A Bunny Visitor

January 9, 2016

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Over the holidays, Phineas ended up staying with Liz Rench while we visited family. During that time, we learned of another rabbit that Liz Rench had come to house due to some unfortunate conditions. Liz got to meet this other rabbit two weeks ago, and an arrangement was made to see if this new rabbit (named Lady Jane) might be a good match for Phineas.

In the past, we’ve done the speed-dating thing to positive results. So this was a kind of whim, to see if a match might be possible.

And… no. Unfortunately. While both rabbits find one another interesting, the moment they get within touching distance of one another… they go into attack mode. It got to the point where we ended up putting sheets of cardboard between their pen areas, to lessen the aggression.

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Lady Jane, taking a hay break. We were warned that she eats a little more than most rabbits her size (and really seems to like her water).

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She is incredibly sweet and quite affectionate (one of the reasons Liz gravitated towards her is how interested Lady Jane was to be pet). She seems really lovely, and the only problem seems to be the aggression between her and Phineas. They just don’t seem a good match.

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A rare, quiet moment between the two.

After a day, it seemed like things calmed down. But the moment we got them closer together, they began lunging at one another. It could be a variety of issues – a territory thing, a dominance thing… hard to tell.

We were hoping to introduce the two in a neutral area, after a day or so of acclimiation. But given how they’re behaving, it seems best to just skip that and call it: the two are not a good fit.

When we tried to bond Baxter and Quincy together – it was a very lengthy process. They didn’t get along that well initially, and it was a lot of work to get them to be at ease with one another.

When Quincy and Phineas bonded together, it happened much, much faster. Three days as opposed to three months.

While I’m sure that Phineas and Lady Jane would eventually get along after some time, we’ve learned that the fit has to be there from the start.

Since Quincy’s passing, Liz has been worried about Phineas – and has felt he needs another companion. Though Lady Jane will ultimately not work out, it seems that Mr. Phineas may be hitting the speed dating circuit again, soon.