Bonding Advice Please.

Rosie and Murphy are still apart they either just sit in different corners or fight and it's really getting me down as trying to bond them is taking up precious time that we need to spend on bonding other buns, they have a perfectly spacious double hutch and play pen that stands empty as they will not go back together and we have them in 2 indoor cages in the middle of our lounge during the night and I have one in their pen one day and the other in it the next and alternative days in the bunny room. I have sat and cried as I can't understand why after being together all these years they now won't go back together yet they sit next to each other in their indoor cages. We have so much to do a day and this is causing us a big headache as it's taking so much of our time.
I want to put them in a pet carrier and take them round the block but Mike said what happens if they fight inside the pet carrier. We have tried everything.

Any advice Hoppers as I'm pulling my hair out wondering what I can do next.

Thank You

Have you tried to treat it as a bond that is being made for the very first time? You could try the carrier thing, but with Mike or you driving and the other in the back with the carrier to check for fighting. Might just be the thing they need to get the ball rolling. Sorry you're having this problem. xx

NickieM wrote:Have you tried to treat it as a bond that is being made for the very first time? You could try the carrier thing, but with Mike or you driving and the other in the back with the carrier to check for fighting. Might just be the thing they need to get the ball rolling. Sorry you're having this problem. xx

We are going to have to do that because I just don't know what else we can do as we have other buns to see to. This has been going on since before Christmas

Honestly nothing is going right at the moment

I would pick a warmish day. Put them together in a box that fits them both in snugly and take them for a drive. When you return put them in a completely new place to them - the boarding shed perhaps? - and see how they get on. As Nickie said I think you need to treat this like a first time bond.

I've got nothing to add but just wanted to give you a massive

I hope they sort themselves out soon

Will they not even tolerate each other in the bath?

Im sure you know more about bonding than I do, but don't give them lots of room to start with. If the area you bond them in is big enough for them both to claim "territory" they will take longer to bond.

Humum says:

The pet carrier thing is what I would try next - I've never known buns to fight, or even squabble, when they are under the stress of a car journey.

I'd also consider adding a third bun to the area I was trying to bond them in, to give them something else to think about. It'd have to be quite a robust bunny (in our case I would use our Rosie as she won't attack without provocation but won't stand for any nonsense either). It might seem a bit of a mean thing to do, but under the right supervision there is no reason that any of them would be at an increased risk of injury and a no-nonsense dominant bun might make them realise that each other aren't so bad after all

Sparky wrote:Humum says:

The pet carrier thing is what I would try next - I've never known buns to fight, or even squabble, when they are under the stress of a car journey.

I'd also consider adding a third bun to the area I was trying to bond them in, to give them something else to think about. It'd have to be quite a robust bunny (in our case I would use our Rosie as she won't attack without provocation but won't stand for any nonsense either). It might seem a bit of a mean thing to do, but under the right supervision there is no reason that any of them would be at an increased risk of injury and a no-nonsense dominant bun might make them realise that each other aren't so bad after all

I don't think I would add a third bun as Rosie and Murphy are bad as it is and I think a third bun would make Murphy worse but we shall try the pet carrier, we have used this before on Gypsy and Rosie as Rosie was originally going to be bond with Gypsy but he just was so aggressive with her and even attacked her in the pet carrier. It could only happen to us

Thanks everyone for your advice and the hug Carla...I needed that

FarplaceRescue wrote:Im sure you know more about bonding than I do, but don't give them lots of room to start with. If the area you bond them in is big enough for them both to claim "territory" they will take longer to bond.

We have given them a small bonding space and a bigger bonding space with no joy , I feel like screaming
we have had to split them up again tonight due to fighting and fur flying

Have you got anywhere totally neutral for them? If you trust me enough, I can try to bond them here??????

But I know my set-ups are not nearly as good as yours.


At least it will be neutral...........


EDIT: could it be that they are picking up on your emotions?

I hope you get this sorted soon Maysie

I know you don't need me to tell you this but anyway.... try not to get too stressed as they will pick up on it.

Nice.


Calm.


Breezy.


Happy.


Thoughts.

x

I was just thinking about this in the bath (), is it Murphy attacking Rosie, Rosie attacking Murphy or a combination of both? I was just wondering, if it's still Murphy attacking Rosie like he did after her op because of the smell, whether you could give her a wash to try and confuse him again. I obviously have no experience of bonding bunnies, and have no idea if that is a stupid idea, but was just something that came to my mind. I was sort of thinking bunny shampoo, not a full bath or anything as I know they don't like that much (although my old albino dwarf did - good job seeing as how dirty he got) but just enough to take off any lingering weird smell that might be freaking Murphy out.

FarplaceRescue wrote:Have you got anywhere totally neutral for them? If you trust me enough, I can try to bond them here??????

The same offer applies from us. It must be so frustrating for you, Maysie

FarplaceRescue wrote:Have you got anywhere totally neutral for them? If you trust me enough, I can try to bond them here??????

But I know my set-ups are not nearly as good as yours.


At least it will be neutral...........


EDIT: could it be that they are picking up on your emotions?

