Rabbit Owner Chat V.2

[RhythmicWolf]

@spectacular: wow i totally forgot about toilet paper rolls haha. shredded paper sounds like a great idea, thank you for the tip about the litter box!

@burrito bunny: oh wow i never even thought about him feeling superior because he has more space! he was downgraded once when i took him to college and he kept trying to escape at first, but eventually learned to live with it, so that may work out okay. perry HATES car rides, so i will definitely give that i try if i find him a friend. thank you so much for all of the advice!

[Raire]

I have never bonded bunnies myself, but my trio was recently bonded and they still fight for dominance some times. They usually start in their digging box. You can place 6 bunnies next to each other, so they have enough space in it.
But it gets wild in there and one of them always runs out and hides in another corner or house.

I was always told they need space to calm down, escape and hide - restricted areas are not really suitable. And it makes sense if you think about it. Yes, it might work, but I'd favour the bathroom floor over the bathtub?
All guides I've read (because I knew mine were just recently bonded and there might still be problems, especially because one of them was just half a year old) said that too and I've talked to breeders and long-time bunny owners about it too.

Please correct me here, but I'm a bit confused |D

[Polly44]

Snip

on another note, does anyone have toy suggestions? i've tried willow balls, wood chews, apple wood sticks, hay mats, woven hay balls. he ripped up one hay mat, but he won't touch the second one (literally the exact same product). the only toy he really likes is his treat ball - he'd push it around all day if i kept filling it haha. i hate that he gets bored but i have no idea how to entertain him. i've thought about making a dig box (he loves digging up the carpet) but i'm not sure what to use in it. a lot of places suggest wood pellets, but that's what i use for his litter. any suggestions on what i can use that he won't decide to use as a litterbox?

thank you![/size]

How about paper or cardboard? Mine loves shredding old books apart, heh. Just remove the plastic covering/staples/etc and there you go. Also try looking at bird toys- a lot of them can be used for rabbits as well and they have a decent variety too. My mum has birds, so we just swap the toys around every now and again, as my rabbit isn't much fond of wood, but the birds love it.

I was going to put a load of soil in a litter tray to see if he likes digging it up, but that might be a messy idea. Maybe something like those maze feeders for dogs but changed for a rabbit, would be different to his treat ball all the time as well.

[spectacular.]

not sure if any of you guys have experience with rabbit genetics, but If yall do I have a question. I bred a solid colored black otter to a broken black mini rex. I expected mostly brokens / solid blacks and maybe a black otter. Well needless to say that's not what I got. lol. I ended up with six babies, four of which are solid blacks, one is a solid black otter and then I ended up with a white with red eyes. But as this white is growing up I have noticed silver beginning to show on its nose and ears almost like the color of a Himalayan. It's fascinating and I was wondering if anyone else had a random genetic baby show up, is this common in rabbits or something I need to be more careful with?

[Burrito Bunny]

I'd never leave the rabbits alone in the bathtub for sure. It would only be for initial meetings, when the rabbits are likely to attack each other at first sight, or want bloodshed. At least from what I had heard when bonding my pair, giving them hiding places on the first meeting could lead to disaster if the aggressive one followed the scared one into the secluded area. The scared one would then be corned, or surprised, or inaccessible to you if they do start to fight for real. The first meets should be short, only a few minutes to start, so that no one gets overly stressed by the ordeal. Bathroom floors can be tricky because the bunnies can hide behind toilets or under cuboards out of your reach, which could lead to fights you can't quickly break up. If a bunny bleeds because you were too slow clearing obsticals it sets back the bonding process significantly, or potentially even makes it impossible to save between those two. As they grow more comfortable with each other they can be allowed longer sessions and more fun things to play with, like food or little hidey places.

Since your buns already live together I would do bonding repair in a more natural environment since they are friendly most of the time to each other and most likely don't want to seriously hurt the other ones. You can't tell with two new rabbits though until they're together.

[RhythmicWolf]

@polly44: i should look more into bird toys! i bought him a plastic chain years ago and he ignored it until one day he randomly woke me up rattling his entire cage with it LOL we also have an old pair of crocs by the door that he loves to toss around. more plastic might be a good option for him. im so paranoid about it now because i have chinchillas and they cant have plastic because they WILL eat it, but perry just likes to throw it around

as for cardboard, ill usually leave boxes i get in the mail on the floor for him for a couple days. he chews them for a day then leaves them alone. except for this one box from target that he really likes? hes been ripping it up for about a week now. rabbits are so weird

old books is a neat idea! he does like to come on my bed and try to grab mine when im reading. ill definitely have to see if we have any old phone books or anything

thank you for the suggestions, theyre really helpful!

[Raire]

At least from what I had heard when bonding my pair, giving them hiding places on the first meeting could lead to disaster if the aggressive one followed the scared one into the secluded area. The scared one would then be corned, or surprised, or inaccessible to you if they do start to fight for real.

Eehh but that's why you should always use houses/tunnels with at least two entries after all. But yeah many people don't know that and when I looked at all the wooden houses you can buy for bunnies I cringed a bit.

[Burrito Bunny]

Yeah a lot of bunny stuff at the store is not good for them. I also think your bonding method depends on you and your bunny - different things will work better for some cases than others.

The very first time I attempted bonding I did it on a concrete floor with a tunnel and a little house with two exits. My male nipped the female, and then chased her a little bit. I interrupted the chasing behavior and the female darted into the tunnel. The male then went into the tunnel as well, but the female decided to attack instead of run out the exits this time, and they were fighting in the confines of the tube. I tipped the tube up to get them out, and I reached in to separate them. Even though I was wearing a thick gloves one rabbit leapt and bit my upper arm on accident :')

I ended the session by forcing them to sit side by side while I pet them. I didn't want it to end on a bad note even if I was the only one bleeding thankfully. When I talked to the vet they told me to give them several weeks alone to forget about the bad expireance and that you should never give rabbits any hiding spots on the first few meetings for that reason.

Luckily it worked out in the end but yeah.

There are a lot of different ways to bond. I've seen some people take it very very very slowly. I've seen others literally throw two rabbits into a pen together and keep them in until one bleeds or they calm down (I would never recommend this method). Depends on the rabbits temperaments probably.

I conducted my second bonding in the bathtub as the vet suggested, with no distractions or things to "possess". This meeting went far better. Just a little fur pulling and then they ignored each other from either end. I did a couple session like that and eventually they would great each other and even groom a little bit. At that point I fenced off any tight spots in the bathroom and let them explore on the floor and rugs.

[Raire]

Awww, ouch! D:

And yeah, totally depends on the rabbits too. This is what many people don't realise - that they have so much character.

[RhythmicWolf]

Awww, ouch! D:

And yeah, totally depends on the rabbits too. This is what many people don't realise - that they have so much character.

amen to that! my boy has such an attitude. he HATES the vet and they actually know him there as "the rabbit that jumped off the table despite proper restraint." its in his file in all caps. we all have to sit on the floor during the exam because he took a dive and i had to juggle him to the floor LOL

his new habit is to put up with the vet exam, then right after once hes back in his crate he starts thumping up a storm. hes such a little brat