I think the best method entirely depends on your bunnies and their situation. My boys have been living next to each other for months before I even attempted to bond them and neither of them are super territorial. Switching litter boxes and toys seems to actually help them a lot to the point where I can now keep both of them in the same non-neutral space without problems. They'll randomly cuddle up together without issues, so no stress bonding needed. The only problem is that they can't figure out who's the dominant one and neither will groom the other (which is the main cause of occasional fights breaking out) so I'm keeping them together during the day for as many days as it takes them to sort it out.
@jessicasosnoski7517 Жыл бұрын
Since making this video, I've learned from some professional bo ders that the swapping toys method and switching enclosures method has about a 50/50 chance of working for bonding pairs but is categorically not a good idea for bonding more than one bunny. There are some people who think it should be avoided altogrther because of the variables it introduces, but at the end of the day, everyone is just trying to mitigate risks, and there are risks no matter what you choose to do.
@VyrisVT Жыл бұрын
@@jessicasosnoski7517 I totally get that! I actually didn't know about the risks when I started swapping litter boxes so it's lucky it actually worked out for them. One of my big struggles is that they're both free roam buns so there's really no neutral areas around the house. I'm happy to say that between when I posted the comment and now they've made amazing progress. They are now actively grooming eachother in turns and won't leave eachother's side at all during the day. I'm gonna try to keep them together overnight for the first time, so fingers crossed
@Sofia-uc5hxКүн бұрын
My 2 have been bonded for a little over a year and wow the amount of mixing and matching and steps forward and back we had to do.. took us months! I was in one of the bonding advice groups on FB and they had very strict rules about what you had to follow and they would delete your posts asking for advice if it was anything contrary to their rules etc. Anyway we had one rabbit 2yrs old at the time and she was free roam ever since we got her(from 12weeks). We got a 3 yr old boy from a shelter (both were fixed) we did a toy/scent swap before we got him and that helped us our bun once did a scent swap with my friend's rabbit's blanket and she basically went feral in her reaction to it lol so the scent swap with the bunny from the shelter was definitely a good idea for us. The shelter offered bonding as part of adoption fees so we decided to go down that route, however the rabbits were kept outside and also this shelter owner also had dogs and the stress of this all basically almost made our first bun go into stasis. We picked them both up early and tried to give bonding a go ourselves at home. We did date bonding in the kitchen and used the FB group method of using small play pens and expanding the time and size with good behaviour. Our free roam rabbit HATED being in a pen for so long and basically started associating the restricted space with the new rabbit and was having none of this. We did forced cuddling, feeding time loads of pets etc and it still didnt make a difference! We decided to just move to an upstairs descented room and give them half of the room and go from there. The increase in space saw their progress go up MASSIVELY! In the end we by accident had them both together in the Livingroom one day and they just suddenly didnt show any aggression anymore and just lay together. We monitored this and a day or 2 later they both came up to the bedroom and spent the night and we just got rid off all separation after this. Their bond is very hierarchal and the first bunny will sometimes chase the other one but only when he does something to annoy her and she stops when he does too and they lick each other afterwards so I guess its all good.
@jacqui2996Ай бұрын
I had no idea about bonding rules. I just got a giant lop for my male rabbit to play with. Kept female separate first night and they were together from second day. Free roam. No troubles. I was so blessed that they never fought at all.
@maddieschermer8557 Жыл бұрын
I think when it comes to “stress bonding”, you’re not making them afraid of each other, they’re afraid of their surroundings and cling to each other for comfort which pushes the trust. Idk just my perspective
@jessicasosnoski7517 Жыл бұрын
That's exactly my perspective! Stress bonding is probably a very bad name for the technique.
@npcwizard5333 Жыл бұрын
They are animals. My opinion… probably not first resort but definitely a last resort. My bunny bit a part of my other bunny’s ear off and keeps biting and drawing blood on her ears. I can either kill it and eat it or try stress bonding. But I have to wait until I get them fixed first. Sometimes animals are just animals and we can’t project ourselves or our human behavior onto them. If they’re scared of the environment temporarily then I will try that before any other alternative. If you’re so great at bunny bonding I’d give you mine to try it out.
@rubieraphotography8328 Жыл бұрын
This is the most helpful video on bonding I have seen (out of dozens!!!). Thank you for helping me understand the difference between the two theories!!!
@aaron5406 Жыл бұрын
When I got my first set of rabbits one was fixed, and the other was not and was still a baby. They bonded perfectly and then I eventually got the second bun fixed when he was old enough. I then got a third bun about a year later, and was surprised when the other bunnies hated him. I am now in the process of 25/7 bonding the three of them, after a year of trial and error with bonding! I think it’s going a lot better after educating myself on the best methods, and consulting with other bunny parents about what to do.
