A Quick Explanation
Just like when I bonded Maple, Lunar and Buttons together I have collated the stories into multiples of 7 days, which I have called a week. The week does not start and end on the same day, for example it might start on a Thursday but because I skip a couple of days, it might end on the next Sunday. I guess what I am saying is a week in this journal entry is not necessarily a calendar week.
So, what I’ve done is make a special menu for each week. That way it will be easier to find things.
Day 1, Day2, Day 3 & 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7
After struggling with basket and bathroom bonding, I decided to do the tried-and-tested pen bonding, where I pop both bunnies in the same pen and let them figure it out. It seems to work better with Buttons.
Day 1 – Sunday 2nd
This was the day I thought I’d see if Buttons and Nova can get on together in a single pen. I moved the pen to a place in the garden that buttons had never been, right near the “Bunny Patch”, my bunny-safe veggie garden.
I put Nova in first. Then I put Buttons in there, too. Because it was an new place where neither rabbits had been in, they explored the area. They seemed to get on alright. Then it was on. Buttons went for her.
She chased him. Buttons pulled Nova’s fur. Nova pulled Buttons fur, too. This was the first time Buttons felt what it was like to have hair pulled. He ran away in fear. Minutes later, they sniffed each other.
After running around a bit, Nova found the hay box again for the second time. Buttons snuck up to her and had a good look.
After running around again, Buttons hid in a pipe for a minute.
Nova sat on the seat and groomed herself to calm herself down. Buttons sniffed under the seat for a while, then went to the other side of the pen.
Buttons started to groom himself. That’s good. They are trying to calm down.
They ran around a lot, and then spent time ignoring each other. Which is a good sign.
Nova Sucker Punched Buttons to the head. She started running towards Buttons and bouncing off him. Then the game would start again.
I started to play Bunny Calming music and Buttons started to relax. Nova wanted to know where the music was coming from and she came up to me. She hopped onto the seat and I gave her a pat. I noticed she had a little cut on her face. That’s when I ended the day.
Buttons relaxed after a big day. I had given him a hug, a walk around the garden and I brushed him before I brought him inside. That way I could check his body for hairless areas. He had one on his side, and it was small pink and bald, but nothing more than that. Awww.
I cuddled Nova for about 2 hours once she came inside. She snuggled into her soft blanket. That way I could have a good look at her cut. It was already healing. I will check it again tomorrow. Later, Nova was happy eating her grass.
For me, it was initially quite stressful. It’s the longest 15 minutes of my life. But once they settle down, it’s as though everything will be OK. I have learned that it is alright to let them sort each other out. Just remember that there is no territory and dominance, they are anthropomorphic human beliefs, it is all about learning to share – both me and the toys in the pen. Buttons isn’t a mean, angry bunny, he is easily confused and scared. Most of his behaviours are displays of those two things.
If you read this and think “it’s cruelty”, in actual fact it’s not. It is how they would sort each other out in the wild and those instincts have not gone anywhere. To deny rabbits the ability to meet each other like this (especially for rabbits like Buttons) just plainly doesn’t work. I tried so hard in the basket, and in the bathroom, but it was just going around in circles. For Buttons, this is the only way that works, he needs space to figure himself and the other bunny out.
Your rabbit may bond in a basket or on a table, but Buttons never will.
Pulling hair is called barbering, and if you’re interested in learning about how bunny’s brains work, there are articles about those topics in the Health Library.
Day 2 – Monday 3rd
I gave the bunnies a rest the following day, that way it will solidify their bonding a little more. I’ve found that it is good to give them a rest for a day and then go back to it, because it gives them time to think about it and gather their thoughts.
Day 3 & 4 – Tue 4th & Wed 5th
The 4th of July was an awfully cold day, so I kept the bunnies inside. Then on the 5th July, the sun came out. Nova wanted Buttons to play. So she ran up to him, squeezed between him and the fence, head-butted him in the side and kept running.
Then the game was on. Tiggy. Buttons would stalk Nova. She would act all innocent and sweet, like nothing is happening, but you can see her eye watching him. As he got closer she got ready to run. She would dart away and binky and Buttons would do the same. Then she would go after Buttons and it would repeat.
After playing zoomy-binky-tiggy for most of the day, by 2pm they were exhausted. Both bunnies were having fun, they played together and then binkied around. Buttons did three binkies in a row, which never happens, it’s hard to get him to do a single one. Nova zoomied so fast, she was on an imaginary race track, and binkied a bajillion times.
They were happy. No stress. Just being playful bunnies.
I think a two day rest did them really well. Buttons did pull some of her hair out, but only two clumps because she provoked him to do it. She’s not innocent. He would run around with a clump of her hair in his mouth like a beard. This was a successful full day of team bonding. They are calm when they are together, and then they are wild ratbags who love stirring each other up. There is no aggressiveness on either bunny’s part.
Day 5 – Thursday 6th
Another nice day where they bunnies spent all day together outside. They played with each other and Buttons only pulled one chunk of Nova’s fur out when I went to collect them for the night, and that was because I was in the pen trying to coax her over to me to pick her up and she got too close to him. So, that was ultimately my fault.
