Bonding Females

[Dia]

Some people may have seen my other post about the new dwarf rabbit that I adopted. My other female mini lop is running around right now and she goes up to the cage of the new female dwarf and there seems to be no signs of aggression. The males that I have, on the other hand, will try to get the other male rabbits when one is in the cage and the other is out.

I am not to familiar with bonding rules and I don't know if its possible to get these two females to "be friends" or maybe its not such a great idea.

Anyone have any experience with this that could give me some advice?

 

[Flashy]

Yup, two females can bond, but really it is dependent on the buns themselves, rather than gender.

Are they both spayed? And healthy?

They can be introduced on neutral territory (a place where none of them have been before preferably). There is a link in the library about bonding, and its probably improtant to read as much as you can and ask lots of questions.

You should expect some humping, chasing, nipping, but obviously fighting needs to be stopped, but if both buns are doing ok with the other stuff, you just have to let them go because that's part of the process. You will need to supervise them throughout the bonding process, to ensure there are no problems or fights between them.

 

[Dia]

Neither of them is spayed. The one is schedule to be spayed soon, but the new female dwarf is already 4 and was not spayed by the previous owner and i don't know about getting 4 year old spayed or if there is a risk with that.

i guess i can take them out together and just see what happens. if they don't like each other....than at least i tried. I will read as much information as I can.

Thank you!

 

[Flashy]

They will be easier to bond when spayed.

It is desirable for buns to be spayed because of the high uterine cancer risk. An older healthy bunny can do ok under a spay with a rabbit savvy vet. Maybe you could look to have blood tests and such to determine how healthy she is and then go from there as to whether or not to spay her. I had a foster of mine spayed in the summer, and she is probably quite old (I guess around 6 or 7, but maybe older) and despite the vet making a hash of it, she did fine. I know of several people who have had older buns spayed too, so it can definitely be done. It does just depend on the health of the bun. Maybe you could post in the Infirmary about spaying older buns.

If they don't bond, could you maybe arrange their setup so that they are next to each other? then they could get some company and have something interesting next door, but both would be safe.

 

[Dia]

Maybe thats a good idea to stick them in the cages next to each other. The female dwarf is not as healthy as she should be. She is VERY overweight from the previous owner because she was always fed pellets with stuff in them constantly and green beans were her only source of fresh greens.

I have been letting her out to exercise, but she just sits there most of the time. I also take her to work with me and let her run around on my office floor during the day, hoping that with all of the exercise and a better diet she will lose some of her weight. i know how horrible it is for those smaller breeds to be so overweight.

 

[Flashy]

That's odd, my foster came to me obese too, and it is so sad. She had her spay while still overweight (not my choice by any means) and she did badly, so shifting her weight is the main priority, and then when she is a healthy weight, then maybe make a decision on spaying.

Is she shifting her weight?

 

[Dia]

I have only had her for about 4 days now. I am slowly introducing the Oxbow BBT and one salad a day. I am feeding her hay also. How long does it usually take to see results? I never had an overweight rabbit so I am not sure how long it will take her to loose this weight.

 

[Flashy]

You will need to do it really gradually because otherwise it can damage the liver. I can't remember the speed with which it should go, but it is very slow, so you shouldn't particuarly see results unless you regularly weigh her (which is probably worth doing if you can), but you will probably get to a point where you think 'oh, she looks thinner'.

Essentially you need to work her onto a diet that is primarily hay and minimal pellets, and also not any sugary foods and stuff (which you have probably already been told in your thread which I saw but haven't read since people replied).