Is It possible to bond a unneutered male rabbit?

[kaosu]

Alright, so question.

Is it possible to bond an unneutered male rabbit with another rabbit of any sex ( fixed if female )

I have just been wondering...I want to get Titan a friend..not another angora he is enough work but maybe a friend, I am currently working on adding another addition to his hutch..making two in to one very large one.

anyway...is it possible?

Tips?
Advice ?
..personal experience?

I cannot currently fix Titan..he has shown me no reason to do so as of yet, he is over 2 years old and as sweet as can be.
not to mention fixing him is 200$ and if i dont have to spend that much currently I would rather not.

 

[Kipcha]

I have only heard of one successful bonding (With a spayed doe), but I would REALLY not recommend it.

I've heard too many cases of death and "impromptu neuters" to ever think it's safe.

I would say stick with one rabbit unless he gets neutered.

 

[ladysown]

yes, it is possible. Just as with any bond, it totally depends on the rabbits involved.

 

[funnybunnymummy]

I agree with Kipcha. It can be done, but it's not recommended.

Hope that helps!

Rue

 

[chorxley]

I have a sprayed female and an intact male that are bonded.... My female is a little over a year old and the male is about 4 months. I left them with my mum for a week when he was about 8 or 9 weeks and when i got back they were best buddies. i have never had any problems.. however the male is booked in for his neuter in a couple of days as i am not willing to test this..
It is possible but it really does depend on the rabbit!

 

[Kipcha]

But the problem with a 4 month old is there could be a complete 180 in temperament with other rabbits, it's still young enough to be considered a "baby" and would probably just now be reaching hormonal stages.

Again, we had a case of two rescue rabbits that were supposed to be coming down to us from three hours away. They had lived together for a year, were intact males and hadn't had problems (Although they were extremely neglected and looked terrible) and then, just a few days before they were supposed to come to us, one killed the other one.

I have also heard of MANY cases of a rabbit going underneath and ripping open the scrotum. Intact males are extremely open to injury there and if you don't have the money for a neuter, an emergency like that normally costs (Here) $800+

I, personally, would REALLY advise against it... I personally think it is an accident waiting to happen.

 

[Jackelope]

I had two New Zealand bucks who were friendly to each other. I got them from a woman who had them as pets for her kids and said they got bored of the rabbits, so she gave them to me. They were about 8 months old and had no scratches to suggest they had fought. I kept them separate from my other rabbits for a while and they remained friends, but soon after I put them in the room with the does in other cages, I found that one of them had a bite mark in his ear.

It's highly unlikely but if you have no females and get a buck that isn't too horny, it might work.

You should adopt a spayed doe from a shelter, though. You don't have to get him neutered to prevent litters if the doe is spayed, and you'll be almost gaurenteed that they will like each other.

 

[Blue eyes]

I'm completely with Kipcha on this one. Unless you decide to neuter your boy, I wouldn't recommend even attempting a bond.
I wouldn't consider an intact 4 month old as bonded with another rabbit even if it appeared to be getting along with another rabbit. Until those hormones have fully kicked in, bonds are best viewed as only temporary.
Rabbit fights can be very vicious...Kipcha's concerns (imho) are very much warranted.

 

[chorxley]

Well thanks for your opinions on my rabbits even though I was agreeing with you and saying that it would be better off to get him neutered..
Yes he may only be 4 months old however even the vet commented his hormones have defiantly kicked in..
I strongly believe that every rabbit is different and this often makes it hard with questions like this.. I do think its a shame when people discredit what someone else has to say because its not the same as there experience.. Isn't the point of a forum for questions like this so that you can learn from other experiences and then make an informed decision?

 

[Blue eyes]

I think you’ve misinterpreted what we’ve said and saw insult where none was intended.



Even if his hormones have started to show, he’s still a mere 4 months of age. If he remained intact and remained bonded with your other rabbit through, say 8 or 9 months of age, then I might consider them to be bonded. I’m not at all denying that your rabbits are getting along, so please don’t think that we are saying otherwise. What is simply being said, however, is that until they’ve shown consistent closeness through at least the 9 month mark, it isn’t accurate to label them ‘bonded.’

 

[Kipcha]

Same as Blue Eyes said, there wasn't an insult.

As you mentioned, we are trying to help this person make an informed decision. I was putting out my experiences and arming them with as much knowledge as possible, there was nothing aggressive about my post.

Many rabbits as young as 4 months do tend to get along with older ones, even when their hormones start to show, but it can change as time passes and they become stronger. I am not saying that it is that way with your rabbit, I am saying that is how it is with the majority.

 

[chorxley]

Alright you guys didn't mean it as an insult, no worries.. Since we are all saying the something about the original question anyway, lets just forget this.. My male is getting neutered in a couple of days anyway so i guess none of this really matters does it.

 

[kaosu]

Alright!

Thank you everyone ^_^
I was pretty sure I knew the answer but wanted to know more, seems Titan will be a lonely bun till I get around to fixing him,,,Its not that I don't have the money currently we are just trying to save up for the baby.
..looks like he get to enjoy his new huge cage by him self.

Thank you everyone.

 

[Chrisdoc]

I love Titan and would love to see him with a friend but I think everyone´s opinions are valid. I had my two boys who I got together from birth and they were Ok for about 8 months and suddenly fights started to break out and I had to separate them as they´d lock on to each other and it was quite scary. No blood spilt but quite a few scabs from bites. My other bun is a bit of an exception. He came into the bunch about 5 months after the other two, has never fought with either and is the sweetest bun you could ever meet. I had them all neutered at the same time and I still had to rebond the two smaller ones and even then, it broke again at Christmas and it´s taken another 7 months for them to get back to normal, I´m now hoping this will be forever.

Just to recap, I wouldn´t like to risk two unfixed buns together, bunny fighting is not a pretty site and if you´re not there to intervene, I´m sure it could lead to serious injury for one or both the buns.