New playmate for Lucky - Paw Talk

Luckybunny · #1 10-22-2007, 11:13 PM

We recently got a playmate for Lucky. We believe the new addition is a female...7 weeks old. We have had the buns side by side in separate cages for two weeks on Friday. We will probably try introducing them in neutral territory in a few days. Do older rabbits readily accept younger ones? Lucky is three years old and I am worried that because he is so much larger than Molly that she will get hurt. Any advice would be appreciated.

**Sasami** · #2 10-22-2007, 11:44 PM

Has Lucky been neutered?

It really varies a lot between rabbits but I'd say you don't have much to worry about. Since she's so young he shouldn't see her as much of a threat. I've never had any problems introducing rabbits as young as that myself.

I would put some food out during introductions...it can be a good distraction, hehe. It'll also bring them close together even if they don't notice.

Thumperina · #3 10-23-2007, 01:21 AM

aww can we see pictures of her?

lucky will probably do nothing, if you know his personality well and he doesn't do nothing while their cages a next to each other they should be fine. but slowly introduce them, little by little.

Luckybunny · #4 10-23-2007, 07:18 PM

Lucky has been neutered. He has been very gentle with us. I was also wondering if the bonding goes well now...could it change once her hormones start to kick in? We were also planning on having her spayed when she is the right age. Does anyone know what signs of aggression to watch for during the bonding process with lop rabbits. I have read tail up and ears back. Does that apply to lops as well?

kathydip · #5 10-24-2007, 07:36 PM

My guess is that it could change when her hormones kick in but since she is a girl it may not. Was Lucky neutered at a young age? Teddy still "courts" the other bunnies whenever he gets a chance because he was full grown when he was neutered so he knows what to do.
When I bond the buns I can sometimes tell they are about to nip by their body language. I cannot say exactly what it is but I bet you will recognize it as well. Also, don't let one chase the other. I had read chasing was alright but when I went to the House Rabbit Society for pointers she said chasing can become aggressive quickly. It's best to keep them in a small area and stay with them at all times. I had used a water bottle when one bun would nip another but the House Rabbit lady just gently pushed the aggressive rabbits head down slightly. Just enough to catch their attention and take it away from being aggressive. She sort of covered their eyes when she did it so the bunny could not see the other bunny.
And I don't know about lop ears ear positions. I wanted a lop ear but I ended up with all straight ears!
From what I hear it's always easiest to let your bunny choose his own new friend. Of course I didn't do that but when we were at house rabbit I saw a girl bunny who was brought in to find a new friend. Before they left she was grooming the face of her brand new friend. I told my guys that is what they are supposed to do - but they didn't listen.

Luckybunny · #6 10-24-2007, 08:50 PM

Lucky was neutered at the appropriate age 4-5 months. I don't know why I am so nervous about bonding them...I'm sure everything will go well. Should this bonding time be their playtime and should it be done daily or wait for a few days between each session? By the way...I will try to post pictures soon...of course I will need help to do it.

**Dragonrain** · #7 10-24-2007, 09:31 PM

Bonding sessions daily are best - it's good to let them be together for at least 10 minutes a day so they can get use to each other. Try not to worry too much! I was really worried when I was bonding my two bunnies, I had heard so many horror stories I was prepared for the worst. But it went really well and I was worried for nothing. Also, it sounds like you have a male and a female, and if that's the case, you're in luck, because male - female pairs are usually the easiest to bond!

litlebunnies2 · #8 10-26-2007, 02:42 PM

I bonded my bunnies in the bathtub, It was a neutral place and a place I could keep a close eye on them while they were interacting. I was lucky they bonded very easily and were TOTALLY bonded until my little girl went to the bridge last year

Cazsamps · #9 10-26-2007, 03:18 PM

I was super lucky with my boys when i bonded them! I had them in a cage next to eachother for a few hours and they were chattering away and so i gave them a date in the bath as its neutral territory and they had a bit of a spat so i separated them and left them in cages in front of eachother and left them for another couple hours then tried again and they had a half hour date with no problems and plenty of grooming lol so i put them in the run together to play and they got on swimmingly SO i let them play until bedtime and put them in separate cages facing eachother and the next day put them together again and thats how they have stayed since! They went into the same hutch on day 2 and havent ben separated since BUT beware! It doesnt happen this way all the time my boys were both babies which probably helped but they will be neutered next month because they are getting to the age that they may start to fight due to hormones!!!

