The Journey of Bonding Bunnies

Hazel and Fiver are brother and sister, the twins of their litter of seven. When we first brought them home they were housed together for a few weeks until they got to the age where it might be possible for them to make babies. Then they were housed in neighboring x-pens so they could see each other and groom each other between the bars, which they often did. I had heard about the bonding of bunnies but never thought it would be an issue with my two. There was never any aggression shown between them.

 Then it finally came time for them to be spayed and neutered! That was a nerve-racking day but we all got through it with flying colors! Then we still had to wait a couple weeks before putting them together in the same pen while they were recovering from surgery. I was such a relieved bunny mama when we got past the surgery and recovery and couldn't wait to see them interact together again!

The first couple of weeks back together was great! We took it slow,  let them play together, explore each other's house. They seemed to be instantly bonded! Perfect!…That is until they had a fight.

They were playing nicely downstairs and I had run upstairs for a split second. Then I heard the rumbling. I ran downstairs and they were in full circle-chase-biting-fighting mode! I couldn't believe my eyes! A minute ago they were snuggling in their castle, now they're tearing each others fur out!!

Thankfully I was able to separate them quickly and there were no injuries except for loss of a few chunks of fur. I just couldn't understand how they could go from being so sweet to each other to practically wanting to kill each other so quickly. The next few weeks were tense. There was snuggling and there was fighting, until the fighting became more and more frequent and the snuggling became non-existent. I had to put them back in separate pens and call for some help.

Having never had more than one bun at a time, I had no clue what I was doing when it came to bonding bunnies. I remember several times looking at them in tears, frustrated, not knowing what to do, just wanting them to be happy and healthy. I mean, the whole point of getting TWO bunnies was so they could be each other's companion. But this process was very stressful, for me and for them. How were we going to get past this?

I started researching online, asking questions of the vet, and I joined a couple rabbit Facebook groups. Finally I felt armed with the right knowledge to move forward with the bonding process. We had to take it slow. We had to find neutral territory. We had to remain calm and patient.

We started in a bedroom, then moved to a bathroom. Then we began expanding into the hallway. It was time-consuming. I spent many nights sitting on a hardwood floor watching them interact in the bathroom. Watching them learn to trust each other and turn to each other for comfort in stressful unfamiliar situations. There were a few setbacks for sure. But we would just take a small break, take a deep breath and jump back in to the deep end.

I am happy to say that after 5 (almost 6) months, we are about 95% bonded!! We are still moving slowly as it relates to their actual living space…thats where they have been most territorial. But when we let them out of their room together, they pretty much have almost full run of the upstairs level of our house. They love to explore together, munch on hay together, and there is lots of grooming and snuggling!! There was a time when I thought we might not ever get to this point. And we're getting closer every day on getting past that last 5%.

I know many of you have similar stories of triumphs and woes. Some of you may still be in the middle of it or about to embark on this bonding journey. To you I would say…take heart. All the stress and frustration will be worth it in the end when you see your beautiful buns become the best of friends and snuggle like they never want to leave each other's side.