How to bond two neutered males

[HappyThieves]

So, here's thesituation: Wehave two-year old VanillaFudge (a Magpie Harlie) who has thefriendliestpersonality. We just had him neuteredthis week (prior to that he would mount any animal/person/thing hecould find!).

This weekend we were at the animal shelter (it was actuallyPhiladelphia's Animal Control, PACCA--which a pretty scary placeforan animal!) and found this tiny bunny that was labeled asa "two y.o. dwarf." After looking at pictures on theweb,he looks more like a Britannia Petite, but peach colored(the kids named him Butterscotch). We took him home (thentook him back the next morning to be neutered) because we felt like heneeded to be outta there!

He's very sweet, although still timid around us. We had bothbuns running around together this morning and they seemed to be fine.Fudgey (the muchbigger one) did most, but notall,of the chasing, which looked like play and notaggression. We felt good about the time they had together.

My questions are:

Should we just keep trying this everyday and hope they become buddies?

Is there something else we should be doing to encourage their bonding?(I thought about putting each of them intothe other's cagefor awhileto get the smells mix up but wasn't sure if thatwas a good idea or not)

Should be keep them cage separately all the time? Is there achance that they will want to be kept together at some point in thefuture?

Any other advise you can give me will be appreciated!

--Karen

 

[bunnydude]

Well, I've neveractually bonded bunnies. My two came home already bonded. However, youdefinitely seem to be on the right track. Just make sure bonding timesare held in neutral territory that neither bunny has claimed. Switchingthem between cages also sounds like I good idea, I know that it hasworked for several of our members. Maybe you could switch them betweencages every day while you continue bonding sessions.

I'm sure other members will be able to chime in with more specific advice. Best of luck!

Matt

 

[jordiwes]

Hi there, it sounds like it's going good so far.It might be a little soon to bond them if your male only got neuteredthis week. He will still have residual hormones for 3 weeks.

You can put towels in their cage and switch them up, or even switch them inside their cages if it's not too stressful for them.

Since you don't have any fighting you probably won't need to resort to more extreme measures like car bonding etc.

Also people (myself included) have found it useful to feed them treats,hay, veggies together and to stroke them together. They get to enjoy anactivity they both like together!

Last suggestion, I found that it was useful to tire my bunny who wasdoing the chasing out. Then, when I let Jordi out, Wesley was too tiredto chase her and flopped on the ground. Then Jordi was able to approachhim and check him out.

Good luck and congrats on rescuing a bunny! Pleeeeeeeease post pics.

 

[bunnydude]

Yes, please feel free to make a Bunny Blog

 

[Bunrab]

Hi there,

looks like we r both trying to do the same thing tat is bonding 2neteured males together. Mine used to be bonded until the youngerreaches purberty n started fights. I got it sterilised and now have torebond them again. Does ur rabbits, beside chasing each other, do theynip out fur from each other? I tried to rebond last saturday and theychase n nip fur thus i decided to deferr the session till the younger'shormone settle n also to let its wound heal.

Wish u success in ur bonding.

 

[HappyThieves]

UPDATE ON MY GUYS:

So far, so good--in fact pretty great! Butterscotch-ourrescue bunny--is eating up a storm! I can't believe what alittle 3 pound bun can put away in such a short time! Hewouldn't eat any veggies when we first got him but now, less than aweek later, he's eating all kinds of good stuff!

Every morning we let both bunnies run around together in the diningroom and they sort of chase each other:run::run: (well, Fudgie--thebigger one--does most of the chasing) and then they do this thing whereButterscotch's head is underneath Fudgie's chest for a few seconds (I'mthinking it's their way of working out who's the boss?), then they takeoff again. There's no aggression or biting, that I cansee. On the other hand, there's no grooming or binkyingeither. Maybe it's too soon to expect that? Iwonder if Butterscotch is scared when Fudge is chasing him but hedoesn't hide or run back into his cage (like he does when the dogenters the room :shock:!).

We've been leaving their cage doors open and, on their own, they'vegone in and explored the other one's (probably wondering if the otherhas better snacks!). How do you know when/if they can be cagemates? It sure would save some space in the kitchen!

Thanks for all your good thoughts on this process. I will putup some pictures when I figure out how to use the digital camera!!!



--Karen

 

[bunnydude]

Thanks for the update, that sounds like goodnews! Patience is key, you might need to wait weeks or even months.Mutual grooming would probably be a good sign. Although, it may besooner for you because everything seems to be going so well

Matt

 

[naturestee]

Sounds like it's going well! It mighttake a little time till they get used to their dominance roles, andthen they'll start grooming each other. I would not housethem together until you see some affection,because if they dohave an arguement in the cage they can't get away from eachother. Since they're not upset over their cages gettingexplored by each other, they probably will be able to live togethereventually. I wish my bondings went this well!

 

[HappyThieves]

Thanks for the encouragement! I'mreally so proud of my Fudgey, he's such a good buddy! I knewhe needed a bunny friend. He's always chasing after our threecats (who want NOTHING to do with him)and even the dog (whowants to play with him but wants them to play like puppies notrabbits...).

When you think about it (or at least when I think about it) Fudgey hashad to make all the concessions and share what he thinks of as his andhe has done this so gracefully (and in his mind, so what if the otherlittle bunny has to be sat on and mounted a few times to show who's theboss...).

I'm feeling really good about this, especially since getting the otherbunny was a spontaneous, emotionaldecision I made at theshelter where we found him (I should stay out of thoseplaces!). He just looked like he needed to come home with usthat day. It never occurred to me that two bucks can fight(even though I had read that before). They were both neuteredthis past Saturday, so they are still dealing with hormones.My hope is that it can only get better, as that lessens.

How do you know if they are really playing or fighting? Maybeif they were fighting, it would be obvious and I wouldn't have to askthis question? I've often wondered this when the children chase Fudgeythrough the house. We all think he likes it but how do youreally know? How do you know if he's actuallyterrified? Same thing here, when the big bun chases thelittle bun, does he run because it's fun or because he's scared?

 

[naturestee]

You'll be able to tell by posture.Rabbits do chase and run for fun, but also for dominance and it can behard to tell. If they binky, it's fun. If neitherseems stressed, or if they're not trying to nip each other or drivethem away from something, it may be fun. Right now, I'd guessit's a mix of dominance and fun. But of course, I can't seeyour rabbits.

Have you ever seen the Language of Lagomorphs site? It might help you decode their body languange.

http://www.paperglyphs.com/rabbits/rabbittalk_intro.html