@bunbunasmr Жыл бұрын
I had my first & second rabbits 3 years ago and they just... bonded in 15 minutes. Unfortunately one passed away this year so I adopted another rabbit and was hoping they can bond as smoothly. It didn't 😅. So I came here to do more research, I am surprised by how the method of bonding has changed in the past two years tho! I love to see more videos like this - not finger-pointing "who's abusing their rabbits" just talk about different options and the reason behind them with an open mind. Very informative!
@tamakyuart Жыл бұрын
Really useful thank you :) (No thanks to KZfaq search for not finding this video when I was trying to watch Every bonding info video weeks ago *before* starting my process haha)
@baloosd Жыл бұрын
we are preparing to introduce 2 bonded pairs to each other in a few weeks, and plan to do it based on food bribery. hard to fight when you are busy pigging out on your favorite veggies.
@jessicasosnoski7517 Жыл бұрын
That can go 2 ways though - for some bunnies, it does help them become distracted by the food and then associate the other bun with a good time. Others start getting extra territorial over the food. Best idea with food is to scatter the food around so there is no single pile that anyone can claim. Good luck!
@Blue-wv3le Жыл бұрын
I did everything wrong and got a very sturdy bonded pair. I would never recommend what I did cause there was absolutely a risk of fighting. I got lucky that my first bun is extremely insecure and takes comfort from having someone and my second bun is billing’s and easy going. I was on my way home from college with my first rabbit and on the way picked up the second. I placed the second one in the carrier with my firsts rabbit. They both came to a place they had never been. They were enclosed 24/7 with each other for a week before we went back to college. I should also mention my second bun was a baby at the time. I got extremely lucky. They have such a strong bond that when I fixed my second bun my first bun would attack me for messing with her when I would go to give her critical care.
@thall38272 жыл бұрын
Hey just wanted to say thanks for the comparisons! I recently got a second rabbit. But she had not been fixed long enough to start bonding with my current boy. So I'm trying to figure out the best housing situation until I start. I might have to rent an air conditioned storage unit for neutral space though 😆 gonna have to starve and not drink anything to get through that 😩
@jessicasosnoski75172 жыл бұрын
It's work, but you can do it! I wonder if you're able to make a neutral space with wiping down a room with white vinegar though? Would definitely be worth trying and hopefully save 💰 instead of having to rent. Good luck!
@thall38272 жыл бұрын
@@jessicasosnoski7517 my husband is apparently allergic to vinegar he just gets so ill when I use it so I'm at a loss 😂
@jessicasosnoski75172 жыл бұрын
@@thall3827 oh wow that is crazy that he is allergic. All the best on plan B!
@traceysimmons49132 ай бұрын
My rabbits were bonded but as you said it was a baby bond and they both got spayed too
@taniadrummond Жыл бұрын
I have a neutered male living with two unspayed females. The females are mother and daughter. The bonding was very quick, in fact they basically bonded in one day, there was no fights or anything at all. They live in a huge enclosure and are inseparable and have been living happily for the last year and a half, so there is exceptions. In the past I have always been able to bond a neutered male with an unspayed female with no issues. I live in New Zealand, we do not have exotic vets, this is due to rabbits being a pest in the wild and the training for rabbit vet care is lacking. While neutering a male rabbit is more common, vets do not like to spey females unless they have to and there's very few vets that will, this is due to higher death rate due to complications. I have other friends that have also been able to make bonds work well with a neutered male and and unsprayed female, I'm my experience it has worked well on multiple occasions. So it is very interesting seeing videos always saying they both must be spayed and neutered.
@jessicasosnoski7517 Жыл бұрын
Very interesting! Yes there are always exceptions to the rule. The advice in Europe and America is always to have both fixed because of the higher likelihood of hormones being workable. Professional bonders in the UK and Ireland will rarely help you bond your bunnies unless both sexes are fixed. I'm glad to hear your buns are happily hopping around together!
@Te3time Жыл бұрын
This is really good to know I just got a bunny like a month ago (he's still to young to get neutered) and I've been looking at my local shelters and realised that the majority of them don't spay their females but at the same time it's seen as animal cruelty to keep a solo rabbit over here so a shelter won't ever give you a single bunny which means they expect you to bond their unspayed females to a neutered male. Since I've mostly been reading/watching US bunny content and they all say that both need to be fixed no matter what I've been worried about what I should do. But this gives me some confidence that I might not have to drive to a far off shelter to get a fixed female and can at least attempt to bond my bun to an unfixed female once he's old enough.
@jessicasosnoski7517 Жыл бұрын
@Te3time there are exceptions to even the strictest rules and pieces of advice. I would encourage you to get a fixed female even for the sheer ease of bonding in comparison to an unfixed girl. But like the comment above says, apparently some places don't even allow that option. That was news to me!
