Poe just wants to love her…she is playing hard to get? I’m Confused

[BazziBun]

**I apologize in advance for the long post, I’m just trying to be thorough**

I am trying to bond my two bunnies: Bubba (female) and Poe (male).

I’ve been eager to begin the bonding process but I waited until so that all the pre-requisites were met. Both are spayed and neutered, Poe is the same size as her (it took him a while to grow up), he’s calmer than when he was just a baby (although marginally) and I now have a neutral space and the time to dedicate to their bonding. 

They’s been living in adjacent enclosures for 4 months now. They can see and smell each other…and thing have been pretty calm. 

During the first few bonding sessions, which were in the bathroom and things were pretty uneventful: they kinda just looked around and ignored each other. 

After a week (also in the bathroom) Poe would hop towards Bubba and she would run away. He didn’t seem too excited and she didn’t seem too stressed but she just didn’t want to be close to him. 

This past two sessions I placed myself and both of them in a playpen (smaller than the bathroom) and things got interesting! Bubba was very demanding of my attention and kept “bumping” me asking to be pet. Poe explored the enclosure for a while and then nuzzled Bubba. He got REALLY close to her and smelled her face and then placed his head right under her chin! After a while he even stretched out with his feet to the side looking pretty happy…She didn’t seem to mind the whole thing, but as soon as I would stop petting her she would stand up and leave. 

In today’s session things were similar but my partner was in the playpen with them, not me. Poe tried to nuzzle with Bubba. He would lay next to her pushing his head into her fur trying to be as close as possible to her. Again, she didn’t seem worried, continued licking my partner’s hand (who was petting her) and she would softly grind her teeth. But then, as soon as he would stop petting her, she would jump up and leave…

We then tried to change things up and leave them in the playpen alone…Poe would try to get close and Bubba would hop away. Again, neither one seemed agitated or stressed. I gave the some greens to share and they shared nicely, but Bubba just didn’t want to be too close to Poe. 

Soo…what’s the deal? Here are my questions:

1) Poe clearly seems to be enjoying the process. I’ve actually never seen him more relaxed! He’s usually super playful…now he’s laying down, “purring” and acting all snuggly. Bubba seems okay, but just not that interested…Is she fine with it just because I’m there playing referee? Does she not like him?

2) I’ve read that there is always a “dominant” rabbit, but I can’t tell who it will be in this case. I always assumed it would be Bubba because she’s pretty confident, but in the bonding process Poe has always been the first to approach. I have also seen no sign of mounting behavior…is this normal?

3) Should I keep doing what I’ve been doing or should I change something?

Thank you!

[Mikey]

Poe pushing his head into and under her is not a cuddle or nuzzle, he is asking to be groomed by her. He is asking her if he is allowed to be the alpha. She is ignoring his request by ignoring him It sounds like she is still hoping she will get to be alone and that Poe will eventually go away or learn to stop bothering her. If she decides to bond, it sounds like she will be the dominant one given that Poe is very submissive with his actions and she is very obvious about what she does and does not want. Although he is trying to be a little pushy towards her hes not going out of his way to “demand” anything

Keep doing exactly what you are doing. Try not to change too much until Bubba acknowledges Poe. Some buns are slow to bond, which is totally normal. Go at their pace. You can try to add a bit of banana onto both of their heads, or a bit of apple juice. This will encourage them to groom one another and in turn, force Bubba to notice Poe

[BazziBun]

Thank you for your reply, Mikey!

What you said make a lot of sense. Bubba has always been very self-sufficient and confident. Although she has never been aggressive towards anybody or anything she is definitely “picky”…She is also picky about humans in fact she only acts excited when I come home from work or my partner but doesn’t show any interest when my brother shows up…Poe is just a happy go lucky kinda guy, a little aloof though. It sounds just like him to “ask for permission” to be alpha! lol 

I had another bonding session today and a similar thing happened. They were alone in the playpen. At first they ignored each other, then he got close, she sat still for a while in “loaf mode”…then she just hopped away. 

It will be interesting to see how things progress…

Question: Since Poe is very interested in Bubba…if he ever attempts to mount her, should I stop him?  

p.s. your fur babies are all pretty cute! 

[Mikey]

Then it sounds like neither should get aggressive during bonding, which is good. They might just be a bit slower when it comes to working it out since Bubba seems adorably stubborn

If he tries to mount her or she tries to mount him, only stop it if it looks like the bottom bun is getting stressed or mad. You should remove the top bunny after about 10 seconds of mounting just to make sure it wont escalate to a fight. 10 seconds is enough time to say “hey, i want to be the boss of you!” without irritating the bottom bun

ps, Thank you! :p The bunny in your picture is super cute too!

[Author]

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