Switching spaces?

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This topic has 2sd replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 7 years, 9 months ago by Dee.

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- 07/20/2016 at 11:31 PM
  Dee
  Participant
  704 posts
  Hi All,
  I just want opinions on whether switching bunnies into each others spaces- specifically my two who are not bonded yet but hopefully will be soon. My male, Lukie, has had the run of the downstairs until we adopted our female, Precious. She has been in the kitchen since we adopted her, so she probably considers that her territory. The two are fine in the laundry basket together, but cannot be allowed to access each other at all through the kitchen gate because they become aggressive. I’m thinking this is due to them each guarding their respective spaces. My hope is that both bunnies swapping spaces will make the whole place smell and feel the same to them, rather than like separate territories. My fear is that each bunny will end up thinking the whole place belongs to them!
  
  Any thoughts on this would be very helpful!
- 07/22/2016 at 2:18 AM
  BinkyBunny
  Moderator
  8776 posts
  Switching spaces is recommended to get other bunnies used to each other’s scent, but more so for confined space- like switching pens. You can try and see if they helps diffuse the territorial issues a bit. (but be ready for some serious marking – poo land mines for a while). If it doesn’t diffuse it then you may need to just do the neutral territory and stress bonding first and then when they settle down there, you can do the switcharoos as they hopefully will have less aggression by then. Have you checked out the bonding section of this site yet?
- 07/23/2016 at 5:27 PM
  Dee
  Participant
  704 posts
  Hi BB ☺. I’ve spent quite a lot of time reading the bonding forum- it’s great to learn about other people’s experiences with their bunnies and I also learn a lot of tactics to try.
  
  The main problems now are that Lukie, my male bunny, is so dramatic about being picked up and taken to the bonding area. He hides from me and refuses to come out even for treats and basically makes me feel awful for daring to violate his freedom and dignity.
  
  The other issue is that I am the biggest wimp about bonding. I’m so afraid that they will really hurt each other. Last year my lop, Nelli, got in a brief fight with Lukie and he scratched her belly- I had to take her to the emergency vets and she needed stitches! Ever since then, I’m just so hyper vigilant about any negative interactions that I don’t think I give them a chance to work anything out. Plus I’m sure my rabbits can feel my tension!
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