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Intro and Bunny Question!!
Hello everyone! I am wondering if there are any house rabbit owners on this board? I've been lurking for a bit and see tons of dogs and cats, but I haven't personally seen any outside of the traditional furry friends.
If there are any pro house bun owners, I was wondering if you had any advice for me. My husband and I are the current owners of a 6mo holland lop/dwarf mix. She is very sweet and passive when it comes to other pets like dogs/cats/our tortoise. We are taking her "speed dating" at a rabbit shelter tomorrow evening because we are hoping to rescue another one. Has anyone here had any experiences with the bonding process of two buns? I'm not sure what kind of information you may want, but I can tell you that current bun is not yet spayed - the ones she will be visiting are all spayed/neutered.
Re: Intro and Bunny Question!!
Hi,
I was a house bunny mommy for many years and I have bonded 2 rabbits together. I don't know what you have done as far as research on the subject but I did a lot of reading before I got a 2nd bunny.
First thing you need to know is do not be upset if your bunny doesn't like anyone she meets tomorrow. Sometimes it takes an extended amount of exposure to other bunnies before she will like one. If you do find one you like at first and they ignore each other completely there is a lot of hope there for a good bunny bond. As long as they are not at each other's throats then you should be able to bond them relatively easily. I have read that male/female pairings are easier but you can bond 2 males and 2 females also.
Step 1 in the bonding process is introduction. This should be done on neutral ground and always supervised especially in the beginning. Keep a squirt bottle handy if someone gets testy generally that should stop it long enough for you to remove one or the other. Step 2, is put their cages next to each other. Bonding can take a while (it took us over 2 months before I could leave them alone overnight with no incidents) so you will short term have 2 cages to clean. If the bunnies are getting along well in neutral territory and there are no next door neighbor fighting then move on to step 3. Step 3 is switching cages, meaning leave in all the toys and mostly clean bedding (I would spot clean before switching but not a total change so the scent is there). Leave them in each others cages for a while and see how they do with a strange scent. Then pick which cage you are going to make their permanent home and do test drives for a couple hrs, then overnight. If they are grooming each other it is a very good sign.
Even after they are bonded there may still be occassional squables where you may have to separate them (just remember they live together 24/7 and will drive each other nuts just like people). If the steps are taking an inordinate amount of time you may want to look into getting your bunny fixed also as it will cut out hormones (plus its better for them). Sometimes putting the bunnies in an adverse situation (something scary) together will help them cling together for comfort. Such as vacuuming or taking a car trip. If you have any more questions I'd be more than happy to give my email. I'm not on the nest/bump much anymore so I may not be able to get back right away. Just look me up at eeyoreem@yahoo.com
Thank you so much! Your advice was very helpful and had tips that I hadn't read elsewhere. I've been researching materials through house rabbit society and I have their handbook.
Thankfully we had kept our guest bedroom off limits even before we decided on a second bun so I bun-proofed it and we will use it as our neutral ground. I have now invested in a little squirt bottle as well.
I will post back tomorrow with details from tonight! Hopefully we will be able to come home with "mittens" tonight
Mittens is home! He is such a sweatheart. He's a 1.5yr old male, neutered Havana and he is a perfect example of how wonderful that breed is. My little bun is being a brat and is NOT happy to share her space. As long as they are in a neutral territory she will cuddle and nose bump - but as soon as Mittens goes near one of her "spaces" she chases him out. No violence, but still...not nice!
We have separated them for now, so only supervised visits for the next little while. Depending on how bad it gets, we may try moving the bunny condo and reintroducing both of them two it when their bond is stronger. It's actually not a huge problem for now as we're having to litter train Mittens so he's in a restricted area for now anyway.
Monty Bunbun still needs her spay, so when that happens it will help too. I'm told that unspayed females tend to be very territorial of their "nest."
Thank you again for your advice - I hope other curious readers find it helpful as well!