Progress?

There is some progress to report in the ongoing *saga* to re-bond Missy and Freckles so that they can live together again. Both look somewhat cautious, if not slightly annoyed, in the photo at left. Being this close to one another and sharing the pooty box is a good sign. I felt comfortable enough today to step out of the pen for the first time and leave them be to see what might happen.

For those of you who don't know bunnies and who think rabbits are snuggly balls of fluff (as the photos of Boomer and Cricket might lead you to believe) - well, you're probably wondering what all the fuss is about, right? I admit that I'm overly cautious, but rabbits are very territorial, especially females, and can really hurt one another. I'd like to avoid anybunny getting hurt so I'm taking this very slowly.

Today was a good day, Missy and Freckles are showing signs of being able to get along; I was happy to be able to step away and let them work out their issues. Unfortunately, it seems like they still have the same issues as they always did. Missy wants to be the boss and so does Freckles. Freckles is the submissive one, usually, but she's not ready yet to feign over Missy the way Missy thinks she ought to. So, they arrive at something of a standoff. Both bunnies think the other should give all of the affection. Missy takes the lead and washes Freckles ears and eyes, but not nearly as gently as she should. Missy's roughness makes Freckles jump, and run away, and then a minor chase ensues. I watched this sequence over and over today. Finally exasperated with both of them, I packed up the x-pen until another day and put them back into their lonely habitats. Both clearly want to be friends, yet they can't seem to agree on who should make a compromise.