bond. Please keep writing and let us know how it is going. I felt similar when I started bonding my 3rd pair. The first two were ridiculously easy. The third was very difficult. I stumbled across this forum while googling how to get it done. It’s nice to be able to chat real time with others about it, instead of just reading an article. There are some good journals to read in the bonding forum.

[Author]

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