If at First You Don't Succeed… - House Rabbit Network

A Bonding Story

Let me preface this article by saying, I love rabbits. I can really appreciate the love a rabbit can give. Their little noses, their fluffy feet, and of course, the almighty bunny flop! My little boy Peeps is my heart bunny. I brought him home three years ago when he was eight weeks old. My heart melted as I held him for the first time. We completely bonded to each other. He lived in my room, and, when I was home, had free reign to run around (with extensive bunny proofing of course!) I had many a sleepless night because Peeps wanted to play—at 3am—when I had work the next day.

He’s my baby boy and will always have a special place in my heart.

In 2010, after I got back from my honeymoon, I knew the time had come to bring another bunny into our home. I wanted Peeps to have a playmate. The House Rabbit Network was fantastic. I called, had my phone interview, and within a week we were at a foster home. Speed dating was the best decision I made. The first few females made it obvious that bonding was not going to work. Then Suzanne said, ‘I want to give Paloma a try’. I remembered her picture from the site and although Paloma wasn’t on my list, I decided to trust Suzanne’s judgment! Well, she pulled Paloma out of her cage, and she was gorgeous. She was an agouti lionhead and she was just stunning. Her beautiful mane caught my eye and her little face melted my heart all over again. Into the pen she went with Peeps—and they completely ignored each other. This is a great first step, so I was pleased. Then, they got closer to each other, and sat nose to nose for what seemed like an eternity. I decided to bring her home and give it a whirl!

I changed Paloma’s name to Sookie (yes, to all you True Blood fans out there, after Sookie Stackhouse) and boy does she live up to her sassy name! She was very curious from the get go: jumping on the sofa, hopping up onto the computer chair where she would lay for hours if we let her, and flopping under the desk. She was so much fun to watch! After about a month, I put Sookie’s cage in Peeps’ room so that they could get used to each other, and smell each other.

I had read up on the bonding process, online and on Bunspace. I was nervous, but I had to do it. We tried multiple bathtub sessions, and they fought almost immediately. We tried sessions in a pen in the kitchen where the floor was slippery (always a neutral territory, which is such an important factor). Again, they almost clawed each other’s eyes out. My husband was very supportive and stood over me, with broom in hand and said, ‘it’s ok, you can do this.’ We had many meeting sessions with the two, where they would fight horribly. Sometimes they would ignore each other. There was never any consistency. I thought to myself, ‘what if this never happens?’, and ‘I’m such a failure at this’. Luckily I had the HRN chat group to help me. A single email would get many responses, all with great information.

I started bringing the buns into the living room where they would each have their own pen, side by side. I started noticing little changes, no fighting in between the bars, and generally just playing in their own pen. Then one day, they decided to lie down side by side in their respective pens! I jumped up and grabbed my camera to document the success. I was stunned. This was now about 5 months into the bonding process. They were still in separate cages and nowhere near each other when I wasn’t home to supervise. When I let them out for run time, Sookie had the hallway and living room, and Peeps had his room. Every night I would switch so they would get used to the other bunny smell.

Once I saw progress I became very motivated. Slowly but surely they would be in a room together with me, and play around. There was no grooming though. Peeps demanded it but Sookie ignored it, and vice versa. They were still fighting, even with a pen in between them. After some bites in the butt, and some humping, the fighting started to lessen. I had asked our friends on Bunspace some bonding questions. One suggested swiping some banana on a forehead and having the other lick it off to start grooming. I didn’t have bananas, but I had a honeycrisp apple in the refrigerator. So I brought them in their room, sat them down and told them one of them had to groom the other. I swiped the apple on Peeps’ head, and Sookie started to groom. I yelled at my husband to grab my camera and we videotaped the grooming. I posted on Facebook, sent it to my friends and showed my mom. I thought I was on my way to finally getting them bonded!

More months went by where I thought, “they’re almost there”. They spent hours together. They snuggled and lay together. But it seemed that every two weeks they would get in a fight. Not just scuffles, but a fur-flying, butt-biting fight. I assumed this was hopeless. But I didn’t give up. I decided to clean and rearrange their room and freshen up the carpet. This seemed to help. They went weeks without fighting.

Finally I knew I was ready. It was now a YEAR later into the bonding process. I emailed the HRN chat group and asked how a sleepover in their room worked, what I should be aware of, and how long to have them together before I could definitely say they were bonded. I slept in their room Friday and in the living room Saturday. I got very little sleep, but then slept in my room Sunday. I woke up Monday morning and they were fine. I had done it! I felt like a superstar!

The bonding process can be a difficult one. I know many people who just needed one car ride, or it was love at first sight. Of course I am still jealous of those people, but I appreciate my two little furkids more. I bonded to them in the process as well. After fights, I was the first one to pick them up, tell them they were OK, check them over and smooch their foreheads. I love watching the two of them sit in the living room, at 8:58 p.m. on the dot, knowing that salad time is 9:00 p.m. They are such a joy to have, and I wouldn’t trade the experience I had for anything in the world. They have enriched my life in so many ways and I will never be able to repay them.