More bunny help please :-)

Monokne

Howdy all,

So anyone who's read my other threads is probably familiar with the fact that I have Rafa, who's 8 months old, and I did have Charlie but he is no longer with us :-(

In the last week we've gotten not 1 not 2 but THREE news buns. We have Tito and Xabi, who are brothers and are living together in reasonable harmony. Then we have Kiwi, who's a girl, who is currently living by herself because Rafa, apparently, doesn't want a flat mate!

So here's where I need help - I know that it's easiest to bond a boy with a girl, so long term what we'd like to do is have one boy and one girl in each hutch. We've tried to start the bonding process by putting one boy and one girl in a neutral place and letting them spend time with one another and the result is always the same - the boy tries to mount, the girl tries to flee. Keep in mind both boys and Rafa are neutered as well. Anyway, anyone have any tips on how to get them to bond?

Secondly, apparently we got lucky with Charlie and Rafa, who both go to the toilet in very specific places, because the 3 new buns just seem to go on the couch! Anyone ever taught them to go wee in a specific place or have any tips on how to?

Any and all tips welcome :-)

Groom!

Wow! It sounds like Father Ted's House on Craggy Island!!

Well done and congrats on the new arrivals.

My buns are all outdoor, - I have 10 x 6 foot galvanised steel runs for them with dog kennels and loads of bedding, so the toilet training has never been such a major issue for me.

However, as I do boarding for bunnies and other smallies, I have, of course come across the issue. Most people use a litter tray (like a cat one) with newspaper, shavings or sometimes some hay or straw. I just replicate whatever the bun is used to at home.

Some people I know use cat litter (I have seen wood chip and the ordinary stuff being used)

As for introducing them, I am a firm believer in letting them sort it out themselves, within reason.

If the males are neutered, then you don't have to worry about an accidental pregnancy. I believe if you let them familiarise themselves, the excitement will wear off and they will find their levels. Just make sure there is plenty of food around, and they are not hungry when they meet!

If you imagine how things would happen in the wild, I find that is a reasonable yardstick to use.
That's just me and I have owned dozens of rabbits over the years. Ihave never had to separate rabbits after introducing them.

Other people might have better or different advice.

Good luck with the newbies! Make sure all your electrical and Sky wires are out of reach or it will cost you a fortune when they chew through them!

TooManyDogs

Groom! wrote: »

Some people I know use cat litter (I have seen wood chip and the ordinary stuff being used)

Only use non-clumping cat litter, most of the grey stone style cat litter is clumping and is bad for rabbits. They spend a lot of time lying in their litter trays and then cleaning themselves so can injest quite an amount of litter dust.

As regards litter training, confine the rabbits to a fairly small space initially rather than giving them free run of the room. They should pick a place (or 3!) to use as a toilet, put a litter tray in each place. They should begin to go back to the tray and then gradually you can increase the amount of space they have as long as they're going back to the tray. Then you can slowly move the trays to where you want them to be and reduce the numbers. I always used the high back triangular trays because mine always pee'd over the side

Sigma Force

I used the bottom of large hamster of guinea cages (which are usually too small for guineas so make great litter trays). I used only newspaper it seemed to work for me I put a brick in it to weigh it down so they wouldn't move it around. I put a bit of their pee scent in the litter tray, and each time I cleaned it I put a bit of their pee scent back in.

It might take some time for them to get used to each other, since they're all neutered/spayed it should work but if some have only been done a while it can take 5 to 6 weeks for hormones to calm down.

Just keep trying and let them live side by side in the mean time.
You might in the end be able to have all of them living together it might mean making one super bunny pen.

moses13

I have introduced many rabbits over the years and have never had a prob with a male and female pairing. It is only natural that he will mount her (like mad at first) but this soon wears off.Is the female neutered? Because a female comes into season on contact with a male so these smells will excite him but again it will die down.
Make sure they have plenty of space when introducing them and a couple of hiding places for the female to go into.
Too many dogs has given good advice on the litter training thats how I have done it. I use wood pellets for litter and burn them on the stove after!
Good luck

Monokne

Ok so here's the latest! I've had them go on a couple more dates and so far so good :-)

Xabi mounted Kiwi lots but she was very receptive and only bucked him off when it got excessive. But they were very friendly and there was grooming aplenty. He's only neutered 5 days so I'm not moving them in together yet in case he can impregnate her but so far so good. :-)

Tito and Rafa was fascinating! Rafa is the rabbit we've had 8 months and she's not very friendly, either to humans or other rabbits. She doesn't like Tito mounting her but other than that she's been quite friendly with him. He chased her a bit and she'll run away but then stop and lie down so it's not like she's in any great distress. When I brought them back into the living room(we were on neutral territory in the bedroom) they both bolted into Rafa's hutch. I was going to grab Tito out but to my amazement, she lay down relaxed. However after a while he kept trying to hump so she avoided him. They're both now in that hutch, however it's one of those two storey ones where you can block it off so at the mo, Rafa's on the bottom floor and Tito's on the top.

