Bonding buns atempt 3

[BeefGir]

so, i got both buns fixed over a month ago. i kept them separated in separate rooms for a month so they did not see each other at all. then i even MOVED! brand new apartment. no smells of marked territory. brand new place, but i fear all that did not help. 

this is the 3rd attempt to bond. first was introducing them in a pretty clearly marked territory. bringing a bun into a house that has been owned by another bun for over a year.  new bun tried to establish dominance, and old bun was having none of it. we encouraged the humping, to try and get one of them to assert dominance. the new bun did it, but got rough by latching on. old bun would take it for a wile, but then would try and get away. but wile latched on, it turned into a fight, and feelings where hurt. so that was first mistake.

next time we tried putting them in the bathtub side by side and just petting both of them for 10 min and telling them they where good girls. they where relatively calm, but we still allowed the humping, which old bun did not like. it led to fights. then as time went on we tried to let them just play in the same room, and it turned into fights with chunks being torn out of each other. so i only let 1 out at a time, but when one was out, it would sit outside the others cage, and stare.

so i got them fixed. and also shampooed my rugs to get rid of all smell markers. because i was told that would help. a couple weeks after fixing, i tried reintroducing them by letting them out at the same time. immediate fight. with quarter size chunks of skin ripped off of new bun in seconds. even though there was no humping. old bun just seems to have a huge grudge. so, i separated them. no contact for a month. let the hormones get out of there system. moved. everything new. we have been moved in about 5 days, and i let old bun explore the walk in closet for about 3 min, then brought in new bun, and tried to pet them side by side, and tell them they are good girls. they did the stretch and sniff nose to nose sort of thing, like im not sure about this bun, then old bun growled and lashed out. i separated them immediately but other bun ran away and hid with someone else.

 

so, not off to a great start, and i took that as a bad omen that things would never get better. im seriously considering putting old bun up for adoption, which is sad because shes the cutest nicest baby ever when shes alone, but she just seems to have this huge grudge against new bun. and when comparing buns, new bun is far more cuddly than old bun. it goes looking for pets and play time, where as old bun mostly just investigates, but leaves everything alone.

 

so its a very hard choice. are there any more tips to try and dampen this grudge and try and work twards possibly bonding? would getting a male bun help? i dont want to get rid of my buns, but i want to put them together in this huge multi level cage im building. please help. i love them so much, but i cant keep them separate forever. 

[Gina.Jenny]

I’m currently bonding a trio, and I kept the bunnies in the same room, but in separate runs for months, until the aggression showed clear signs of giving way to curiosity. Sticking two girl buns who are effectively strangers together is unlikely to lead to a successful bonding, unless you get the rare instance where two buns just like each other from the word go. Keep them where they can see and smell each other, and communicate but not bite or fight. Let them out to play at separate times, so they learn that the house is shared space, but can’t fight over territory. Feed them in sight of each other and be prepared to have to wait weeks or months before the buns are ready to bond. Two girls tend to be the hardest bond. My girls have spent 8 months side by side and only now are they ready to start the bonding process. Adding a boy bun is likely to further complicate the bonding process, as bonding a trio is a lot more work than bonding a pair.

As regards the young one being more cuddly, that may well be more of an age thing than a personality thing, as a rule young buns are more cuddly than adult buns. Older bunnies are less likely to be rehomed by a bunny rescue than a young bun, and even if she is not openly affectionate to you, she is used to you, and would almost certainly be very distressed to find herself in a new strange place without you around.

[BeefGir]

the thing is, they had there cages next to each other for 6 months? they could see each other through the bars. i would let them out seperate, and which ever one was out would always hang around the front of the others cage and start peeing on the floor. presumably marking teritory. but it started to have a bad effect. the old bun started trying to attack the new bun when it sat outside of her cage. so old bun is in cage, new bun is sniffing around the front of the cage, and old bun would start snorting and attacking the cage. that was when i started seperating them from sight of each other. they have not been next to each other in a month. i guess its time to start trying again. i just hope fixing them stopped the peeing problem.

[Gina.Jenny]

Mine used to attack through the bars, it took months for that to stop, and months after before I felt they were ready to bond. And if yours have fought in the past, it will take longer for them to be ready to even consider being friends

[Mikey]

I think you should try the decoy tactic before putting them together again. Get two stuffed animals then put one in each cage. After 2ish weeks, take the toys out and give them to the other bun. Allow them to attack it, hump it, ect. They will be met with no aggression which is supposed to help them get over their anger. Ive read stories where the aggressive bun turned into a cuddle bun to the bun it used to attack after the owner used this tactic. Personally, i have not had this tactic work for me; my bunnies didnt care about the stuffed toys at all and ignored them the entire time

After the toy tactic is over and theyve stopped caring about the toy, put their cages next to each other again. Dont try to bond them further until they are cuddling through the cage bars, as this means they are comfortable enough to deal with one another. If you try before that, you could have another bad fight on your hands and will have to restart again

I also want to note, that you should not encourage any type of aggression. Including humping. Dont encourage it. If there is mounting, remove the top bun after 10 to 15 seconds. If the bottom bun looks upset or stressed, remove the top bun sooner

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