Bonding young rabbits? All advice/experiences welcome!

[Nicole Lindsay]

Hi all,

I have a 10 week old Frenchie whos due to be neutered mid-March (this is as early as any vets in my area are willing to neuter).
It was always my plan to find him a friend to bond with in the future however, the chance to adopt a young doe from a rescue has arisen; which I've taken. I will be keeping them in separate pens without next door visibility at first until Bruno has been neutered, then I will move on to increase the visibility and so on...

I'm writing to ask for some bonding experiences, tips, and tricks if anyone is willing to share. Id also like to ask if it is possible to bond an unspayed doe to a castrated male, or if I should wait until she is spayed before they become face to face out in the open?

 

[Mariam+Theo]

I would spay/neuter both of them before they meet just to be safe. The female will be hormonal if not spayed. Here is a link and video that I recommend to everyone who is bonding.
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/bonding-bunnies.html

 

[Blue eyes]

You run a real risk if you get the female. They may not bond as adults (after fixing) and baby bonds simply don't count. (Most all babies get along at first but that changes with the onset of hormones.) The risk you run is the possibility of ending up with 2 rabbits that won't get along and have to be housed separately.

I realize a baby bun is quite tempting, but it just isn't advised.

Ideally, wait until after your boy is fixed. Wait 6-8 weeks after surgery for hormones to fully dissipate. Then introduce him to some other fixed rabbits. He is the one that should be choosing his bondmate.

Both rabbits need to be fixed for the best chance of a lasting bond. And they do best if they choose each other, and that choosing takes place after they've been altered. If you look for an already spayed female from a rescue, that has the added advantage of the rescue working with you. (In the UK, some will even do the bonding for you.) If one rabbit refuses to bond with your boy, they will typically allow an exchange so you are sure to wind up with a compatible pair.

 

[zuppa]

Hi all,

I have a 10 week old Frenchie whos due to be neutered mid-March (this is as early as any vets in my area are willing to neuter).
It was always my plan to find him a friend to bond with in the future however, the chance to adopt a young doe from a rescue has arisen; which I've taken. I will be keeping them in separate pens without next door visibility at first until Bruno has been neutered, then I will move on to increase the visibility and so on...

I'm writing to ask for some bonding experiences, tips, and tricks if anyone is willing to share. Id also like to ask if it is possible to bond an unspayed doe to a castrated male, or if I should wait until she is spayed before they become face to face out in the open?

Hi, I would generally agree with what Blue eyes described, but I also understand that you are looking at a female from a rescue so she might be already fixed? That would make things lot easier for you, however there still will be a few problems in the near future.

So imagine you got that fixed female from rescue, yes you can put them together and they may bond (if they generally like each other), but when your male will be around 3.5-5 months he will start humping her (most likely) and she can get annoyed and can damage him quite badly. If you are willing to fix him at 3.5 months that's great but you will have to keep them separated for a few weeks until he's healed and his hormones gone. Then you will try bonding them as new rabbits. So that's not impossible but creates a bit of work for you so you have to decide for yourself if you want it or you can just wait until mid March when he's neutered and one month after that and then as Blue eyes described you can get a fixed female to bond them safely.

 

[Nicole Lindsay]

Hi all,

Thanks for the responses, I will definitely have a good think and I completely agree with Blue eyes about him being able to choose his own mate.
thanks all