# Nadia's Bonding Blog



## HoneyPot (Jul 25, 2007)

So I am going to keep a blog specifically aimed at my attempt to bond my 3 bunnies. Lots of folks ask about bonding 3 rabbits, so I figured while I attempt it, I will blog about it and maybe it will help someone(and hopfully I will be successful!).

So some background..

Misty and Charlie have been bonded for 9 months (wow.. seems longer). It took me 5 months to bond them as Misty is a witch in rabbit form.

*Personalities*
Some background on the personalities of the rabbits I am trying to bond...

*:bunnydance:Misty* - 2 years old, hell on 4 paws. She's an alpha female and is very strong willed. She is very passionate, cuddly, possessive. She's SUPER sweet - loves to cuddle, loves lots of attention. She's also a SUPER devil when she's been crossed. She likes her own way all the time. She's VERY intelligent andvery mischevious. She will not tolerate Neil or I smelling like an unknown rabbit - she will attack us and anything in her path if anyone she 'owns' smells like another bunny.

*:brown-bunnyCharlie* - 1.5 years old. He is a big doofus. He's sweet but doesn't like to be cuddled. He loves giving bunny kisses and grooms me any chance he gets. Very affectionate on his own terms, but is usually too busy enjoying life to sit still long enough for pets. He's a bit cowardly although I think he is the dominant bunny in his relationship with Misty (go figrure..). He's not the smartest tool in the shed -usually Misty is the ringleader, he follows and gets caught up in her mischeif.

*:brownbunnyOliver* - 3 months old. He is the new bunny - had him for4 days now. I've already been charged at, bitten, nipped, boxed, sprayed with pee. At the shelter he apparently terrorized his sister... so he's a handful. He's the most affectionate rabbit I've ever met. Shares out bunny kisses every chance he gets. He runs over to greet anyone that walks by. He's very feisty. No cowardice in him whatsoever.



*Setup*

At the moment, Misty and Charlie have free run of the top floor of my house. When Neil or I are home, they have free run of the main floor as well.

Oliver is currently in the spare bedroom in our basement (as far from the other two as possible). He has free run of the bedroom. Eventually, he will be brought up to the main floor in a cage... but that's the next step.



So... let the bonding begin!


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## ellissian (Jul 25, 2007)

Oooh, good luck!

I can't wait to see what happens, I hope it all goes well!


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## HoneyPot (Jul 25, 2007)

*Week1: Wednesday July 25th, 2007 *

Neil and I just went to pet the bunnies on Saturday, but I should have known. It really is nuts that we brought home another rabbit, but we could not resist him.

Oliver (as he is now named) is setup in the basement of our house in his own bedroom. He spends most of his time on the bed :grumpy:.

He's not neutered and has been pretty stinky. He will be quarantined in the basement away from Misty and Charlie for at least a week or two... or three

Neil and I are changing our clothing and washing our hands and arms between playing with him and playing with Misty and Charlie. We're doing that for 2 reasons:

a) For quarantine purposes
b) Misty will kill us if we smell like another rabbit

So far so good. Misty is behaving quite remarkably (although this is because she hasn't actually seen Oliver yet). 

At first she got a whiff of him on Neil's shirt and her little tail stood straight up, the ears went back and she started charging Charlie every time he moved. And charging me too... I don't know what it is with her and charging ME when it's Neil that smells like a strange bun.

So I made Neil change. 

The next day, I put the X-Pen in Misty and Charlie's area. Oliver was in the X-Pen when we brought him home the day before. That was until we discovered that he could jump out of it without thinking twice... so now Oliver is just free run in the room. Why do I always get rabbits that are escape artists and can't be caged... Anyway, we put the X-Pen which smelt like him in Misty's space and she checked it out for quite a while, chinned it, layed beside it... but no agression. :shock: She even went over and licked Charlie face for a while. 

Yesterday evening, I didn't change my socks between playing with Oliver and going up to the room with Misty and Charlie. Misty sniffed my socks and one again - the tail went up, the ears went back and she started charging everyone. So.. I changed my socks. She's so demanding.

So I've come to the conclusion that if Neil or I smell like Oliver - it's bad news, but if anything else smells like him, she's interested, but not aggressive. 

