BONDING BUNNIES | Methods, Myths, + How Our Bunnies' Bond Broke

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All about bunny bonding- methods, techniques, myths, what to consider before bonding, why a bond may break, & sharing our process! We're not experts, we're just bunny parents sharing our experience with bonding Holland Lop rabbits.
Hoppy Tipsy Tuesday!
Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
00:16 - Consider this BEFORE bonding
01:19 - Bonding methods & techniques
01:32 - Pre-Bonding
02:20 - Stress bonding
03:09 - Marathon bonding AKA the Fast Track
04:01 - Bonding sessions AKA the Slow Track
05:01 - Why a bond breaks
05:22 - Update on Whiskey & Malibu
05:50 - Starting our bonding process
06:01 - Acceptable & unacceptable behaviors
07:21 - Back to bonding
09:28 - Mounting
10:33 - When to step in
11:04 - Expanding the space
11:57 - Free roaming
12:17 - Outro
Sources:
www.tokihut.com/blogs/news/ra...
www.saveabunny.org/rabbitcare/...%2
www.allearssac.org/bonding.html
smallpetselect.com/rabbit-bon...
rabbit.org/faq-bonding-multip...
0live,is%20referred%20to%20as%20bonding.
www.animalhumanesociety.org/b...
www.ohiohouserabbitrescue.org...
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Thanks for watching!
Love, Whiskey & Malibu
Music by bensound.com
Keywords:
bunny, rabbit, mini lop, holland lop, angora rabbit, lionhead rabbit, rabbit hutch, rabbit cage, baby rabbit, bunny rabbit, baby bunny, dwarf rabbit, cute bunny, dwarf bunny, holland lop bunny, lionhead bunny, bunny cage, bunny hutch, pet bunny, lop bunny, bunny house, bunnies for adoption, rabbit runs, netherlands dwarf rabbit, white bunnies

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Опубликовано:

28 июн 2024

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Комментарии : 102

@mindexercise6828 3 года назад

Thank you so much. Your voice really calm and made me to think about lennon the bunny.

@dianaf8507 3 года назад

I was thinking the same thing the whole time!

@thebunnynook 3 года назад

Aww thank you! That's so funny that you mention it.

@joannagutkowska4699 2 года назад

i just had to double check if that's not the girl from Lennon talking!

@saradesrochers8687 Год назад

@@joannagutkowska4699 wait it isn’t?

@ainsleylarson9835 Год назад

She sounds so much like Lorelei from Lennon the bunny!

@enby_trash1659 2 месяца назад

I'm taking in a rescue bunny soon and I've been worried abt the bonding process, so thank you for this video it really helps me plan

@littlekitsune1 2 года назад

I'm currently trying to bond two bunnies for the first time. I'm using a mix of bonding sessions and marathon bonding since I'm home all the time. Elowen is DEFINITELY more dominant than Thurberi, but he also asked her to groom him, so hopefully he won't just be completely bullied. XD I don't personally believe in stress bonding so I will be avoiding that, but it's still good to learn about every type of method.

@thebunnynook 9 месяцев назад

i 100% agree!

@LankNprYde 7 месяцев назад

These two were clearly meant for each other, what a beautiful bond they have! It's the most natural and sweet bond I've ever seen between bunnies. Thank you for sharing :)

@thebunnynook 7 месяцев назад

This is the sweetest message! Thank you so much 🥰♥️

@SincerelyCinnabun 3 года назад

This is awesome, thanks so much for this info!

@thebunnynook 3 года назад

Thanks CB! ☺️😉

@nabelb1208 2 года назад

Great advice, thanks!

@HappyHolyHealthyLife 3 года назад

Great video 😇💕

@thebunnynook 3 года назад

Thank you for watching! 🧡🧡

@thebunnynook 3 года назад

Did you guess correctly who would groom first? 😉♥️

@TheOtherSideof45 3 года назад

Love the cuteness counter!

@hannahkay5273 3 года назад

I just got a female to bond with my male and so far I have been bonding for 3 weeks and they love each other

@thebunnynook 2 года назад

That’s amazing! 🧡

@TheOtherSideof45 3 года назад

Wow I just filmed a Storytime about my buns bond after being spayed 3 weeks ago!

@thebunnynook 3 года назад

Oh nice! We can’t wait to watch!