@debbielynnsmellowminutesme7909Ай бұрын
I’m getting another young bunny and not neutered yet no space so bunny has to go into a pen next to other one no choice . Can they just be next to each other? It’s kinda hard if we can’t if trying to foster rabbits and help if we can’t have multiple rabbits without having some type of outdoor barn or something which is a not cool how is one supposed to have multiple rabbits.
@steeniescloset6773 Жыл бұрын
How do you recommend neutralizing a studio? I have been "switching enclosures" aka 1 free roam and 1 in the hutch at all times and i switch who has free roam time. Not sure how to neutralize from here? I have a bathtoom that i have done sessions in though but i would like to bond where they are going to live permanently. Thx
@thackerybinx2637 Жыл бұрын
My rabbits were bonded in a semi neutral area. I had one for about two weeks before getting a second and putting her next to him. He is unfixed but Wasn’t spraying at all until after she came around and was pets right next to him. I just kind of puts a double fence to separate the large pine area I had him in so that they could kind of touch but not really interact through it well and lost one of them it was out to Rome and then cut it practically stick out their face through the main perimeter of the fence. It only took about three weeks for them to bond that way, and I didn’t realize it until the babysitter who came in Moby were on vacation and found that he jumped the fence to get into her side and they were just fine sleeping together. now the spray is out of control and it’s gonna be another two weeks until he gets fixed. I’m going to move them to a different area of the downstairs after he gets fixed but I don’t know how long to wait before I do that so that he won’t just spray all over that area too.
@thackerybinx2637 Жыл бұрын
Oh and during that bonding I was doing major swaps. I would switch them every 2 to 3 days so that they would be using the litter box and the food bowl and the water bowl and the sleeping mats and chewing mats that the other one had their suntan for two or three days before moving them again.
@thackerybinx2637 Жыл бұрын
And I also have to add that The fixed female, even though she doesn’t like me because I haven’t been able to bond with her myself, she is super good and tolerance because that he will literally mound her head and she has never hurt him…. she desperately needs a bath. I am not going to sit in that nasty Pen that he is spraying all over with them to try to bond with them, and I’m not going to piss him off by letting her out to roam so that I can bond with her separately when I’m not gonna let him out. So I can touch and even pick up the mail sometimes, But I can’t get close to the female so she is dirty
@jessicasosnoski7517 Жыл бұрын
@@thackerybinx2637 I'm glad it's working out for you despite some unconventional approaches! ...illsay be careful that he isn't fixed though because if she does get into a fight with him, way too many cases of balls being bitten clean off! 😬 Also make sure it's a dry rub bath or no more than an inch of water and a nice and toasty drying time. Poor baby being peed on lol!
@mimmacvd9649 Жыл бұрын
Hi! I'm trying to bonding 2 sisters, they grew up together and they were fine, but then I neutered them and now it's like if they are unknown bunnies... Is there something different in this case?
@jessicasosnoski7517 Жыл бұрын
Hello! The hormonal changes that happen from the neutering/spay process can absolutely contribute to their baby bond breaking. Before the neuter, those little girls had a baby bond, and there is no guarantee that baby bonds last. I've had luck "riding the baby bond" meaning their bond didn't break after neutering, but that's not usual. Sounds like you'll have to undergo a normal bonding process to get them back together as an adult pair. Don't worry about it, it's very normal!
@ladiva1123 Жыл бұрын
Hi I have 4 that broke their bond, two boys and two girls all fixed. I just wanted your video and have renewed hope can you recommend anything for a new bonding mom
@jessicasosnoski7517 Жыл бұрын
Every bunny is different, and also every bunny parent's constitution is different. I would advise to prioritize you first over your bunnies. Grin and bear the hard knocks best you can, but if you really get to your wits end, self care is way more important! Also the buns can tell if you're losing your mind lol.
@npcwizard5333 Жыл бұрын
Thanks for this video. It’s my first time owning bunnies. Got some dwarf buns gifted to me as babies. They’re about 3 months now I think and I can’t tell what gender they both are even though I’ve looked. I can’t put them together even though they came together just fine. One day suddenly one got super aggressive. Scared the other so much it wouldn’t move or eat even in a separate cage. Those thumping noises scare me sometimes too lol. So I just have to wait until they’re old enough to be fixed and if they’re the same gender I might just get another bunny if the opposite and try again. But anyways thanks for the upload. It’s good to hear this detailed exploration. We had thought to breed and eat them on the homestead we live in as well if it didn’t work out for bonding pet purposes because I don’t want to rehome a bully bunny or a sweet bunny. They don’t deserve to be stuck in shelters scared and confused for who knows how long. And it’s pretty common to breed for food purposes. I’m just a city girl learning the realities of the food chain and trying to honor the animal kingdom and the cycle of life and the food chain with care.