I just made an appointment to have Digby meet some eligible bachelorettes on Sunday

Does anyone have any advice for these first meetings? We're bringing him to a bunny foster home (part of the House Rabbit Network) here in Massachusetts, which has 5 females.

Wonderful! Goodluck! I wish your webcam coverage extended to the foster home!

We just got back from the foster home, and Digby has a new little friend!  A grey dwarf bunny named Yoshi was very friendly to him, and started grooming Digby right away!

We tried a couple other rabbits first.  There was Rosie, a dark grey female with a white nose, who is very friendly with humans, but was a bit too aggressive for poor Digby. As soon as she got a bite of his fur (but fortunately no real damage), we knew the date was over.

Next was Truffle, a beautifule black bunny with a brown trim (looked like a Britannia Petite, but was almost twice the size). They did fairly well together, and she did groom Digby a little once or twice. Unfortunately I think he was still a little gunshy from his encounter with Rosie.

After that, we introduced him to the funniest Angora, who looked almost like a Koala with big ears. They were fine together, but no sparks.

Finally, we brought in Yoshi, who went right up to Digby and licked his ears. After a couple minutes, Digby came out of his shell a little, and after a bit of mutual sniffing, tried to mount Yoshi to let him know who was the boss. They ate a little snack together, did some more grooming, and we decided to give it a shot.

We had an uneventful car ride home with the two of them snuggled together in one carrier. We did a little bonding session in the bathroom (while I scrambled to finish setting up the second cage). Now the two of them are settling into their new homes. Digby is in the new cage tonight, and Yoshi's in his old cage. I'm planning on switching them each day.

I'll try to get some pictures of Yoshi soon - wish them both luck!

Huge thanks to Suzanne from the House Rabbit Network - she was very helpful and knowledgable. She even weighed Digby (he's 6lbs - and she thinks he might still be growing!)  She also gave us some tips for picking him up. We had been having trouble with that, but today I had him scooped up, on his back in my arms, and he barely even fidgeted.

I love these bunnies. I can't believe how well the bonding is going!

They had another session on the bathroom floor this morning. After they sniffed each other a little, I put some greens on the floor for them to share. Digby, being the piggy little bun he is, started chowing down right away. Yoshi was a little hesitant, but he did eat a couple bites. Amazingly though, Digby didn't even eat everything before he started sniffing Yoshi again. He tried mounting Yoshi a couple times (very gently), but I quickly brushed him off. The thing that really got to me was that Digby was honking every time Yoshi was nearby.

This went on for about half an hour. Sometimes Digby would chase Yoshi a little, and when he realized I wouldn't let him mount Yoshi, he would groom Yoshi's back a little. I got the two of them lying side by side, and gave them some nose rubs. Then, Digby completely flopped over next to Yoshi - I was so happy! When Yoshi realized that Digby was finally relaxing, he started grooming Digby's ears. He dove right in there (which was hilarious - Yoshi's entire face fits in Digby's ear). Unfortunately I think Digby might be a little ticklish in there, as he started flipping his ears after a couple seconds.

I can't wait until Yoshi feels a little more at home - he's so submissive around Digby. I'm giving him some solo exercise time right now, and I've seen several binkies, which is great.

Good to know, thanks Beka. There was a little face mounting, but I'll be leave them alone for a bit otherwise.

Well, wouldn't you know it... we did another bonding session tonight and Yoshi mounted Digby this time. Is it a problem if they both mount each other - will they be competing for dominance?

The session still went really well - they both seemed to be grooming each other equally.

I think I made a rookie mistake this morning - things were going so well with Digby and Yoshi that I decided to try putting them both in their "exercise room" together. I did put a barrier up so it was about one third its normal size (about 6x8 ft).  It wasn't terrible, but there was a lot more chasing and mounting (from both, although poor little Yoshi wasn't very sucessful), with much less grooming.

So tonight, we put them in the bathroom again, and walled off the area behind the toilet so they wouldn't run and chase and hide back there. They were great - even better than last night. They both groomed each other, although Yoshi did most of it.  We put some greens on the floor for them, and they both chowed down this time - I think Yoshi is becoming much more comfortable around Digby. They both did a little self grooming after the meal, and then snuggled up next to each other. I gave them some nose rubs, and the both seemed incredibly content.

We now have their cages next to each other - they used to be about 5 feet away. Yoshi currently looks like he's teaching Digby about the joys of ripping up paper

Yeah, we've been switching the cages each day since Yoshi came home, and last night we put the cages next to each other.

We had another bonding session in the bathroom this morning that went very well. Digby is more successful at mounting because of the size difference, but they both try every now and then.

Today was a big day for our buns - starting with a trip to the vet. They both did very well in the carrier together, and also when I put them in the bathroom after we got home.