@emmapierskalla7622 2 года назад

I have a 2 buns and thinking of getting another, and Darcy looks EXACTLY like Whiskey down to the tan at the neck! My other one has the opposite coloring! So pretty

@thebunnynook 2 года назад

Aww Darcy & Whiskey have one of the most common bunny coloring- chestnut! It’s so pretty 😍

@emmapierskalla7622 2 года назад

@@thebunnynook they are beautiful 😍

@lou2314 2 года назад

1000000% Lorelei!!

@giadamico4347 2 года назад

I’m bonding a spayed bunny and a bunny who isn’t neutered bc I got him from a friend and he’s too old. They both flop next to each other and groom each other. The boy doesn’t try to hump her face and I have to break it up bc she gets really angry but so far they’ve been love bugs but my female doesn’t like him in her litter box.

@katelyncole5147 3 года назад

Your babies are super cute together ♥️ I was wondering what it is that you have to keep them out from under your couch? I need to make mine like that lol!

@thebunnynook 3 года назад

It's a metal pen that we cut to the size of our couch using a hand saw :)

@kaylarosewood3762 3 года назад

Love your video. I've been pre bonding my rabbits for nearly 6 months now. They are sisters. I really want to do the marathon bond. I would only be available from Sunday afternoon till Tuesday evening as I've got to go back to work. Most of the time they mirror each others behaviours and groom each other through the pet pen. I was wondering if you would recommend marathon bonding for my bunnies? 😊

@thebunnynook 3 года назад

Hi there! You could start with some shorter sessions to see how they do at first and then make your way up to a marathon session. That might work best with your schedule 🧡🧡

@stephaniesporn2354 3 года назад

Hello, thank you for this clear and helpful video! I have a 1-year-old female Holland lop and am getting a 9-week-old female Holland lop soon. I am hoping the relationship is almost mother-daughter at the beginning, and that the hierarchy will be established quickly since one is such a baby. Luckily I can keep a close eye on them, but I would love your advice--how much chasing is normal? I assume bunnies should never break the skin when nipping? I am scared I will intervene too little or too much. Also, is the mounting behavior something to expect throughout their lives, or is it more just at the beginning when a bond is being established?

@thebunnynook 2 года назад

Congrats on your new addition! Females can tend to be very territorial so I would keep your eye on them and see how it goes. It might be best to wait until they’re both spayed & recovered if your older bun doesn’t take too kindly to the little one. Chasing in a circle, chasing with the intent to lunge, bite or box isn’t accepting. You’ll learn the difference! It’s always better to err on the side of caution and separate too much rather than not intervene and someone gets hurt. The occasional nip is ok, but not repeatedly or a bite. Mounting usually happens a lot in the beginning and then trails off. You’ll see bonded bunnies continue to mount their partners throughout their whole lives here and there.

@HephzibahBeulahMinistries Год назад

My female rabbit is the one who is dominate! At first she was running away from Noah and I really thought he was the problem but he is super sweet and a gentleman. He has refused to groom her as she keeps putting her head down. I then noticed Issachar mount Noah. Then in the face and I broke them up! They shared food, litter box, no fights but I think Issachar is frustrated because he won't groom her and being our first bunny I think she is so spoilt as she is used to be groomed all the time. Seeing how it goes as Noah is so sweet and I knew Issachar would be the dominate one It's day 1 of leaving them together in one space but they have been introduced through barriers and swapping of unwashed bowls and litter trays Let's see how tomorrow goes Looms like no sleep tonight Very helpful video - thanks you x

@thebunnynook 9 месяцев назад

rooting for you!!

@robertchu753 2 года назад

Is it easier to bond 2 bunnies if they were both young, around 8-12 weeks old? Or does the age not matter? Great video. Thank you for taking the time to provide us this information.

@thebunnynook 2 года назад

That’s a great question! In our experience, age isn’t as important as it is for both bunnies to be spayed & neutered. Bunnies who get along great at 10-12 weeks old may not when hormones start coming in later. Bunnies of any age can form a strong bond 🥰

@staceys_cottage 2 года назад

Great video! I have a 9 month old spayed female and just got an 8 week old male who will be neutered when old enough. I did introduce them briefly in a neutral area and they were ok at first but then the baby male bun mounted my female’s back end and then her face a couple of minutes later. I was about to stop him mounting her face when they broke out in a fight, which basically looked like scary bunny wrestling! I broke up their fight and quickly realized these two can’t be together perhaps until the male is neutered... is that correct? Is it normal behavior for such a young male bunny to act so aggressive towards an older spayed bunny? He is quite friendly with the hoomans and not aggressive at all. I’m hoping after he’s neutered I can try to bond them 🤞🏻🐰🐰

@leannemachorton8067 3 года назад

I have a 1.5 spayed female and a 9 week old baby male. Do you think I should keep them separated until I can get the male neutered or do you think I can start bonding them now? Was Whiskey neutered already while Malibu was not? Thanks for this video! It was really helpful and easy to follow.

