Turning Hate Into Love | Bonding Our Aggressive Rabbits

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Published 2021-01-28
HOW WE REBONDED THEM AFTER THEIR BOND BROKE:    • How We Fixed Their Broken Bond  

This is the story of how we bonded our rabbits Turbo and Bunmi. They weren't the easiest of pairs to bond as Turbo was very territorial and aggressive towards Bunmi but we still managed to bond them within a month and their bond is slowly getting stronger!

We loosely followed the bonding guide from www.rabbitsanctuary.com.au/how-to-bond-your-rabbit… (table bonding, floor bonding and playpen dates). We didn't use any stress bonding methods as we wanted the bunnies to bond through acceptance, rather than fear.

Both bunnies were desexed before meeting. Turbo was desexed at SERV (Sydney) and Bunmi was desexed at Berry Vet Clinic through The Rabbit Sanctuary.

I will be doing another video in the near future with tips for bonding difficult pairs of rabbits and how you set yourself up for success!

0:00 Intro
1:24 About the bunnies
2:40 Overview of bonding process
3:26 Pre-bonding and aggression
6:00 Side by side pens
6:20 Table bonding
8:18 Bunny fight
9:57 Grooming trick
10:24 Micro floor bonding
12:15 Playpen dates
14:18 Bonded!

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Turbo is a young male mini lop and Bunmi (Banh Mi) is a female mystery rescue bun from The Rabbit Sanctuary. They live free roam and occasionally snuggle with us, their human slave

All Comments (21)
  • @beckabelle5927
    I cannot thank you enough for this video. My two bunns, Rosemary and Thyme, hate eachother:( they've gotten in a few fights and I've been scared to bond them because of it because I feel so awful everytime they fight. This gave me some confidence though and my bunns are over 2 months post spay so it's about time I get over myself and my fears and try bonding my bunns.
  • @ceejay9560
    From enemies to friends to lovers 🥺🙌❤
  • BUN MI?! Excuse me, that’s the best rabbit name I’ve heard so far. Well done.
  • @livlivreese7025
    Fun fact: when bunnies put their head down to another bunny, they are trying to establish dominance. They are establishing this because they are asking to be groomed by the other bunny!
  • @ksouza3
    This video appeared at the perfect timing for me! I just got another bunny, and very similar situation to your bunnies where my first bunny was completely free-roam so it was a bit difficult having to restrict him to just part of the house. And finding a neutral space was so hard since my first bunny always had access to all parts of the house. I really liked how you included your timeline in the beginning to better get a sense of how long all your different methods/phases took. Definitely gonna check out your other videos!!!
  • @zvb7311
    This seems like such a better method than the fear methods of having them in a carrier and shaking them around. I have two buns who are completely separated because of a similar situation, so this will definitely be what I try. Thank you!
  • @thall3827
    I've been watching what feels like hundreds of videos and asking hundreds of questions on forums and finally started bonding three days ago. Had tried a month ago and they fought pretty bad and I was so nervous. Calming myself a lot more this time, going better this time. I love that Bunmi is kind of named after food 😂 my girl's name is Hasenpfeffer.
  • Thanks for sharing your rabbits bonding process! This is the exact info I have been looking for! Stress bonding does not appeal to me and the table sessions are the perfect solution. So helpful!
  • @greypilgrim6157
    The decision to simply combine the 2 pens into a single, larger one at that precise point was the deciding factor I think, and quite a brilliant idea. 💡 🐰 🐰
  • @lauriemc04
    This is the best video on bunny bonding I have seen. I love the fact that you showed a calendar for the timeline. One month is definitely more realistic than a week. I also loved that you tried one way, give it a chance to see if it would work, and then changed if it did not. Love your flexibility and love your simplicity on explaining your method.
  • These 2 are the cutest! 😍 Anyone bonding bunnies for the first time, the banana trick works! I’m fact, I will occasionally smear a bit nana on my face just to get my bunnies to groom me ~ yes I’m completely shameless when it comes to bunny love 😂🐇💞 This is an EXCELLENT video!! Much love to you and your beautiful bunnies 😇
  • @brandynnleigh
    For a couple of months now, I have been thinking about getting another bunny to bond with my own and have been really nervous about it, but I still think it will be a really good idea for my bunny. This was the best, most realistic video I have seen and I really appreciate all your information and honesty with your process. Thank you! Your bunnies are so sweet.
  • @blenderbanana
    I had no idea there were Rabbit Sanctuaries in my area. Thanks for sharing
  • This is super helpful! I'm struggling with an aggressive bun at the minute. Sometimes it's feeling like it'll never happen but fingers crossed. Gotta be more stubborn than my bun 😂
  • @jessicaLiz777
    So helpful! I wasn't sure where we were at but after watching this I think we need to go back to the table. I love the timeline and those fluffle buns are so adorable.
  • This was very informative I didn’t know about the table bonding. I knew about the stress putting them in the carrier for a rocky walk or car ride. When I adopted my second bun the rabbit rescue happily bonded mine for me outside of my home and I watched two of theirs that were already bonded it was a great exchange that was free if you cared for two or theirs. Even though I didn’t have to bond mine this was a great informative video.
  • @LeBookworm
    Thank you for this advice! The flop and grooming footage is so adorable. We're about to embark on the bonding our bunny and also want avoid stress bonding. This is great.