Black Jack's date

[whatever4andnomore]

It looks as if Black Jack invited SunDancer over for dinner! They were having floor time, and BJ's cage is in the livingroom. I just open the door to let him come in and out as he likes. Well, SunDancer decided SHE was invited in last night. BJ thought it was great! They were sharing a meal together, hehehe. Then she got bossy! She started honking and grunting at him. He just didn't know what to think! Next thing I knew they were in the corner and she was giving him a bath! Too stinkin cute! I wonder if at some point I can bond them and house them together. Just not sure though, because she cannot be spayed and Black Jack is neutered.

 

[madisonl702]

Why can't Sundance be spayed?

 

[whiskylollipop]

I have heard of unspayed females living just fine with neutered males, but I have also heard that they will never truly bond that way, the female will always be temperamental so fights are a possibility at any time. I guess it depends on both buns' personalities!

 

[JBun]

It looks as though your rabbits decided on their own that they wanted to be bonded. If you decide to continue, from the sound of their first encounter, the rest should be pretty easy.

Though I do believe spaying and neutering is usually best in most circumstances, I'm not one that believes that rabbits can't be truly bonded if they aren't fixed. Usually with males it is more necessary as they are so hormonal it almost always gets in the way of bonding being possible(and can be very dangerous because of fighting, and next to impossible when attempting male/male bonds, which I would never suggest attempting). With females though, it's more possible for an unspayed female to bond if you have a female with a personality that makes this possible. I had a bonded pair where the male was neutered and the female unspayed for the first two and a half years of their relationship, and they did just fine together. She did tend to hump him more than an spayed female would, but he is pretty easy going and she didn't do it so much that it irritated him. I did eventually get her spayed and their relationship hardly changed at all, except for less humping going on. So it is possible with the right rabbits, in the right situation. You also need to be aware that if she humps too much and it irritates him, it could lead to a fight, but this can also happen in bonding where both rabbits are fixed. And also be aware that if you bond them, that you can't usually separate them back to single buns without it causing a lot of upset to the rabbits, even can cause real depression with them. So once bonded they need to stay that way.

I would however, suggest to wait a few more weeks if you decide to go ahead with it. You only neutered him a week ago right? So he can still have viable sperm for up to 4-6 weeks post neuter, and could still make your female pregnant. You should wait at least another 3 weeks(5 if you want to be really safe) if you don't want to end up with baby buns. Though if he humped her at all when you let them be together, she could have possibly gotten pregnant already.

 

[whatever4andnomore]

I cannot spay SunDancer because she is my daughter's purebred show rabbit for 4H and she cannot be altered to be shown. however, in a couple years when her "career" as a show rabbit is over, and if we decide not to breed her, I will have her spayed simply because I know the cancer rate in unspayed females. I do not wish that on our sweet girl. After all, she IS a house rabbit as well as a show rabbit.

As far as bonding Black Jack and SunDancer, I don't think I have much say over it! LOL! They are always snuggly wuggly together. He is just obsessed with her. Even though he was just neutered a week ago, I can see some of his humping behavior nearly gone. She still flicks her tail at him, and he still chases her! I do not think I would house them together unless I built a much larger enclosure like the C and C cages I see on youtube. I am not able to do that at this time, but perhaps after the New Year that can be a project my daughter and I do together. They are always hanging out together during floor time. When we take them to the park on their leashes, he runs after her. I think its the sweetest thing to see them together. One of the managers at Petco was bummed because she thought it would be neat to see the two of them have a litter together. I agreed with her, but I also knew that their babies couldn't be show quality as Black Jack isn't pedigreed and that would be the only reason for me to breed rabbits at all. I personally feel there are too many rabbits to be rescued to just have litters for the sake of having babies. (though I do not judge others who do this, its just my personal conviction) I might have my kids breed our show rabbits once or twice for the learning 4h experience (not the current brother/sister pair of course) but not otherwise.

Anyway, I think these two would still make a really cute bonded pair if we can get it to work out permanently. But if not, they still get along really well during floor time and park time.