@thebunnynook 3 года назад

Hi there! Congrats on your new addition! It's best to keep them separated until the male is neutered as they have a tendency to have very hormonal behavior when not neutered. Bonding with an unneutered male can be very dangerous. Whiskey was neutered & Malibu was not yet spayed. She was not a hormonal bunny thankfully and they had no problems living together before her spay. But we were prepared to separate them if needed. I hope this is helpful & thank you so much for watching!

@tinaames8781 2 года назад

Hi! Great video! Question...you mentioned both rabbits should be fixed but looks like they were bonded before your girl's spay. Not sure how long you had them before her surgery. I ask only because we have a 4 yr old fixed boy and we just got a 12 wk old girl (not fixed yet, of course) we were going to try and start the bonding process but thinking I should wait until she's fixed?? Right now we have her in a separate room in a smaller exercise pin as were trying to litter box train her (to no avail...probably because she's not fixed yet). Any advice??? Thanks so much!

@thebunnynook 2 года назад

Great question! & good observation! It’s safest to wait for both bunnies to be desexed. However, in our situation, Malibu was not hormonal at all and Whiskey was neutered so there was no risk of pregnancy so we decided to allow them to cohabitate and were prepared to separate them if any problems arose. We didn’t consider them as being truly bonded since Malibu wasn’t yet spayed. So it definitely depends on the personalities of the bunnies involved. Hope that helps! :)

@Bunnymum333 2 года назад

Mine fights through the cages, I’m thinking of stress bonding as they are both so different. They had a baby bond which broke. I neutered both and am planning to marathon & stress bond 🙏😭 one actually got bit in the gentials because of backwards mounting it was so scady

@thebunnynook 2 года назад

Oh no! Sounds like a you have a good plan to try again. Maybe a break might be good too since bunnies tend to hold on to negative experiences. ♥️

@Bunnymum333 2 года назад

@@thebunnynook decided to split them so they are separated from sight and smell! I think the break is a good idea 💜

@Shopfloorshan 2 года назад

Im planning on bonding my two desexed females, but they are mortal foes. Like they have had 4-5 major fights where I had to pull the one out of the others jaws, they attack eachother on sight without hesitation, so I’m really lost at where to start, but I really appreciate this video! Also, what breed is whisky? because my outdoor female looks just like him - my guess is she’s a lionhead x agouti due to her colouration.

@thebunnynook 9 месяцев назад

hi! i hope it all went well! Whiskey is a chesnut colored holland lop. Chesnut is one of the most popular rabbit coloring.

@Bunnn13 2 года назад

I bonded my lion head and ky flemish giant togother awhile ago but now im trying to add another bunny who is also a flemish. My new flemish is very very territorial and so is my lion head so this will be interesting

@thebunnynook 9 месяцев назад

rooting for you!

@JN-se4ok 2 месяца назад

My bunnies when bonding seem all OK until they clearly want to establish dominance. They will pit their heads together (head wars), and since neither submits, they both feel disrespected. That's when they fight. It's been very stressful and we all have taken a break, they seem to tolerate each other more and more. They can see and smell each other, but I keep them otherwise separated. We will try again soon. They unfortunately both have an attitude. One is very springy (the female) yet the male is twice her size+weight, but feels easily quickly bullied. They have groomed each other briefly, but as soon as one moves they are back on high alert. I wish I had someone to help me, because it really takes a lot out of a person 😅

@natiellejardim872 2 года назад

Thanks for the info! I have a question if one bun is mounting the other but when he nips it bothers the other bun should we try to avoid the nips? Sometimes we see some fur and we are scared he is hurting her

@thebunnynook 2 года назад

It’s normal for a bunny to bite onto the back of the other bunny when they’re mounting & you may see some fur in their mouth. As long as they’re not lunging or biting to hurt the other bunny, it would be ok.

@natiellejardim872 2 года назад

@@thebunnynook Thank you very much!

@jamesmcguinness6195 2 года назад

What is the difference between nipping and biting? Always hate when people say nipping shouldn't be stopped but biting should be stopped.

@thebunnynook 2 года назад

A bunny may nip you or another bun to get your attention for one reason or another. But a bite would be more aggressive, may pull out fur, or draw blood. So it’s important to know the difference between communication & aggression.

