Wolfie just bit me!!!!

I had just been over to speak to Felix and gave him a bit of a stroke. He loves having the bit just behind his ears rubbed and closes his eyes and looks really comfy. Stupidly, I then went over to the other two. Wolfie came bounding up and started to sniff my fingers then he just bit me!!! Obviously, he could smell Felix on my hands and went

Is it a good idea to let them get a smell of each other's scent to start the introduction phase, or do I risk upsetting Wolfie and Gloria and destabilising them before I am ready to introduce Felix to them?

Felix is in a hutch and they can sort of see him from part of the compound. I have noticed him watching them and them watching him. They don't seem to have changed in their behaviour to each other but I just want to check that I am not dabbling with dark forces too much.

Can't believe that little ratbag bit me! And then he wanted me to give him pellets!!

Little devil! I have never found that it makes much difference if you let them smell each other before the bonding process. See what others say. Vibes for your poorly finger x

Ouch!!

Umm I wouldn’t risk letting them get each others scent where they are before you are completely ready to start bonding properly somewhere neutral, just incase it does cause problems with Wolfie and Gloria now. How they react to each other just watching from their own spaces won’t be an indication of how they will be if you were to put Felix’s scent into Wolfie and Gloria’s part of the garden

Trip and Scarlett will lay there and watch Buu play in her run no problems, but as soon as she gets close enough that they can smell her that’s it they are ready to kill each other! So I have to bring them into the house when Buu or Beau are free ranging in the garden because if they see another bun come too close or can smell them next to their home it all kicks off. Same the other way round too, if Trip and Scarlett are free ranging I can’t have Buu or Beau outside in their hutch or run because the pair of them are straight over to have a look and when they can’t get to Buu or Beau they start on each other instead

I always sort out Trip and Scarlett first because they do start chasing each other if they can smell one of the others on me
x

becky wrote:Ouch!!

Umm I wouldn’t risk letting them get each others scent where they are before you are completely ready to start bonding properly somewhere neutral, just incase it does cause problems with Wolfie and Gloria now. How they react to each other just watching from their own spaces won’t be an indication of how they will be if you were to put Felix’s scent into Wolfie and Gloria’s part of the garden

Trip and Scarlett will lay there and watch Buu play in her run no problems, but as soon as she gets close enough that they can smell her that’s it they are ready to kill each other! So I have to bring them into the house when Buu or Beau are free ranging in the garden because if they see another bun come too close or can smell them next to their home it all kicks off. Same the other way round too, if Trip and Scarlett are free ranging I can’t have Buu or Beau outside in their hutch or run because the pair of them are straight over to have a look and when they can’t get to Buu or Beau they start on each other instead

I always sort out Trip and Scarlett first because they do start chasing each other if they can smell one of the others on me
x

That's what worried me in case they break the bond. I didn't think it through at all. Will have to be so much more careful. Poor Felix though. He isn't neutered and is a bit whiffy so maybe once he is done and his hormones settle down it will be a bit better. I had thought that Gloria would be the one to go mad, as she is the dominant bun, but she has been very passive and it is Wolfie who is being very fiesty. I wonder if the power balance is shifting, although I did see Gloria giving Wolfie a bit of a hump yesterday as if to remind him that she was really still in charge.

:lol!: Good old Gloria!I hope she threw her main around for good, diva-ish measure!

Scarlett is the dominant bun too but when Buu or Beau are too close or they can smell either one on me its always Trip that starts chasing and nipping Scarlett which then sets her off and they end up chasing each other in a little circle both trying to nip each others bums!

I wouldn’t say I am careful, it’s just easier to go to the pair first and then do the two single ones now I know that Trip doesn’t like to smell them. Once they do start with the chasing though they are easily distracted and its all forgotten about straight away. I would say though if I was to take a toy from Buu and put it in Trip and Scarlett’s hutch they would just fight until the smell was completely removed and I would probably have to remove them from the hutch until they settled down

Although Buu and Beau are fine to sit on me and have nose rubs after I have been with Trip and Scarlett and don’t seem to bothered by the smell of the others, I guess because they don’t have another bun to be dominant over but neither of them have ever shown any aggressive behaviour towards me and I do go straight from cleaning Trip and Scarlett’s tray to Buu and Beau. And Buu and Beau will happily share toys, I keep one basket of toys in the front room and which ever one of them goes in there can play with them and there is never any odd behaviour but again its probably because they are both single so their isn't a bond there to upset in the first place

I think I would just be wary of introducing even the smell of another rabbit into an area where you already have a bonded pair, you know what they can be like over their hutches. If you were going to introduce the scent of Felix I would only do it on neutral territory. I might be wrong with all this so wait and see what others say too Bonding frightens me! x

:lol!: Naughty Wolfie!

I don't have bonding experience, so can't help there I'm afraid. I'd probably go with what Becky says though - caution needed I think!