Bonding Pairs

[Idgie]

I got Ace and Lettuce a few months back. Ace is a buck and Lettuce is a female and are about 5-6 months old. Anyway, Ace and Lettuce have bonded and are always, always with each other at all times.

A couple weeks ago, I brought home Lucky and Idgie. They're both about 13 weeks old and we believe Lucky is a male and Idgie a female. Both of them are bonded fairly well as well.

Ace doesn't mind either of the new buns and takes everything in stride. He's pretty mellow even when Lettuce acts up. As for Lettuce, she hates Lucky but doesn't really mind Idgie so much. She doesn't exactly like Idgie, but she doesn't hate her like she does Lucky. When I first brought them home, Lettuce managed to escape from her cage and bounded across the room and attacked Lucky. Both the babies go over to Lettuce's cage whenever they're out. She just goes up and smells Idgie, but flips out when Lucky goes over (though she's gotten a lot better). The rabbits pretty much have run of the house and have been in every room, though they don't particularly like the kitchen, except for Lucky.

Anyway, anyone have any tips for the true introduction and bonding process to be as less stressful as possible and minimise injury? Could I introduce them now, despite the age difference? How long should I wait?
I know Lettuce and Lucky may never get a long, but I'd like to be able to let them all out at once without one pair flipping out.

 

[Spring]

Is everyone spayed/neutered? If not, I would separate Ace from Lettuce and Lucky from Idgie completely or you'll end up with lots oflittle ones.:shock:They are at that age where they are capable of breeding if they are being kept together. If they are ALL spayed and or neutered, bonding will be a lot easier and you won't have the risk of a pregnancy.

Once they are all spay/neutered (if not already done), you could just keep the two pairs or trio for a quad. A quad might be tricky since it can affect the relationships of the original pair. Start on neutral territory, and just see what happens. If two rabbits seem to be really not liking each other, it might be a bond that needs worked on outside of the group of four.

 

[Idgie]

We're waiting on Idgie and Lucky until we know for sure what genders they are and until they are a little older. We have Lettuce scheduled to be spayed very soon (all the good vets around here are so busy, it's insane). I haven't had any problems with males, so I don't typically get them fixed. Until Lettuce is spayed, she's separated from Ace unless they're out running around (and are very, closely monitered). I'll probably end up neutering Ace anyway.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Spring]

That's good you are scheduling her to get spayed. Even with close supervision, breeding can happen faster than you'd be able to split them up... only takesa split second for the deed to get done. Definitely not something to risk! Personally I would keep them apart completely until a few weeks after her spay. They are definitely at that age where there hormones are acting up, and will attempt to breed. Just not safe to have them together, even under close supervision.

Depending on their breeds, dwarfs can breed as young as 4 months old.. so I would split up your other pair as well until at-least one is fixed and you've waited numerous weeks after. At 13 weeks, I would be separating them sooner than later.

If you are looking to have solid bonds between the pairs, or bond a group, neutering the male is necessary in my experience. Otherwise once they get hormonal they will only focus on mounting the females or each other, and intact males are prone to fighting. Just to keep in mind since you are wanting to attempt to bond everyone .

In my experience, spaying and neutering is essential in bonding so you don't have to deal with so many hormonal and territorial problems.

 

[NZminilops]

:yeahthat:

Bucks really are so fast, it does only take a few seconds of you looking in the other direction and the deed can be done.

If you're not intending to have baby rabbits, then it really would be a great idea to keep everyone apart, at least until males can be neutered or girls can be spayed. Girls and boys can even mate through cage bars, they can be so detirmined!

If the 13 week old girl does happen to get pregnant, it would be a terrible strain on her body, right now she needs all her energy to grow. Also due to her size, she would be unlikely to have a successful birth. Babies could get stuck in the birth canal, and this could be fatal for both her and babies.

As with the bonding, it does seem to go better if the boys are neutered, from personal experience. They don't have all those hormones making them sexually frustrated all the time, and instead of only wanting to do the bump-n-grond, they'll be more likely to feel calm and more able to engage in gentle rabbit play and grooming etc.

 

[Idgie]

Thanks guys!

Do you think I should try to introduce them in the kitchen? I'm thinking of putting down towels since they don't like the floor. I would introduce them elsewhere, but they have run of the house. How many times do you think they should meet until they can all be in the main hang out area (which would be the living room)? I know it'll be mostly based on how they take to one another, but I don't want to rush them into anything and make them uncomfortable and increase risk of injury.

 

[Spring]

After they are fixed, I think that would be a good plan. Best to have a neutral strange area, so the kitchen word work if it's no one's territory. The bathtub with a towel down works well too! You'll usually get to know when you can move ahead or slow it down.. if there's fighting, slow it down a bit and go back to basics, but if they are ignoring each other, grooming etc. just keep moving forward (more time, more space, introduction to familiar territory, being together for long periods of time etc.)

 

[Idgie]

Spring wrote:

After they are fixed, I think that would be a good plan. Best to have a neutral strange area, so the kitchen word work if it's no one's territory. The bathtub with a towel down works well too! You'll usually get to know when you can move ahead or slow it down.. if there's fighting, slow it down a bit and go back to basics, but if they are ignoring each other, grooming etc. just keep moving forward (more time, more space, introduction to familiar territory, being together for long periods of time etc.)

Lol, thank you.

It's times like these I feel completely ignorant XD I've never had to bond rabbits before, just guinea pigs small creaturewise.

 

[juliew19673]

Idgie, don't feel ignorant, but it is VERY wise that you checked on the bonding issue.. So your common sense is great and after everyone is fixed (mind you it takes a few weeks for the hormones to work their way out of the system) you can then start to bond..

Good luck and please post how it goes - I'm trying to bond a young bun and an old cat and it takes FOREVER (because of the cat) but it teaches you patience so keep that in mind.. 2 buns might be easier and wishing you the best of success!

 

[juliew19673]

Idgie, don't feel ignorant, but it is VERY wise that you checked on the bonding issue.. So your common sense is great and after everyone is fixed (mind you it takes a few weeks for the hormones to work their way out of the system) you can then start to bond..

Good luck and please post how it goes - I'm trying to bond a young bun and an old cat and it takes FOREVER (because of the cat) but it teaches you patience so keep that in mind.. 2 buns might be easier and wishing you the best of success!