@oraliacolores8421 Год назад

I have 2 bunnies but I was asked if I can take in one of the lops siblings. Will 1 lionhead and 2 lops not be an ideal living arrangement?

@thebunnynook 9 месяцев назад

Hi, bunnies of any breed can live together! Trios can take a little more work to bond, but it's totally possible! Hope it all worked out

@Holymotherduck 3 года назад

I have a question i am bonding my buns for the first time and I dont know if I moved too fast? There is still a good amount of chasing and nipping, no fighting tho. They have been together for about a week now(same enclosure).

@brittanymcneely6109 3 года назад

I know some rabbits just don't like other rabbits... but if there's no fighting it may just take longer unfortunately

@thebunnynook 3 года назад

If there’s quite a bit of chasing and nipping, you could move back to the last step when there was no chasing or nipping. Keep them in that step for awhile before moving to the next step and so on 🧡

@thesecretlifeofbuns4336 2 года назад

Lorelei is that you

@thebunnynook 2 года назад

LOL nope! But we get that a lot! Must be a Californian accent 😆

@wouldntyouliketoknow644 10 месяцев назад

Is it possible to bond bunnies without a neutral space? I have one bunny (Cuddles), he's a little over 2 years old. I'm planning to neuter him first, hopefully this month and then wait (at least!) two more months before getting a female bunny. Cuddles is a boy btw. He has a pen but he's freeroamed in my room 24/7. Here's my problem. I have NO other space where I could introduce another bunny to him. Not even in the bathroom/living room. I live with my mom, sister and nephew and our apartment is pretty small so there's no space other than my room to keep a second bunny. I heard about a trick to remove the bunnies scent by washing everything in the room with vinegar. Would that help or should I just not risk it? Does anyone have any advice/solutions?

@thebunnynook 9 месяцев назад

Hi! That's a great question. You could try to remove the scent, but because that one bunny will be familiar with the area, they could still be territorial over the space. I would suggest possibly using a patio, a friend's house, or if one of your family member's doesnt mind sharing their space with you for the few days or week that it would take to bond them. You could also try reaching out to local rescues who might have a bonding service that they provide.

@JoRocket77 3 года назад

Might be a dumb question: is mounting on the face dangerous because of the risk of afixciation? Or some other risk?

@thebunnynook 2 года назад

Great question! It’s mainly dangerous because the bunny who is being mounted could bite the other bunny who is doing the mounting and could result in a very bad injury in the “nethers” 😬

@katwalsh243 2 года назад

What if my freeroam bunny is trying to box through the enclosure

@thebunnynook 9 месяцев назад

i would keep them separated to prevent fighting until you can bond them using the marathon method.

@bleedingdemon8726 8 месяцев назад

What if i dont spay my female but the male is neutered would this cause peoblems ?

@thebunnynook 8 месяцев назад

That's a good question! It's best to have both bunnies neutered before bonding. Female bunnies especially need to be neutered as they have an 85% chance of developing reproductive cancers if they are left unspayed.

@oddwoodpecker3861 2 года назад

My male keeps pulling lots of fur from my female, will this stop eventually?

@thebunnynook 9 месяцев назад

fur pulling is pretty aggressive. i would step in at that point and go back to a smaller bonding space until that behavior stops.

@kath3832 Год назад

What if they don't fight, they flop and eat and groom together. But don't groom eachother and male continuously tries to mount female all day long for days? He is castrated. But they don't seem to have settled a hierarchy and she is getting stressed from the constant mounting. I'm doing marathon bonding x

@thebunnynook 9 месяцев назад

That sounds normal in the beginning of bonding. Even bonded bunnies will continue to mount each other. It's a way of communicating- not a problem unless the other bunny is starting to react badly to it.

@sameoldsonganddance 2 года назад

You sound a lot like Lorelei and Lennon the bunny

@ladiva1123 3 года назад

Hi, I have a question and I have two bonded brothers that are neutered and 1 year old. I am considering a girl but in Puerto Rico there are no bunny rescue places so the only choice I have is to purchase a baby female bunny. However I am scared of what I should do as far as bonding her with my bonded pair, one because she will be only about a month or two old and secondly because she cant be spayed until she's at least five months. What can you recommend?