This is my plan
When I was bonding the trio together in March 2023, I used a plan and I’m going to follow the same pointers for Nova and Buttons.
I have updated it a bit to use stars.
| Star Rating | Description |
| ☆ | Given when heading towards a full star. |
| ⭐ | Not scared, no bulgy eyes and no serious chasing/lunging, learning to share and touching noses. |
| ⭐⭐ | Copying each other – i.e grooming at the same time, closer together. |
| ⭐⭐⭐ | Eating with each other, relaxed behaviour, laying around together. |
| ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Chilled buns in every situation. |
| Nova’s reactions | Buttons’ reactions |
|---|---|
| Nova is not scared, no bulgy eyes, just jumps out of the way. She is a little on edge when Buttons is closer to her but that’s because he removes a mouthful of fur if she doesn’t get away fast enough. | Buttons lunges and pounces. He isn’t scared. He chases her, especially if she is doing something interesting. |
| Hair pulled out, not as frequently. | Nova pulls some of Buttons hair out too, but not as much. |
| Nova stirs Buttons up on purpose. | Buttons reacts to Nova’s prompts. |
| Nova stays out of Button’s reach. | Buttons is too slow to catch her. |
| Nova wants to play games with Buttons, but he doesn’t understand that. | Buttons makes decisions as to whether to play with her or not. |
| Nova and Buttons groom at the same time, but far apart. | Buttons sees Nova grooming herself, and has to copy, even from a distance. |
| Nova gets close to Buttons, but she is still timid. | Buttons doesn’t want her too close just yet. |
| Nova lays away from Buttons. | Buttons chooses to be at the opposite side of the pen. |
| ☆ Nova and Buttons are heading towards being one star | |
If you’re interested in working with a plan similar to this, you have to keep one thing in the back of your mind. Not all rabbits are the same, and male and female rabbits are different.
Female rabbits are very outgoing and playful, they are full of personality. Male rabbits are lazier and more likely to have less energy than a female.
So, if you’re trying to bond two females, or two males, your experiences will be slightly different, but the plan should still work.
If you’re interested in learning about different bunny personalities, I have a great article for you in the Health Library!
Day 6 – Friday 7th
I greeted the bunnies in the morning and they didn’t want anything to do with me. Nova didn’t rush up to me for pats, and Buttons ignored me and did his own thing in his litter box. They didn’t even eat their breakfast. Nova gave me a side-eye stare over her shoulder and she hopped away. I couldn’t figure out why they both didn’t like me, then it dawned on me… they are blaming me for putting them in the pen together. So I decided to make two separate pens and pop a bunny in each one. That way I can spend time with Nova away from Buttons, and maybe start teaching her a life skill.
I put them in separate pens, and all Nova did was stare at Buttons, and he stared at her. I got some EVA tiles to sit on on the ground and waited until Nova came over to see what I was doing… curiosity… nope, she stayed in her corner staring at Buttons. She didn’t budge.
I gave in. I connected the pens together and they were super happy to be together, it was as though they had separation anxiety. They stayed around each other all day. They groomed at the same time, sitting less than a metre apart. They played together. Buttons pulled out one clump of Nova’s hair probably because she was teasing him again. They binkied, played and became emotionally closer.
This is the first time that I saw Nova run past Buttons and he didn’t react. This is a very positive behaviour.
Once I brought them inside for the night they didn’t want to leave each other. Nova was nuzzling Buttons bum, and Buttons stuck his nose against hers.
Updated Plan
| Star Rating | Description |
| ☆ | Given when heading towards a full star. |
| ⭐ | Not scared, no bulgy eyes and no serious chasing/lunging, learning to share and touching noses. |
| ⭐⭐ | Copying each other – i.e grooming at the same time, closer together. |
| ⭐⭐⭐ | Eating with each other, relaxed behaviour, laying around together. |
| ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Chilled buns in every situation. |
| Nova’s reactions | Buttons reactions |
|---|---|
| Nova stirs Buttons up to get a reaction from him. | Buttons reacts, most of the time missing her, but on rare occasions coming in contact. |
| Nova had one clump of hair pulled today. | Buttons has the same amount of hair in the afternoons as he had in the morning. |
| Nova sat near Buttons all day. | Buttons liked Nova’s company. |
| Nova and Buttons groom at the same time, about a metre apart. | Buttons grooms himself, and Nova copies, and vice versa. |
| Nova is not so timid around Buttons. | Buttons likes her close but has moments. |
| Nova lays next to Buttons in the indoor pen. | Buttons likes being near her. |
| ⭐ ☆ Nova and Buttons are very close to being half bonded. That’s a big change in 24 hours. Let’s see what happens tomorrow. | |
Day 7 – Saturday 8th
Again, the day was cold outside and the bunnies stayed inside. I decided to join the pens together. I collapsed the pens and changed the shape. This intrigued the bunnies to no end and they had to explore all bends and folds in the fence.
Buttons found very yummy hay in Nova’s litter box.
The black and white door snake was very entertaining, and Buttons picked up the end and flicked it around. Nova played with the IQ toy, but got bored really fast.