Oliver on the other hand has been chasing me and biting me if I come into the room smelling like Misty/Charlie, so I took down one of Misty and Charlie's dirty litter boxes and I left it in his room. He's going to have to get used to having their scent around all the time. He spent a good 1/2 hour chinning it and pooping in it, but I think he's getting the message.

Today, I took that same litter box that Oliver chinned and pooped in and I brought it up to the main floor - a bit of an experiment. Misty came down to the main floor... and smelled the litter, chinned it, pooped in it, peed beside it, and then did a bunch of binkies...

Interesting...

Charlie just does binkies every time he smells Oliver, so I think those two will be ok eventually.


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## jordiwes (Jul 25, 2007)

This is going to be a very interesting blog with such dominant personalities in the mix. Kudos to you!


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## JadeIcing (Jul 25, 2007)

Intresting! I just started writing something up.


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## Bunnys_rule63 (Jul 26, 2007)

*HoneyPot wrote: *


> *:bunnydance:Misty* - 2 years old, hell on 4 paws.




:laugh:Now I can't believe that for one second, just take a look at that sweet, innocent face and tell me she isn't just a little angel?:angel:


Good luck with the bonding!:biggrin2:


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## HoneyPot (Jul 27, 2007)

Step 2 of my plan is in place...

We've decided that we need to get Misty to bond with the little dude before we try Charlie. Charlie will be easy I think, but Misty is the trouble.

I have started letting Oliver play on the main floor of our house (living room, dining room, kitchen, hallway). Misty and Charlie spend time on the main floor when we are home, but they are usually blocked to only have free run of the second floor. 

So, when Misty and Charlie are upstairs behind their blockade, Oliver is out playing on the main floor. He chinned all their toys pretty good. Peed in their litter box a bunch of times. Slept in Misty's pet bed for a while. Tore up a bit of Misty and Charlie's play box. Binkied all over the rug. He had a pretty busy play time.

Today, I let the terror (Misty) down on the main floor and she ran around re-chinning everything, pooped up a storm, and then bikied like a mad-bunny. 

SO far so good. She's also gotten a look at him. I walked her down to the basement and we had a peek in on Oliver and she just looked at him over my shoulder... no reaction. So at least now she knows there is another bun in town.

_______________
Nadia


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## Haley (Jul 27, 2007)

Good luck, Nadia!

I did the same thing when I was trying to bond the three boys: Basil, Max and Tumnus. We were doing so well until Max got sick and I called things off.

I did Basil and Tumnus first since they are the dominant buns, I knew Max would go along with whatever big brother Basil said. Car rides worked the best for sure. And the dining room table.

I really hope this works out! If not, you can always get a girl for Oliver and have two bonded pairs like me. lol


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## iluvmybuns (Jul 29, 2007)

I am seriously going to study this. When I have a house I plan on fostering buns and I know I'll end uo wanting to bond someone to my two.


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## Raspberry82 (Jul 29, 2007)

Ditto.


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## HoneyPot (Jul 29, 2007)

So, another part of the plan is to have Misty get along with Charlie in an area that smells like Oliver. When we let both Misty and Charlie down onto the main floor after Oliver has been playing there, Misty has been charging and snapping at Charlie because she keeps thinking he's the new bunny. 

So we've been having supervised play time between Misty and Charlie down on the main floor (just to be safe it doesn't get more serious). I had a spray bottle and gave her a good couple squirts. 

Last night was the 3rd time they had been down together in the living room, and there was a small bit of charging between Misty and Charlie, but nothing serious and it definately smelled like Oliver. So I think she's easing up. 

Our goal is for the two of them to be in an area that smells like Oliver and Misty to not be aggressive to Charlie - the last thing I want to do is break the bond between the two of them if I introduce the new guy.

And I have some new picture - will put those up today in the blog. 

_______________
Nadia


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## LuvaBun (Jul 29, 2007)

Oohh, this is going to make interesting reading, Nadia. Sounds like you have things pretty much under control at the moment. Looking forward to seeing how things progress 

Jan


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## JadeIcing (Jul 29, 2007)

I like reading this. One thing I want to point out is that Nadia knows her bonded pair very well. So it helps her knowing what would be ok with her first two. Each bun is different.

My guys are fine being in an area the others have been, seeing each other from a distance. The problem is when they are side by side.


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## HoneyPot (Jul 30, 2007)

*JadeIcing wrote: *


> I like reading this. One thing I want to point out is that Nadia knows her bonded pair very well. So it helps her knowing what would be ok with her first two. Each bun is different.
> 
> My guys are fine being in an area the others have been, seeing each other from a distance. The problem is when they are side by side.