@thebunnynook 2 года назад

I would recommend having them live near each other but separated until she’s old enough to be spayed & recovered 🧡

@ladiva1123 2 года назад

@@thebunnynook tysm

@chenoabryan8458 2 года назад

@@ladiva1123 i bought two litter bucks at 9 weeks. when they hit puberty they started to hump each other. I was not able to have them fixed after covid hit in 2019 and it took over a year for my small to open up for vet visits and work. I had them both next to each other in the same room for a year until one day, Frank (dominate) broke out and went to Dales side hurting Dale pretty bad. Frank is larger and has a more tuff personality so he wanted to rule the entire room. I contacted a Homestead Farm Mentor in Oregon and he said remove the aggressive brother from the room. I set Frank up in my "small' apartment living room... Had both bucks fixed as they went threw healing alone in diff/ parts of the home. No room for Christmas tree now:\ I let the dust settle from the attack but feel Dale has not forgotten the ordeal. I sit on the couch at night with dale and he just stairs at frank like he is going to get jumped and at some point pees on the couch. I started to groom them "together" up on my dining room table as i play spay music as i pet one and my girl pets the other while i have them pushed up against each other for 15 min. It is hard to get routine though as a home schooling mom of 2.... I dont want their relationship to be obsolete so I just get them together when i do their nails and brushing every 2 weeks hoping one day they will bond. This has been very hard for my entire family as we dont give up on animals ever. Yet we are smooshed now with one rabbit with one room and other in living room. I wish there was a Rabbit Nanny to save our family.

@ladiva1123 2 года назад

@@chenoabryan8458 I hope you are able to bond them soon, I have her living next to my boys and the other day the boys managed to get into her playpen, I got so scared when I went into the bunny room and found them in there with her but to my surprise nothing happened she was laying there with them like nothing. They didn't attack her at all maybe because they know she's a baby still? Or because my boys are a year old and both fixed so they are pretty chilled. The bunny room is their play area so they arent as territorial of the room. Either way I am hoping for the best. Hope you and your family manage to bond them though also fb has a great bonding group that give great advice too

@PupNGaming Год назад

my bunnies bond broke and its been 3 months since i've been trying to re bond them but nothing works 😭

@thebunnynook 9 месяцев назад

Sorry to hear that! We're rooting for you!

@brynnwhelan7344 3 года назад

So u bonded your bunnies while one wasn’t spayed and then U got her spayed and bonded them again?

@thebunnynook 3 года назад

Pretty much. I wouldn't call them bonded because bunnies can't be truly bonded until all involved are spayed & neutered, but we had them living together while Malibu was not spayed since she was not hormonal and they liked to be together. This won't work for every pair, but it did for us. We were prepared to separate them if needed.

@lovebree520 3 года назад

Im so nervous just adopted a male and i have a male already seems like it will take a while 🥺

@tokarikaart1337 3 года назад

Me tooo

@thebunnynook 3 года назад

Hang in there! It can take time, but it's so worth it.

@universalsoul7653 2 года назад

I have a lonely old male rabbit. Love him heaps. He is not desexed. Would he get on with a baby bunny? Not sure what sex they are tho.. friends rabbit has some babies..

@llcdrdndgrbd Год назад

I’ve heard babies tend to be easy to introduce to older bunnies

@iStorm-my5fp 3 года назад

What is the cage/Penn size?

@thebunnynook 3 года назад

We started off very small and slowly increased from there.

@brittanymcneely6109 3 года назад

My thought process is.. if they can just start to fight one day... how do you fully trust them together... alone? Like are you always on edge when you have more than 1 rabbit because of that or is it rare? I'm attempting to bond a baby rabbit with my 2 yr old spayed flemish rabbit but I'm worried that having 2 will just make me on edge all the time lol. I love them both so I hope they bond well... there's just no info on bonding baby's with adults so I'm wary... and the first time I tried bonding a neutered male with my flemish girl it was all bad like I did everything right... but the boy just didn't want to be with another rabbit...

@thebunnynook 3 года назад

That’s a great question. It’s rare that bonded bunnies would suddenly attack the other. However, a small break between bonded buns is not that uncommon because of the reasons stated in the video. But the good news is, that doesn’t mean the bond is fully broken- it’s more like a disagreement. I trust my bunnies 100% because I see how close their bond is every day and I would notice any change in behavior ☺️ As long as both bunnies are spayed and neutered, the age shouldn’t matter. Our friends, @thecafebuns on Instagram, bonded their young bun with their older 4 year old bun. A 2 year old bun is an adult, not a senior so, in your situation, as long as the younger bun in desexed making him/her around 6 months old, I don’t see a need to be concerned about the age difference. I hope this is helpful 🧡