I have one female bunny I got from an animal shelter. Her name is Stormi and she’s a 2 year old Dutch bunny. I’ve had her since the end of August. I got a male bunny (I believe he is a Netherlands dwarf but I have yet to hear back from the previous family) named Oreo, who I got at the end of October. Stormi is highly curious, and pretty friendly unless guests are being loud, then she hides in her hideyhouse. Oreo is a bit shy still, but friendly with new people and if he’s on top of his hideyhouse, he’s guaranteed to ask for pets even from complete strangers. Before getting Oreo, after a long, painstaking process to get my room bunny proofed, she had free roam time every day when I was home. I am new to bunny care in general, but especially to bunny bonding. Both have been taken to the vet for checkups and confirmed they are both neutered. I’ve been slowly introducing the scent of the other VERY early on, swapping things like litter boxes, blankets, toys, feeding them at the same time and having their bowls like directly across from the other on the other side of the divider. Their pens are next to each other, separated by a divider about a foot away, so no chance of them doing anything but seeing and smelling the other. I’ve been quite anxious about the bonding process, and have been trying to take things very slow. Today I got one of those metal grid playpens which I took into a neutral room to start a bonding date. I was planning on only letting it happen for like a minute or two, given the advice I was given from vets and online. They immediately started pulling each others fur and I think fighting and it looked bad imo. Stormi is generally curious and I think Oreo is just cautious and reserved. They both had a good amount of fur pulling. I’m not sure if this is how it normally goes, and I really really do need help. I want them to have better bonding experiences. Also I’ve attached a worrisome looking dropping from Oreo. I just want them to have a good life. I have a video of the vet showing me how to properly pick them up if needed and I’ve done a ton of research but when they started fighting, my mind went blank. I do always try to separate them with a dustpan, but I really don’t want them to hurt each other. I don’t think Oreo had proper care at his last house and I want both of them to be happy. Please help.
by amaya211