I really appreciate everyone's tips by the way, very helpful :-)

Monokne

So the latest is that Rafa and Tito are now living together in harmony. I cannot tell you my joy at this - Rafa hasn't taken well to anyone and she's not much for human companionship either, so to see her sitting there grooming him is so pleasing. Guess like any woman she just needed a good man!!! (JOKE!)

Kiwi, I've noticed, has been sneezing a bit, but I think it's just down to new bedding we're trying.

The litter training seems to be going ok. No more wee on the couch, just a pong from their houses! Anyone know of any ways to minimise the small other than daily cleaning!?

Sigma Force

Some bedding can make them sneeze a bit, what's the brand/type of bedding you are using with Kiwi at the mo? Keep a close eye tough if worried about him keep an eye out for discharge from the nose.

Monokne

No discharge or anything hence not majorly worried just yet. Kiwi (who is a she!) is getting neutered in a week or two so I'll mention it to the vet if nothing's changed. We're trying a new bedding called Carefresh, it's meant to help with the odors. Hard to know if that's the cause just yet cause we've only had her about 10 days!

Sigma Force

Carefresh is good stuff but can be pricey, it does help with smells though.
There's a horse bedding that some people use, not sure if it's available in Ireland it's called Megazorb but it's similar to carefresh.
I don't find buns smelly though, once litter trained they're so much easier to clean out. White vinegar was my best friend when I had buns it really cuts the smell.

I did clean out my rabbits daily or ever second day at least depending where they were being housed at the time. Generally I just had to clean out the litter tray daily but I did clean them out very regularly they do need a lot of cleaning which puts a lot of people off. It's the hay that can be messy though, dust goes everywhere even with the good stuff. I ended up using pillow cases and old duvet covers to store large amounts of hay. First i'd shake the hay outside to get rid of any excess and pull the hay apart a bit and then fill the duvet covers.

You can use something like Keep it Clean spray and spray it on the housing and let it dry in, it comes in a lovely lavender, lemon or coconut scent. It acts as a disinfectant and deoderizer.

Monokne

Thanks Sigmaforce (unless you've a better name I can call ya? I'm Kenny, btw), that's really cool. I'll try pick up the keep it clean spray. By the way, is that to say you cleaned the house with white vinegar yeah???

Sigma Force

Yep I cleaned everything with white vinegar, when I had a lot of critters (took in homeless guineas and a couple of rabbits at one point) I'd use white vinegar and treat myself to a bottle of the keep it clean now and then. I found the white vinegar great for getting rid of urine stains on plastic bases coz rabbit and other critters like hamsters pee goes solid like limescale and just a quick soak with white vinegar got rid of it. I used it for soaking drinking bottles, food dishes although if using on anything metal you need to rinse it off after or it corrodes it. Then for the floors in the kitchen etc. to avoid lots of nasty chemical fumes I used a dash of fairy liquid with a good glug of white vinegar in a bucket of hot water and a few drops of lavender oil.

Orange oil is nice to use as well.

You can also dilute lavender oil in water and use it in a spray bottle to help freshen up the house, just take the buns out of it and return them to it once it's dry.

TooManyDogs

I used to use white vinegar as a detterent to stop them peeing in unwanted areas

Monokne

The vinegar seems to have worked with the smell. Although I may have bigger things to worry about - I had Tito out and about when I reached over to pet him earlier and without any warning he bit me, and HARD. This wasn't a friendly nip, he was obviouly frightened or unhappy for whatever reason but JESUS he has some bite on him - my arm already looks bruised and he broke skin pretty badly. Not sure what to do cause I sure as hell don't want more of that but there are going to be times I have to lift him :-|

Sigma Force

That's the risk of being a bunny owner you will at some stage be bitten or scratched. Did you pet him when he wasn't looking or did he see you coming towards him to pet him? Could he of gotten a fright and not expected it?

In the mean time use a soft bunny brush and start brushing him gently now and then and see how you go, if he doesn't attack the brush it should be safe to pet him. Some rabbits can be moody, although I can't remember mine biting me except when they mistake my finger for a carrot lol and it bloomin hurts guinea pigs too those teeth are so sharp.

Did your bun stop biting when he realised it was you or did he keep going for you?

Monokne

Oh he knew exactly who it was! He was sitting on the couch next to me. I put my hand above his head and BAM he just seized on my arm :-| Today whenever I put my finger in through the bars of the cage he gives it a little nip, can't tell if it's meant to be affectionate or he's biting me because he's afraid.

He didn't get a chance to keep biting because I put him in his cage!

Monokne

AGH! Tito is just so bold. He was out and about this evening and he spends his whole time over at the other cage, he even bit poor Kiwi through the bars! Is it possible this is just whatever hormones are still going on (not 2 weeks since he's been neutered yet!) or does this mean he's just a generally bold bun!?