Yes, JadeIcing hit a really good point. What works for my guys may or may not work for everyone. I know the personalities of my bunnies well, so I know that I need to really get Misty to get used to the scent of the new bunny. Whenever I come home smelling like another bunny, all hell breaks loose, so I know what I can force on her.

If you're bonding 3 bunnies, you really have to tailor it to suit your bunnies because like Jade said - each bunny will be different. But, the same ideas apply - get them used to each other's scent in their area, introduce them in neutral territory etc.



_____________
Nadia


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## Flashy (Jul 30, 2007)

This is a great blog 

You and JadeIcing have highlighted a really important point, so I hope that anyone wanting to bond three buns will take that on board and tailor it to their bunnies needs and personalities.

It's going to make really interesting reading.


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## HoneyPot (Aug 3, 2007)

EEEeeeee, big stuff happening tonight.

Honestly, this is going too well now - what's the point of a bonding blog if the buns are being so good about bonding???

Well, I put Misty in her carrier and took her down to some neutral territory. Kept her in the carrier, but let Oliver run around. Historically, the sight of another rabbit would driver her nutso, but surprisingly, Oliver came up to the carrier, stuck his nose in, and Misty just kinda let him sniff her and didn't do anything.

WOW!

:dancingorig:



_____________
Nadia


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## LuvaBun (Aug 3, 2007)

Are you sure that someone hasn't swapped Misty with a look alike:shock:. After all the hassle she gave poor Charlie (and you) this sounds like a different bunny.

Let's hope this is a good sign, and things will go smoothly - unless she is lulling you all into a false sense of security and preparing to go into attack mode 

Jan


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## JadeIcing (Aug 3, 2007)

Ohhh! Good stuff. One thing I was wondering is how they say there scents change after neuter/spay. Could that cause a set back?

I tell ya it was weird with mine. I started trying to add Elvis to Dallas and Teresa and it was ok but not great. Than I tried Connor and it was instant.


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## HoneyPot (Aug 3, 2007)

Jan - I know - she's been surprising me at every turn. I guess she just really didn't like Charlie when we got him. The thing is, she loves Cookie... if we go to my parents' house with her, she'll flop out next to Cookie and present to him for grooming and everything... even though they're not bonded... so I guess it really is just depending on who they like.

Alicia - yeah, you're right about the neuter, I'm not going to put them together until he's neutered, but I wanted to test out the waters. 

______________
Nadia


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## HoneyPot (Aug 3, 2007)

Hmm.. another thing I just thought of is that when I got Charlie - Misty was about 8 or 9 months old, so she was still pretty young and in her teenage stage. Now she's 2 years old... maybe she's calmed down a bit.

___________
Nadia


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## Johncdn (Aug 3, 2007)

*HoneyPot wrote: *


> I guess she just really didn't like Charlie when we got him. The thing is, she loves Cookie... if we go to my parents' house with her, she'll flop out next to Cookie and present to him for grooming and everything... even though they're not bonded... so I guess it really is just depending on who they like.
> ____________
> Nadia


*Gasp* :shock: She's prejudiced against Lops?


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## Phinnsmommy (Aug 3, 2007)

Johncdn wrote:


> *HoneyPot wrote: *
> 
> 
> > Â I guess she just really didn't like Charlie when we got him.Â  The thing is, she loves Cookie... if we go to my parents' house with her, she'll flop out next to Cookie and present to him for grooming and everything... even though they're not bonded... so I guess it really is just depending on who they like.
> ...



:laugh:


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## HoneyPot (Aug 4, 2007)

*Johncdn wrote: *


> *HoneyPot wrote: *
> 
> 
> > I guess she just really didn't like Charlie when we got him. The thing is, she loves Cookie... if we go to my parents' house with her, she'll flop out next to Cookie and present to him for grooming and everything... even though they're not bonded... so I guess it really is just depending on who they like.
> ...


LOL! Come to think of it.... it seems that way doesn't it?!


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## naturestee (Aug 4, 2007)

Misty is a breedist! Or an earist???:biggrin2:


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## HoneyPot (Aug 7, 2007)

LOL - I think she's an earest, cause really... can a mutt be a breedist? She probably has like every breed in her. LOL.