Luckybunny · #10 10-27-2007, 11:30 AM

Hey everyone...We made our first attempt last night. There were no fights but Lucky looked scared. I think because Lucky cannot walk on any other surface but carpet had a lot to do with it. We did put out a towel so he had some stability and the little one was the one who always went up to him. Several times she looked like she was trying to crawl under his belly, chin, and rump. What would that be all about? At one point she was licking his head by his ears. Once she started getting too hyper after about 15 minutes we stopped the session. Lucky looked somewhat aggitated.

**Sasami** · #11 10-28-2007, 01:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luckybunny


	Hey everyone...We made our first attempt last night. There were no fights but Lucky looked scared. I think because Lucky cannot walk on any other surface but carpet had a lot to do with it. We did put out a towel so he had some stability and the little one was the one who always went up to him. Several times she looked like she was trying to crawl under his belly, chin, and rump. What would that be all about? At one point she was licking his head by his ears. Once she started getting too hyper after about 15 minutes we stopped the session. Lucky looked somewhat aggitated.

She was probably trying to get him to groom her

.

I'm glad it went so well! I'm sure Lucky will warm up to her soon.

**Dragonrain** · #12 10-28-2007, 10:55 AM

Grooming is a really good sign - when one rabbit puts it's head down near the ground in front of the other, it usually means they are asking to be groomed. Just like how when you pet your bunny (or at least this happens when I pet my boys) they'll lay their head down on the ground.

I would continue the bonding sessions as often as you can, because with them not fighting, and already grooming, they might bond pretty fast as long as you keep working with them. The new bunny probably recently was with other bunnies before you got her, while Lucky probably hasen't seen other bunnies for awhile so he's not use to it.

If you have another room to use as a neutral place, then you don't have to bond them in the bathtub. I bonded my two rabbits in a spare room that neither of them have ever been in before. I really liked bonding them in a room because, unlike in the bathtub, if one of them wants to run off and get some alone time for awhile they can. Also in the room, they can go up and see each other on their own terms, instead of being forced to be together. Nothings wrong with bonding them in the tub, a lot of people do it, but if Lucky is looking nervous and can't walk in there you might want to try somewhere else.

Luckybunny · #13 10-28-2007, 05:13 PM

Lucky would not come out of his cage last night for another session. He could sense something was up so we tried again this morning. We have been bonding in the laundry room so there is room for my girls and I to be there too. Today Lucky did venture over to her and hunched down. Molly seems so hyper so he doesn't relax much. They were grooming themselves a couple of times during...so that seemed positive. Molly gets to digging and biting the towel so when she gets close to him I worry that she is will nip at him. There has been no mounting...not sure if Lucky even knows about it. Does it take long to figure out which one is dominant...because I can't tell yet..unless her trying to get under him is an indication. A few times they looked like they could nip each other so I put my hand on their heads after separating them slightly. I have been using my large oven mits for protection...that alone probably scares them.

MeggieQC · #14 10-29-2007, 09:45 AM

try putting a little jelly on their foreheads. That's how I got my bunnies to groom each other for the first time. Mine took forever to bond. I remember driving them around in my car every other day so they would be scared and bond. I think it took me like 2-3 months!!

Luckybunny · #15 10-30-2007, 07:19 PM

Here are some photo's of our bonding process. After the pics were taken things got a little tense for a few moments. Molly was wanting some grooming done but Lucky wasn't doing it. By the way...Molly is the white one.