Bunny Behavior & Bonding

         If you are trying to bond bunnies and are unsure of what behaviors to look for during the process, this is a must read article for you. My approach to bonding uses three stages: pre-bond, bond sessions, and post-bond. During the pre-bond stage, bunnies are housed next to each other so they can chat, smell, and observe one another. They must be in fairly close proximity. Communication through body indications included ear, head, and tail positions, eye blinking, closing, and pinning, fur ruffling, whisker positions, lying (sphinx, sideways, back), sitting, facing each other, twisting, etc. They can determine the other's thoughts by smelling hormones releases and physical body cues. They have a mostly silent language that involves subtle respiration changes, heartrate, and nose twitches. Purring, thumping, snoring, grunting, and screaming are audible communications. While living a period of time adjacently,, they gather information. This prepares them for the next phase, bonding sessions without barriers between the bunnies or bonder.
        Now able to touch, extra safety measures must be in place. Human bonders analyze the rabbits, looking for signs of amnesty( if they had previously fought), courtesy, and hostility. During this time, bunnies need to be encouraged to slow down their movements to show politeness. Bunnies value and demand respect, especially during the establishment of hierarchy roles. A cautious slow approach instead of a full forward charge is always best. When one creeps toward the other with ears back (not fully flattened) and head down, it is a polite request to approach closer. If the approach has ears forward or fully flattened, the posture is threatening and should be diverted. 
         When one bunny rapidly gallops past another it gives them a quick chance to test the waters, a way to deduce if the other bunny is going to ignore, lunge, or chase. During the bonding sessions, many drive-byes should happen with each attempt closing the gap of space between them. Lunging, circling, and chasing should not be allowed. The same body positioning they demonstrate in the adjoining housing will be repeated in the sessions. Over time, buns will be less reactionary and more cooperative, eating hay together, patterning resting positions, simultaneously grooming, and such. When they touch noses softly, this is often one of the first evidences they are receptive to friendship. Side-by-side eating, lounging, and sleeping are indicators of a good match. Allowing each other to share resources (litterbox, hidey, food, and attention from bonders) equates to success. During the entire journey, hormones releases undetectable to humans are what the bunnies rely heavily on. Actively twitching noses indicate tiny airborne scent particles enter the small lip separation each time the nostrils expand upward. Although we cannot know fully what they think and feel, they absolutely understand each other- almost as though they are reading each other's minds.