Tonight, we set up an xpen in the living room and had the buns in there for about 3 hours. Digby mounted Yoshi near the begining of the session, which Yoshi usually tolerates. They were doing very well until the end - plenty of grooming and snuggling. They also shared a litter box for the first time. However, at the end Yoshi became determined to mount Digby. He always tries to mount Digby from the side since he's smaller - which results in the two of them spinning around in a circle as Digby turns around to see what's going on.

I placed them next to each other and gave them some nose rubs, but a couple minutes later they started again, so I repeated the nose rubs and put them in their cages. I did notice a couple small tufts of fur on the ground, which I think are from Yoshi trying to keep Digby in place.

Until now I've been giving Digby some solo exercise time before the sessions since he's usually a little pushier and more active (Yoshi has his solo exercise time afterwards). I think I'm going to have to give them both exercise time before the sessions though.

Actually, I think we may have moved beyond the need for the xpen. I put the xpen in their playroom this morning, and they were doing very well for about 2 hours. They did seem a little restless - they weren't annoying each other, but I think because they knew they were in their playroom, they wanted to be able to run around freely. I crossed my fingers and let them out, and they were great. They ran around together, did some binkies, and when they got tired they snuggled up in a corner of the room. I also let them explore both cages together when it was time for their midday nap. I let them into the playroom together again tonight, and they're still doing really well. I definitely haven't seen Yoshi do this many binkies before. It's great to see them running around freely together. If they continue to do this well, I think I'm going to try having them share a cage in a couple days.

I didn't think to set up the webcam where we've been bonding them. It's possible if I hook it up to my laptop. I'm not sure how useful it would be since they're so close, but I could give it a shot. I'll try to upload some of the videos I've taken with my digital camera.

Sigh... I thought they were pretty much bonded.

We had their cages next to each other and were switching them each day. They've been having shared exercise time for the past couple days - 2-4 hours at a time, twice a day. They were doing great - no signs of aggression, not even any humping. They were even snuggling and grooming each other every now and then.

I spent a couple hours today breaking down the temporary NIC cage, cleaning everything, and building an enclosed pen around the large dog cage we have. I put Digby and Yoshi in there together, and they seemed fine for about 2 hours. Just as we were getting ready to go to bed, my girlfriend heard them scuffling. She came in and saw the 2 of them fighting in the litterbox. By the time I got there they were inside the dog cage. I separated them twice, putting them in different parts of their new home, but they seemed intent on finishing the fight.

Right now, Digby is in the new space, and Yoshi is in an xpen in their exercise room. I guess tomorrow I'll go back to stress bonding them - car/washing machine rides followed by some time in the xpen, and if they do well there, rides followed by time in the new enclosure.

Any suggestions/insight would be greatly appreciated.

I think one mistake I made was only putting one litterbox in there. It's big enough for both, and I've seen them use it together before, but that seems to be where the fight started. It's also possible that they may have been munching on the same piece of hay, as I've also seen that, but it didn't result in a fight last time.

One thing I'm concerned about is if I leave Digby in the new enclosure overnight, he'll claim that space as his own. Should I try putting both of them in the xpen? I can stay up pretty late to supervise them. I think tomorrow I'll take the dog cage out of the enclosure, and create the xpen with the L-shaped divider that MarkusDark mentioned in another thread.

It looks like this may take some time.

I have the two of them in the xpen with an L-shaped divider. I tried leaving one end of the divider open, but they keep getting into scuffles. Fortunately neither of them appear to be injured, but they were going at it pretty hard, and there were several tufts of fur flying.

This morning I tried the washing machine ride for the first time. They were fine in the laundry basket together, and definitely snuggled up next to each other, although there was no grooming or anything. I put them back in the xpen afterwards with the divider open and gave them a little bit of greens, but Digby was the only one who ate. A couple minutes later, they started fighting again. It looks like Yoshi is starting things by nipping Digby on the side. I separated them for a minute, but they started up again before too long.

They're still in the xpen, but the divider is connected to both sides again. It has two sides of NIC grids so they can't nip each other through it very easily. I've attached a pic of the setup below.

I'm really worried - I'm not sure exactly what started this feud, but they've never fought like this before. Should I just go back to square one, or should I try keeping them in the xpen together until they "make up"? Does anyone have experience with bonding bunnies who were doing great, and then took a serious step backwards?

I do have a spray bottle that I've tried, although I think I might have to get one that has more of a "stream" than a spray. It sometimes works if I catch one of them being aggressive before they really start fighting. Other than that, I've been using a piece of cardboard to separate them when necessary. I'll look around and see if I can find a laundry basket or something like it that's the right size (the one I used this morning is too big).

The xpen is in their "exercise room", which they've been roaming freely a couple hours at a time, twice a day for the past 4 days. Granted, Digby was there first, but they were doing so well in there together before. I'll see if I can find some old sheets to block the view.

Should I start giving them solo exercise time again, until they can do well together in an undivided space?