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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 Advice on Bonding Steps

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    • Lolitaluka
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        Hi everyone. I have been reading this forum for a while and it has given me some good tips on bonding that I have used! I just joined because I want some guidance on taking the next step of putting the two bunnies in the same cage.

        I have Chewy who is a male and is about a year and half old. He is fixed. He has been with us his entire life. He really has never been around another bunny. When we got him he was the only one there. He loves to be with the family and free roams in our house when we are home. But he is SO bored during the day. So we decided to get him a friend. It took us a LONG time to find one. We ended up getting a girl named Princess last week from the Humane Society. They were not sure of her age but she looks to be a year or younger. She was a stray so not a lot of info on her. She is so sweet and completely tame. She is spayed.

        So this is what we have done for bonding and where we are at.

        When I brought Princess home we put her in a cage next to Chewy where they could see each other. Chewy FROOZE for about an hour. When he finally got up and moved he and Princess both laid down next to each other – with the cage walls in between them.  About a couple of hours later I decided to see how they would do meeting without cage walls. So I put them both in the tub. Princess pretty much just aid under Chewy and Chewy just sat there. No aggressive behavior AT ALL. We did that for about an hour. The next day we put them in the tub again. This time Chewy did mount her a few times. No aggression from either one. Princess would lay next to him or under him. Then we took them out of the tub and put them on the bathroom floor. They ran around a little. Ate some food together. Then Chewy would try to mount her several times. She honked and he left her alone. He would keep coming up, she would honk, he would stop. She did lay down for a while. After this we did a few more sessions in the tub. They have started grooming each other and Chewy ahs slowed down a little with the mounting. Pretty much does it every time they are together. Sometimes she will run, he will chase, she will stop and then he will stop. No aggression. We then put Princess in Chewy’s cage and Chewy in Princess’s cage. Chewy could see her in his cage. Both bunnies seemed fine with it.

        For the past few days we have been putting the bunnies together in one of the rooms upstairs that Chewy free roams in. This was the first space that Princess has been in that is not neutral. Both bunnies did fine, no aggression at all. Princess ran around a lot doing Binkey’s (Chewy usually does but has not since he seems to just watch her a lot. Princess is much more agile than Chewy and jumped up on things that Chewy couldn’t. They ran around a LOT together. Princess did the bunny flop next to him a few times. Of COURSE Chewy wouldn’t just let her lay there.

        My question is when can I put them in the same cage? I think the only thing I am concerned about is that Chewy seems obsessed with Princess and I think she might get annoyed at some point here. But every time he comes over to her she gets super submissive. But if he mounts her to much she runs off. Don’t know what she says to him but he leaves her alone – for like a minute and then starts up again.

        Any advice would be appreciated.

        Thanks!


      • sarahthegemini
        Participant
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          In my opinion you shouldn’t even be thinking about putting them in the same cage at the moment. You should have let Princess settle into her new home before you started bonding. It’s very possible that once she’s settled, she might fight back. Her submissiveness could be due to fear of new environment.


        • Lolitaluka
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            Thanks for the reply! There is so much information on bunny bonding out there, sometimes it is better to talk to people that have done it. I have only tried once before about 10 years ago to my female rex. That did not work out at all! Anyway, I don’t think I was too clear when I said that Princess gets super submissive every time he comes over, I meant when he mounts. Chewy is around her the whole time and she isn’t submissive. It seems that when he first mounts her, she submits. Like she takes this pose, like ok. After that she doesn’t let it happen, But he kept trying and that was worrying me. Last night we did a 2 hour bonding session in the upstairs. They did great, They have been laying together and grooming each other. Now they seem to be more playing a lot, which is cute. Chewy didn’t mount her at all, he made the moves like he was going to once and Princess got up and moved two feet and looked at him and then he came over and laid down. I don’t mind keeping them in separate cages. I just wonder when do you know for sure? I think this is where I get stuck. They are doing everything that they say bonds them but I just wonder when do you know it is okay to put them in the same cage? I worry that they will get annoyed with the roommate. RIght now their cages are next to each other so they can see each other and when I come in to take them out for bonding they get super excited.

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        Forum BONDING Advice on Bonding Steps