The one thing all rabbit owners are aware of when it comes to attempting to bond two rabbits together is that: a) most times they will hate each other at first sight, but b) if given time and opportunity most times they will bond and be glad of it. It’s been interesting to watch Butterscotch and Geronimo in their new habitat. We set up two fenced-in areas next to each other in my office/prayer area, and brought home Butterscotch the day before Thanksgiving. We wanted to get her acclimated to her new area before bringing Geronimo in, so she had the room all to herself on Thursday and Friday.
On Saturday, we moved Geronimo out of his cage area that he once shared with his mate Ginger and set him up in the area next to Butterscotch. Because it was important that Geronimo start out fresh, the only items we brought from his old area were his food and water dish. Other than that, he was on new turf, and next to a rabbit that wanted to meet him a helluva lot more than he wanted to meet her. At first glance they both tried to attack each other and there was no small amount of hissing and growling.
Two days later, both rabbits have settled into a ignore each other as much as possible relationship. Geronimo knows that, while Butterscotch tries to spend as much time laying against her side of the fence they both share, she can’t get at him, so he’s pretty content to stay in his own area and pretty much ignore her. Butterscotch, however, is sending the only obvious message rabbits know how to send when they’re interested in another rabbit – leaving cocoa puffs all over her area.
For now, we’ll leave things status quo until we return from a visit to Massachusetts this coming weekend. Then, we’ll start introducing them to each other on totally neutral ground (my bathroom) and we’ll see how it goes. They say 20 minutes a day and try to keep them from killing each other to start, and gradually they’ll get used to each other and hopefully bond. IT can take a while – sometimes up to two months, but we’ll just hope for the best. We’ll keep y’all posted.
I know, I know, photos still forthcoming.
Perhaps this is a technique I should consider for myself…nothing else has worked. And I have become very territorial of my space and could be prone to biting and hissing as well.
Comment by Jana — November 29, 2010 @ 11:46 am