Bonding
Bonding is the name humans give to theprocess of presentation of bunnies.
How do you know we are animals that like to live in company, in Nature we live in great communities with a defined hierarchical system, which shows how social animals we are and this applies also to the bunnies you have there in House.
Yes, you are much important to your bunnies and they love you a lot, but there are things you can't do that we bunnies love to do together with our friends bunnies, in addition when you are not at home or go to sleep (which is usually when we are most actives - don't you remember this part? see it here- it will be this little friend that will help us and keep entertained while you are not here, we will stay together cleaning and give each other cuddles and have new challenges.
In some parts of the world there are already places where you can do a kind of "speed date" with the bunnies, because it is, like you humans, also we have bunnies that we like best and others that we don´t like and we don't always get along with all the bunnies, I think it works the same way with you, doesn't it? Now imagine being in your home at ease, with your things and suddenly a human appears to share everything with you and a human that you don't know from nowhere, you don't know who he is, where he comes from, what would you like or what it will do to you, how did you react?
It's the same with us, we're quiet in our house with our things and suddenly you appears with a intruder! It can't be, you have to have calm.
Is very important make a correct introduction of the new bunny, do it very calmly, without pressure or stress, that's why the "speed dates" that already existi n some countries are so good is that sometimes in these meetings we even found that bunny that steals our heart and... it's so much more easy!
But there are some rules which are very important to follow in order to achieve a success Bonding. First and foremost important, being spayed/neutered, of all this is same most importantly, don't forget that spay/neutering is not just because of the babies or peeing everywhere, it is also for health reasons and behavior (if you haven't seen it yet or don't remember it, see here), and two, spayed or neutered bunnies are much easier to join and you know why? Because first there won't be babies every month afterwards because if the male is neutered and the female is not, the male will still smell the female's hormones and will want to do babies and it won't stop and the female will have phanton pregnancies (what is not good), if the female is neuter and the male is not, he will want to make babies and he will be ever trying to make babies with the female and won't leave her alone, so the only option is to both be so they're just going to cuddle each other and not think of babies.
Then bonding two bunnies from opposite sex it's much easier than with 2 bunnies of the same sex, why? We like to live with a partner from the opposite sex, do you remember saying that females are very territorial and males very possessive? That is, if you have two females, and you don't have space enough for both of them and with space I mean a lot of space, they will fight by territory and this can not end well, if you have 2 males they will always be fighting to define who´s the boss and if one of them is not really submissive, they will never accept.
It's complicated, I know! but deep down see, a male and a female complement each other, in a relationship the female takes care of the area in which live and makes them manage to have more space for them and the male keeps order and shows to the "enemy" who is in charge there.
Being bunnies more or less with the same age is also very important, don't you forget that bunnies should be spayed/neutered and if the difference of ages is too large (adult and baby), there is one of them that is not spayed/neutered and then when one achieve their sexual maturity, the bonding done so far can vanish because of hormones. Then if it's a young bunny with an older bunny, the more likely is the older bunny die sooner and that will make the younger bunny suffer a lot with this loss, so the ideal is the bunnies to be more or less the same age ( 1 or 2 years difference is not an issue.).
Having these rules into consideration and not being able to go speed dating the best is to present the candidate in a neutral space, a garden is a good example or at the house of a friend or family member, so that the two bunnies are on neutral ground, without smells, without anything belonging to anyone and without to threaten the space of none of them. no tand forget that noreverything always goes well and it is necessary to be calm and have a lot of patience.
At home, you need to prepare the space for the bunnies, while the bonding is not completely done it is very important never let them free without supervision or Never stay together in same space, the place where they are going to stay is very important, so setting up some pens in mirror it's the best solution, even if your bunnies are meant to be free around the house,at this stage is important to be confined to a space for learn living together, sharing, smelling and seeing each other.
As you already know cages are not the solution (don't you remember? See here how your bunny's space should be), set up a xpen divided in half or two fenced side by side is thebest, however be Careful, if the bunnies are very aggressive the middle grid must have 2 fingers of detachment, so that the bunnies can poke their noses but can´t bite or hurt the other bunny.
put the hay in this middle grid is very important, as it will force the bunnies to share the hay, even if separated by the grid they will watch while they eat and they will realize that they are eating from the same place, having the litter box there is also important, the smells will pass from one side to the other and they adapt to it. Bowls of water and vegetables/herbs must also be leaning against when drinking or eating. see each other, it seems that by doing this they are slowly realize that there is everything for both of them,without have to go to war or dispute the food.
The burrow and blanket can be on the opposite side but facing one to the other so that the bunnies inside it can see each other.
Example of a mirror xpen for bonding. This one is small, but it was just meant to be outdoors together for a while.
Once at Home it is very important for the bunnies to be in a neutral territory, if your bunny is free and walks through the whole house, chooses an area of the house where he does not walk much, do a good cleaning (to eliminate smells and markings of your bunny), put toys and enrichment environment so that the 2 can have a place to hide if they need to, they can play and run around at will, there is also importanta have much hay and some treats, bunnies with full bellies are more friendly than bunnies on an empty stomach.
No tand forget that not everything always goes well at first!
There are some behaviors that are to be expected, like ignoring each other, is normal, if you are put in the same room as a stranger, you will not run give hugs or kisses, right? You can look, say hello, but the most likely is to ignore each other, that's exactly what bunnies do,see each other, they can greet and then they ignore each other, they can lie down relaxed away from each other or go play each one to their own side, that's Good! It's a sign that your bunny knows there's another bunny at home but it doesn't feel threatened by him.
