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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum BONDING Trying to bond again- next steps? Please help :(

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    • HulknEllie
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        Okay so, we got Hulk (our neutured 13 month old netherland dwarf) a friend (Ellie, a spayed 2 year old netherland dwarf) about 6 months ago. We tried the bonding the exact way every single website had told us to. It was an extremely slow process, and it never worked. Ellie is very aggressive towards Hulk. She is ALWAYS the one who starts the fights. At first, she let Hulk mount her. We would push him off after a few seconds, but then she decided she had had enough and she would constantly attack him. We did the stress bonding, the cage switching, the neutral area, the whole nine yards, and after a few bloody cuts and a whole lot of no sleep, we decided to back off and wait a few months.

        From the advice of our local humane society, it has been a long enough time that Hulk should be out of his “teenager” phase, and perhaps we could try bonding them again. Their cages are basically just a big bedroom in our basement, split in half with 2 fences, separated by blocks of wood at the bottom so they can’t attack through it. They have lived this way in harmony now for 2 months. 3 weeks ago, we decided to slowly start switching their stuff around (litter boxes, stuffed animals with their fur on them, food bowls, etc.). Then, we started physically switching Hulk and Ellie into each other’s cages. At first, there was SO MUCH MARKING. MARKING EVERYWHERE!! After 3 weeks, I am so happy to say that as of two nights ago, there has not been a single poop or pee outside of the litter box when they switch. This is a good sign, right?

        Today we decided to remove one of the fences for an hour, and see how they react to one another through the one single fence. At first, Ellie tried to nip Hulk through the fence. She even pulled some fur. Hulk is very interested in her and just wants to be near her all the time. After about 10 minutes, Ellie ignored Hulk and started grooming herself and eventually even laid down right beside the fence. When I came in the room to check on them after hearing no noises for about 10 minutes, they were both lying down on opposite sides of the fence! They were not touching, but they were maybe half a foot apart.

        I’m thinking this is going way better than last time, but I’m still so terrified of this that I have my reservations. What should I do next to proceed? A stress car bonding session? Neutral area again? Keep doing meetings through the fence? HELP ME MAKE THIS WORK


      • Mikey
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          The lack of marking in one anothers territory is good, but not a sign that they are bonded or willing to bond yet. Not marking any more is a sign that they are willing to share those two areas and all of the items in them, though, which is a good sign should they bond together

          I would keep with the one fence on and off for now. Only leave it at one fence instead of both fences while you are home so you can stop any fights that should start through the bars. After they cuddle more often and the nipping stops, start back in a small neutral area with very short sessions multiple times a day. Slowly increase the time per session per day as they show that they are willing to bond. If, say, at 10 minutes they start to fight without fail, do multiple 5 minute sessions instead until they learn to relax around the other bun. Use stress bonding in between as you see fit. Once they can get to one or two 5+ hour sessions per day without any aggression in the neutral area, then move onto getting them to bond in the shared room they will have. Make sure you have a lot of toys, litter boxes, water bottles/bowls, and hidey spaces for them


        • HulknEllie
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            Thank you! That was so, so helpful. I will keep trying what you’ve suggested and continue to update on the progress. 


          • Mikey
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              Not a problem! I hope it helps you and your bunnies out!


            • HulknEllie
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                Okay so! It’s been about a week of removing the one fence and monitoring them. Ellie still occasionally nips hulk or tries to box him through the fence but instead of doing it every time, she maybe does it once in an hour long session. We decided to try bonding in a neutral space today for five minutes. We set up a blanket and some hidey houses, hay and grapes and set them free. Ellie tried to nip hulk once when they were face to face. I’m finding that when they are side by side there is no issue but as soon as hulk faces her, she bites. There wasn’t a single fight so we increased the time to ten minutes and ended with a treat and petting them side by side. Should I just keep doing this for multiple intervals a day? What can I do about Ellie and her constant need to nip hulk?
                Also, I find that when I’m around Ellie is very protective. When my fiancé does the bonding, there is minimal aggression from Ellie, but the second I come in the room she wants to be pet and gets mad if hulk goes near me. What do I do about that…?


              • Mikey
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                  I would continue with how sessions are going, and upping the time a few minutes per day. Nipping seems to be her way of demanding the dominant role

                  There is a possibility that she feels a bit possessive of you, which isnt always a bad thing. When she is getting possessive of you during a bonding session, set her next to you and pet her, but give the majority of your attention to Hulk for about 30 seconds, then give her the same amount of attention after. After a minute or two of this, get up and walk to the other side of the room. If both or either fallow you, pet them equally. Any time you are with them solo/not duing a bonding session, spoil them with pets for as long as you can. It should help her feel like she isnt being replaced, and that she is still the top bun if she chooses to be


                • Hex
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                    I’ve read a few stories where bonding went significantly better when the human was removed from the equation. Essentially, you’re there to show the rabbits they can trust each other. If they feel the need to compete for you, this will get in the way of bonding them.

                    Check out these bonding techniques. She covers a lot of different techniques and doesn’t become an active participant unless she needs to break up a fight.


                  • HulknEllie
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                      So we tried some “smoosh” bonding last night, as the advice from another binky bunny member. We put a blanket up between their cages for two weeks while they had time to heal mentally from their last fight. I brought them both to a new neutral area, put them between my knees and pressed them together. I was soooo nervous because Ellie loves to bite Hulk’s face and having them right next to each other just seemed terrifying. I pet their heads for about a minute and realized I wasn’t having to redirect their heads (neither was trying to bite the other). Then Ellie placed her head under Hulk’s and I panicked a little but it seemed like Hulk was protecting her and they were stressed out. I pet them for two more minutes, then took my hands off to see what would happen. They stayed motionless and cuddled together for almost four minutes before Ellie suddenly got up and went exploring!!
                      Now what, guys?!! This is the first positive step I’ve ever had with these two. The other member suggested I keep at this, 5, 10, 15 min intervals for two weeks before playing them togrther in something like a laundry basket to see if they will fight.
                      Advice??


                    • Mikey
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                        If that is working, i would continue with it. It will help them start to see one another as comfort zones, rather than attack targets. Congrats!

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                    Forum BONDING Trying to bond again- next steps? Please help :(