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2 male rabbit bonding

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Post by alannahbale Tue May 17, 2011 7:23 pm

Hello.

I am trying to bond my two male rabbits and it isn't going to well. They were best buds when they were 2 months old till about 4 months old. We got another rabbit which was there brother but they didn't bond very well and then they all started to fight.. I am not sure if it is from this or if it is from the age that they were.

We started splitting them up and now they are all on their own. We got them neutered when we could and that was in September. A few months ago we have been attempting to introduce them and today we have tried with a spray bottle, a shoe and put them on their leads.We were letting them get closer and Pumpkin looked all scared and then suddenly took a big clump of fur out of Pipkin who is the larger one of the two.

I am trying to bond them where they have never really been before as well.

I was wondering if anyone had any advice on bonding 2 male rabbits?

Thanks

Hmmm Hmmm Hmmm

alannahbale
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Post by Velvet.Tears Tue May 17, 2011 7:32 pm

I know a lot of people on here have bonded in a bathroom before they found this a good neutral environment. Someone should be along with the proper experience with this.
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Post by alannahbale Tue May 17, 2011 7:41 pm

OK thanks Very Happy

I will try that but my rabbits are outdoors so I will see if I can do this!!

Very Happy Happy Dance Very Happy

Does anyone know how to prevent them ripping out each others fur, biting, attacking though? I only know that a spray bottle with water in it and spray at their face as well as separating them with a shoe or a broom..

confused

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Post by KatieB Tue May 17, 2011 8:59 pm

Bonding often takes time and can be a slower process with little boys.

Neutral territory is key, and the bathroom is a great idea.

Separate any fighting as soon as it starts, because they need to build trust with each other and if they are worried about being attacked they prob wont bond.

Its a good idea to cross scent too - so fuss one, and then fuss the other, you can do this when they are in their hutches too, so that they get used to each others smells.

Someone will be along soon who will have lots of good advice I am sure.

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Post by Tuckerbunnies Tue May 17, 2011 9:12 pm

I bonded two boys together once and they were brilliant and I let them out one day as always and they nearly killed each other I would never bond two males again, male and female or even two females yes, but I just don't trust bonded males left together. I'm sure it can work but when I saw my two rolling round the floor with fur flying and one had to go to the vet's with horrendous bites to his genital area....never again!

Personally I wouldn't bond two males together.


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Post by NickieM Tue May 17, 2011 10:28 pm

I have two males who live together. I originally had a male/female pair and then found a stray who I ended up keeping. Felix lived near to the pair (Wolfgang and Gloria) for about a year or so and I did try to do a threesome, but it was too ropey and I was scared of destabilising my pair who were very happy.

Wolfie was always very interested in Felix and would patrol up and down watching for him.

Eventually I lost Gloria and after a couple of weeks decided to try the boys together. I started with them in the bathroom and sat with them for about six hours. There was lots of nipping and chasing, but no real violence. It was helped by the fact that Felix is a very submissive rabbit and lets Wolfie be the boss - which is what he wanted to be. The bonding process took a weekend and they have now been together since November. They have been apart a couple of time when Felix has been ill and been indoors overnight. They have been reintroduced and just picked up where they left off.

Not all rabbits will be this settled and it does depend on their personalities. Because Felix is very submissive, this bond works really well, but with two strong personalities it wouldn't be so good. It took about a fortnight for the bond to really forge and you would have to be very very careful.
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Post by alannahbale Wed May 18, 2011 7:37 pm

Thanks so much!

I have had a good day trying to bond them today! They were right against each other by the end!

I felt so PROUD!!

Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy Very Happy

If you have any other ways to bond male rabbits easier, please post a comment!

alannahbale
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Post by KatieB Wed May 18, 2011 7:57 pm

Glad you had a good day. I dont think there is an easy way, just takes time.

Sending nose rubs to all concerned x x x
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Post by NickieM Wed May 18, 2011 11:41 pm

I did my bonding in the bathroom. I put down a couple of towels so they could grip, some food to interest them and distract them from each other a little. Made sure I was wearing gloves and had covered arms.

To begin with they were quite wary of each other. Wolfie was really dominant straight away and did lots and lots of humping with Felix being completely submissive. Wolfie controlled the area and kept Felix bottled up in a corner. Eventually, once he was happy that Felix was not a threat, he started grooming and then flopping.

When rabbits show total lack of interest in each other, it is a good sign as this means they don't regard the other as a threat to be monitored.

Felix then started to move about a bit. Wolfie would herd him back to his spot but wasn't aggressive. This behaviour lessened to the point that Felix could explore happily.

The next day I put them outside into the big run where Wolfie had lived with Gloria. I kept them in the hutch for the morning to let Felix get used to the space and then let them both out but made the space smaller. Finally, they both had the full space. Wolfie did still do a bit of herding and for the first week kept Felix in the hutch a lot. There was nipping and a bit of chasing but it was fairly half-hearted.

Now there is only a bit of chasing at bedtime when food appears and sometimes a bit of humping in the morning. Wolfie tends to do a lot of the grooming and occasionally Felix reciprocates.
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Post by alannahbale Sat May 21, 2011 8:28 am

That's good that they get along so well at times!

Are they still good pals today?

Yesterday was the 3rd day of bonding my two male rabbits and it seems to be going very well!

Does anyone know how long it took them to bond their two male rabbits?

Thanks for all the previous comments! Very Happy

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