Then there might be some persecutions, it's very important to notice when they are normal and when they are not, in nature males like to chase females and we like to run away and make it difficult,like you, but in a more physics way,I don't think I've ever seen any woman human make one race with a human man to play difficult, you use other methods that we don't have. What I want to say is that many times they chase us to take and if we agree we let them catch us. Sometimes also we will go behind them and there's no problem at all, it's just to they don't stay too convinced, but usually it´s teh other way.
When they catch us it can happen 2 things, give us one bite lightly (nothing bad, just a "peck"), as if it were an"I got you" or try to mount and here usually a big mess starts on yours head.
The mount doens´t mean that we want to make babies or that it's only the males that do it, mounting is how we show dominance (see more here if you want), and when We started doing this we are deciding among ourselves who is going to be the boss, that is, whoever stays on top will be the one who will be in charge and the problem usually happens when both want to bethe boss. This is where you need to be Careful and see if the one whos under isn't upset and won't attack.
What you can expect from a first adventure are these behaviors, but this can quickly escalate to what a vet friend of mine calls a "fur party", which is when the two bunnies fight and it's fur for all around at this point it´s very important to intervene and break apart the bunnies before someone gets hurt.
Don´t forget that we are cute but also lethal and our little teeth are very good at to tear apart skin, plucking ears and even private parts. At these times it is very important have atowel around and grab the bunnies and break apart, (careful, do not put your hands uncovered or you will have a missing a finger), never let a fight go to the end or it will be too much difficult succeed in bonding, as soon as you separate them, inspect very well to see if there is no wounds and on that day it is best to keep them each on their own side of the xpen to calm down.
During the Bonding process, you can go changing the bunnies aside, only exchange the bunnies, keep the partner's things, so they have to use the other's things, with the smell from the other.
Is important all days released the bunnies together to strengthen ties, if they no longer attack each other, they can start sharing "free" meals, in this case the best is to put the greens and herbs spread out on the ground and let them eat at their own will, But always aware, in case one of them attacks the other or one eats more than the other, bunnies that eat togheter are more easy to accept eachother.
Even better is when we see the bunnies copy what the other does, how to lie down in the same position, this is very Good, it is a sign that they are in tune and very comfortable with the other one, good!
From here it can only go well, the next step is to see these two give binkies and making flops, this will really be the culmination of a bonding done with success, the two bunnies are happy together playing and showing how they are happy! (wait, you no longer remember what are binkies or flops? see it here).
But what you're all waiting for is, When is that finally We start kissing and grooming each other, right? This can happen at any time, a trick for even the rebels and difficult bunnies is to rub a bit of banana on the bunnies' fronthead, they don't resist to banana and without knowing it they are giving too many cuddles to the fellow! Most likely at first until it happens far from your curious eyes, but then it will start to be normal and you will start to see everytime!
As the relationship evolves, the bunnies will start to get lying down side by side in the xpen they can lay down against the midlle grid, during the time they are free they spend more timetogetherand even share their sides of the xpen with the companion, if your bunnies are free at home, it's time to start letting them free, if they are to stay in xpen during the night, you can during the day and for a few periods put the two together in the xpen (without division) and see how they behave. If all goes well, it's time to adjust everything again and set up the space for your bunnies.
Example of two bunnies with bonding done in total relaxation and lying on a mirror position
But what about when none of this works and the bunnies we have at home are authentic rivals who do not accept each other?
Well, in those cases we have to take special measures .
I don't know how it is with you, but we have trend to unite when we are in trouble, which is why oftentimes putting bunnies in situations of controlled stress helps them to let go of their rivalries aside and unite.
These methods are not very consensual, actually many of them are not accepted by many humans, but the truth is that sometimes even you humans need a good "shake" to understand some things.
The first and which usually has a rate of success even good is the carrier trip, many bunnies don't like to ride in a car or even walk inside a carrier, the noises and smells different things always cause them a lot of stress, which is very good if we want to create a stress controlled, environment put the two bunnies in the carrier and go for a walk, this common fear will calm them down. mutually and unite for protect yourself from any attack of a predator.
Other is the bathtub, placing the two bunnies in the bathtub, as it is non-stick and slips, turns out to be a very uncomfortable place for the bunnies, in addition it is a new place what causes them fear and in the face of fear they can unite. However, you have to be careful, because if even then the bunnies decide to fight, they can get hurt a lot due to the lack of adherence of the bathtub.
For those who can't go by car with the carrier, you can always put it on top of the washing machine (here it is important that the machine is not ultra Modern, which does not make noise or shake), the noise and shaking will create stress in the rabbits and fear making them unite.
No-No, this method is very used with dogs and cats but it can also be adapted to bunnies, if you get one bottle of water with the spray fill with Water and whenever a bunny attacks the other you say NO and sprinkle the bunny, believe he won't like it! be careful to not soak your bunny! When we feel the water on our fur, we will want to go clean it and we gave up of what we were going to do, besides We started to associate this discomfort with this behavior. (you can also use it when your bunnies chew cables or things that they shouldn't, in the right way, will reach a point where it's enough shake the bottle your bunny already knows he's screw up .
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Example of a No-no
Bonding process is not quick and not always easy, it can take from a week to years until the bunnies finally accept each other, so always keep this in mind and don't give up.
A lot of calm and patience are the main ingredients for a successful bonding.