So, Oliver has officially moved to the main floor of the house and out of the basement room. Mainly because we felt bad leaving him down there all the time as he's a people bun and was so happy whenever we went down to spend time with him. So, we built him a NIC and he's in the living room now. 

Misty and Charlie have not been down to see him, but as we speak I can hear Misty trying to move the gate blocking the stairs to come down. haha. Usually Misty spends the day with me in the living room, but because he is down here, she is upstairs and not pleased about it. 

But, so far so good. 

Nad


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## Snuggys Mom (Aug 7, 2007)

You're doing great, Nadia.I think taking it slow is key. 

Misty sounds like Snuggy. The first couple of times we introduced her to new furry friends, she was TERRIBLE, but she was younger then. Now that she's older and has been through twelve (twelve! :shocknew introductions, she's like, "whatever". She knows I will continue to bring new animals home as time goes by, so she's over it. 

She might not like it, but I guess I've worn her down, kind of like my husband! :biggrin2:


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## HoneyPot (Aug 14, 2007)

Today I brought Misty down to play in the living room while Oliver stayed in his cage. At the same time I did that, I had to vacuum, so I flipped it on and went to work while keeping an eye on them.

The vacuum did 2 things. 

1) It cleaned up all the bunny poop laying around that Oliver has been leaving as surprises
2) it worked to provide a bit of stress to both Misty and Oliver. 

I saw the difference. Misty - since she was a bit nervous was not agressive in the least. She ran around, investigated, and as soon as she showed any kind of agression, I flipped on the vacuum and she hid, had a time out and relaxed.

So after about 1/2 hour of that, Misty is playing very nicely in the living room, and Oliver is chillin in his cage. She sniffs him, he sniffs her, and they're good. No attacking. It's a small miracle really...

____________
Nadia


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## LuvaBun (Aug 15, 2007)

This is such great news - I can hardly believe it's the same Misty that tried to kill you for smelling of Charlie . Oliver sounds as if he's a pretty chilled bunny when it comes to meeting different buns. So far, it sounds as if things couldn't be better 

Jan


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## JadeIcing (Aug 15, 2007)

Sounds great! I am so happy things are going well.

Alicia and The Zoo Crew (Part 2-2007)*, *Alicia's Zoo Crew Bonding Journals , The Rocky Show and Friends and Indie is in the House


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## Haley (Aug 15, 2007)

*HoneyPot wrote: *


> So after about 1/2 hour of that, Misty is playing very nicely in the living room, and Oliver is chillin in his cage. She sniffs him, he sniffs her, and they're good. No attacking. It's a small miracle really...


Thats wonderful! Maybe car rides would be promising as well when you start bonding again after the neuter. They worked wonders for Basil and Max. It also probably helps that Misty is calming down a little as she matures. That makes a big difference.

And its funny to think of brave Misty being afraid of the vacuum. Its so funny here because Tumnus has always attacked the hand vac (he must think its a little white predator) and as soon as Lucy saw him doing this she started- now both go nuts when I vacuum. lol

Anyway, good luck and keep us posted! :brownbunny:brownbunny:brownbunny:vacuum:


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## Johncdn (Aug 15, 2007)

*HoneyPot wrote: *


> The vacuum did 2 things.
> 
> 1) It cleaned up all the bunny poop laying around that Oliver has been leaving as surprises
> 2) it worked to provide a bit of stress to both Misty and Oliver.
> ...


Back before Smokey became the _Perfectly Behaved Bunny_ I used to stop him short when he was acting up by shining a flashlight on the ceiling. It would stop him dead every time.


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## HoneyPot (Aug 15, 2007)

OH! Good tip John, I am going to try that one too.


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## HoneyPot (Aug 16, 2007)

So.. last night I brought both Misty and Charlie down to hang out in the living room with Oliver (who was still in his cage).

It went better than I could imagine. Those 3 are going to be friends in no time.

Charlie is interested and I think we caught him and Oliver giving each other bunny kisses, or at least they were touching noses through the bars. So those 2 are no worry.

Misty tolerates Oliver, and seems very interested in him, but I can tell she's still a bit nervous and anxious about the whole thing, but she's not being agressive to him. She does try to nip him through the bars every now and then but usually when he goes up to her and sticks his nose through the bars, she runs away.

