Merlin meets Tina

We had been warned that rabbits often fight upon being introduced and so took the necessary precautions in starting the bonding process when introducing Merlin to his new companion, Tina.

First, we put the carrier cage containing Tina on the floor next to Merlin's hutch and let them look at each other warily. Next, we had Merlin under the wire lid of his hutch and Tina in an adjacent pen, in our bedroom where Merlin had never been before - neutral territory. After half an hour of them sniffing around at their novel location, we removed the hutch lid and let them encounter each other properly.

Remarkably, it was love at first sight for Merlin. He chased Tina, flopped on his side, paws in the air in euphoria, quacked and squelched delightedly. Tina was not so sure and ran rings around Merlin, desperately trying to escape his attentions.

Fortunately, Tina eventually decided to tolerate Merlin and their new shared home. Now we just have to persuade Tina to like us too...