Yes we have somewhere totally neutral for them they are not picking up on my emotions as Mike does the bonding as I get upset when they fight. Thanks for the offer Jan but we have to try and bond them ourselves we just have to get them together. These are the worse pair we have ever tried to bond. Murphy is the problem not Rosie as she is all for being friends with him he seem's to have got more aggressive since they have been apart.

What about lavender oil or similar on both bunnies?

icedancer wrote:I was just thinking about this in the bath (), is it Murphy attacking Rosie, Rosie attacking Murphy or a combination of both? I was just wondering, if it's still Murphy attacking Rosie like he did after her op because of the smell, whether you could give her a wash to try and confuse him again. I obviously have no experience of bonding bunnies, and have no idea if that is a stupid idea, but was just something that came to my mind. I was sort of thinking bunny shampoo, not a full bath or anything as I know they don't like that much (although my old albino dwarf did - good job seeing as how dirty he got) but just enough to take off any lingering weird smell that might be freaking Murphy out.

Rosie should be smelling like Rosie now and not her Op as that was well before Christmas, when they are in the indoor cages next to each other in the lounge they sit near each other and Murphy sit's and stares at her and they seem to love one another , but put them together and it's almost as if they are scared of each other and Rosie will try to wash him and he will just attack her and he pulls her fur out.

FarplaceRescue wrote:What about lavender oil or similar on both bunnies?

We find that rabbits have been worse with lavender oil as they just don't smell like bunnies at all and so fight straight away.

Sparky wrote:

FarplaceRescue wrote:Have you got anywhere totally neutral for them? If you trust me enough, I can try to bond them here??????

The same offer applies from us. It must be so frustrating for you, Maysie

Thanks so much, but we will get them together in the end if it kills us it's just getting the time to bond them along with everything else that we have to do

I really don't know what I'd do with you all

I think the fact that they have always been so in love and snuggled together every night and now seem to hate each other is so upsetting

He's being a right stubborn little monkey isn't he.

What are they like if they are both in the run, but with a partition? Do they just sit there again or do they try and get to each other?

I guess as a last resort it could be to try and see if they would both bond with a different bunny, which I know isn't a solution as such but it might give you some of your sanity back if it worked.

Sorry Maysie, im not sure what to suggest, but was going to say the same as Far Place.

Im also happy to attempt to bond them for you, if you trust me enough, but it sounds like you want to do it yourself.

How bad does it get? Mine will still fur pull from time to time, but on the whole they get on quite happily. I dont know how Mike bonds them, but i find things went better when i watched them from a safe distance of a couple of metres away. Not too close that they felt i was hovering around but not too far away that i couldnt get to them in an emergency. I think the less i intefered with them the better and would have only intefered if they locked on to eachother. In which case it would be a towel, thick gloves and a sweeping brush job to seperate them. But it never got that far. If chasing or serious fur pulling started i would distract them straight away with extra hay/a scatter of pellets/treats/veg.

The only other thing i can think of is that you have a lot of bunnies around. Could this be causing a problem?

icedancer wrote:He's being a right stubborn little monkey isn't he.

What are they like if they are both in the run, but with a partition? Do they just sit there again or do they try and get to each other?

I guess as a last resort it could be to try and see if they would both bond with a different bunny, which I know isn't a solution as such but it might give you some of your sanity back if it worked.

This is the problem there isn't really enough room to put a petition down the middle of their play pen so during the day Rosie will go in the play pen and Murphy the bunny room ( this is like a kitchen at the end of our garage with units in and a sink where we groom and check the rabbits) then the following day Rosie will go in the bunny room and Murphy the play pen.
I wonder if this could be the problem they are not together or can see each other when they are out of their indoor cages I don't really want them to go with another bunny they have always been together.

marleyNfriends wrote:Sorry Maysie, im not sure what to suggest, but was going to say the same as Far Place.

Im also happy to attempt to bond them for you, if you trust me enough, but it sounds like you want to do it yourself.

How bad does it get? Mine will still fur pull from time to time, but on the whole they get on quite happily. I dont know how Mike bonds them, but i find things went better when i watched them from a safe distance of a couple of metres away. Not too close that they felt i was hovering around but not too far away that i couldnt get to them in an emergency. I think the less i intefered with them the better and would have only intefered if they locked on to eachother. In which case it would be a towel, thick gloves and a sweeping brush job to seperate them. But it never got that far. If chasing or serious fur pulling started i would distract them straight away with extra hay/a scatter of pellets/treats/veg.

The only other thing i can think of is that you have a lot of bunnies around. Could this be causing a problem?

I feel that if we don't get them bonded we have let ourselves down, we should be able to do this we have done it before, we had the same problems with Ruby and Charlie but got them back together, but these two are just hard work as they spend ages just looking at each other before Murphy will attack her and he has bitten Mike he hasn't me yet.

Thank You for the offer Sophia

I think the divorce has been finalised Maysie.

Maybe seperate completely for a while. Part them with no chance of catching even a glimpse of each other. Give it some time... maybe even a couple of months and then try like a first time bonding.

Let that lil s*d Murphy find out what he's missing. And give poor Rosie a rest from his nonsense. Give you and Mike a rest too.