The real problem I have been having is Misty with Charlie. Prior to this, we only took Misty down alone to see Oliver, and then when she went back ot hanging out with Charlie, she would charge him and nip his fur if he moved too quickly and she could not keep an eye on him.

After last night - and having all 3 down at once, Misty has calmed that behaviour down. We're thinking maybe it was because she would mistake Charlie for Oliver when they were upstairs, and she would charge him thinking he was the new bunny. 

So, now we know - when we're bonding, we have to do all 3 at once for Misty to keep them straight and not attack Charlie.

The other thing Misty was doing was anytime charlie went up to Oliver to greet him, she would shove herself between them, under Charlie and make sure they could not get to each other. I think she's jealous.

____________
Nadia


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## JadeIcing (Aug 16, 2007)

*HoneyPot wrote: *


> The other thing Misty was doing was anytime charlie went up to Oliver to greet him, she would shove herself between them, under Charlie and make sure they could not get to each other. I think she's jealous.
> 
> ____________
> Nadia


I agree about this. Dallas is the exact same way. I honeslty think he does not like the idea of sharing. Though he comes around it is not easy at first.


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## HoneyPot (Aug 20, 2007)

Well, today Oliver and Charlie were out together on the table. Charlie layed there while Oliver gave him a good grooming, and then proceeded to hump him. Charlie didn't even budge, but I broke that up since Oliver is still recovering from his surgery. Silly bun.

Right now Charlie is laying down DBFed against Oliver's cage... and Oliver is snacking. Misty on the other hand has been put upstairs because she was charging at Charlie and Oliver pretty badly today.

Also, Oliver's new thing is the stairs.I can't let him out of his cage for 2 minutes before he is running up the stairs, and Misty is just waiting at the top behind the gate to growl at him.

... 

______________
Nadia


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## HoneyPot (Aug 22, 2007)

A couple pictures of the poops together:



















I have more photos in my blog that I just added!
http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=14997&forum_id=6&page=4

______________
Nadia


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## iluvmybuns (Aug 22, 2007)

This is so neat. I am definately referring to this thread when I adopt another bun at the shelter....... It's so hard going everyweek and NOT taking someone home!!

P.S. It is so funny I keep reading this and I see Charlie and Oliver and it's cracking me up because my friend's name is Charlie Oliver. Haha I just had to tell you that I dont know why:biggrin2:


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## LuvaBun (Aug 25, 2007)

Looks like Charlie and Oliver are going to have no problem getting along. That Charlie - he's so laid back, letting Oliver do what he likes with him 

Jan


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## HoneyPot (Sep 17, 2007)

Well, my guys have taken a turn for the worse.

Current Situation - Oliver is back on the main floor (and is happier than ever). Misty and Charlie have the 2nd floor of the house all to themselves again (and they also could not be happier). I rushed things because of the wedding and because we were having guests. I was way too busy to take the time to work with them properly and there was some regression in their behavior.

The last straw came when Oliver and Charlie had their fight.

Charlie was very very interested in being friends, but this is back when Oliver was JUST neutered and he bit Charlie on the nose and since then, Charlie is NOT having him at all.

So when they accidentally got together and Charlie pretty much kicked Oliver's behind... I decided I needed to take a step back. So they're in different parts of the house again and we're taking a break for a while.

Nadia


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## HoneyPot (Oct 2, 2007)

Alrighty, back to bonding.

All wounds are healed.

Oliver is in the living room, Misty and Charlie are on the 2nd floor of the house. In the evenings I let Misty and Charlie down to the living room to play and so far no issues.

Misty goes up to Oliver and presents, he grooms her, but I find that he nips her a bit. when he does, she flips and tries to bite him, but I think he just doesn't realize he shouldn't nip her.

So that's the way this will go for a while. Charlie and Oliver are the same - they sniff each other out, no one is grooming the other, but no agressiveness.

So... still just a waiting game.

______________
Nadia


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## naturestee (Oct 2, 2007)

Hey Nadia, if they're fighting through the cage bars then put some hardware cloth up. They can still see and sniff each other but the wire mesh is small enough to prevent them from hurting each other. It helped me a lot!


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## LuvaBun (Oct 2, 2007)

What a bummer after things seemed to be going so well (perhaps too well :?). Misty sounds so like Pernod - a nip causing her to attack. Those little stinkers really like to keep you on your toes!!! Here's hoping things improve.

Jan


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