needing help bonding two UNSPAYED rabbits

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Bunny Lover*

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So I have two female rabbits that aren't spayed and I'm needing them to bond. I have a dwarf Holland lop and a full-sized lion head! The full-sized lion head is very mean and aggressive to my dwarf Holland lop. I can't get them to get along. My lop runs and hides whenever the full-sized lion head is out. ( I free roam them, but for now, the lion head is caged.) I'm needing them to get along because there's no other place that the lion head can go, and I don't want to get rid of her because they get along perfectly when they have bars separating them. But I don't want the lion head caged all the time, so I'm needing suggestions and tips and things that I could try to get them to get along and not fight. We aren't planning on spaying any of them for the time being because of how expensive it is in our area. If anyone knows anything that I could try please message me on here. Thanks much appreciated!
 
Honestly bonding two unspayed does will end in disaster 99% of the time, particularly if the lion head is already being dominant.
It's not worth the risk in my opinion, unless they are spayed.
You'd more than likely end up with expensive vet bills from nasty fight injuries - money that would be better spent on having them spayed.
80% of unspayed female rabbits will develop uterine cancer - an awful lot more expensive to treat than a spay, if successful at all.
 
Ok, thanks for informing me! I will look into spaying them but It may be a while before I can do that! I appreciate it!
 
No problem at all, I'm glad you're taking the advice on board. It'll be much better for your bunnies in the long run! Bonding can be a tricky business as it is!
 
I see things somewhat different in some points. Not about that spaying is a good idea though, for many reasons, especially for free roaming indoor rabbits. All this hormonal behaviour can make life difficult for all involved. Cancer is a serious risk, although that 80% number is a somewhat blown out of proportion deadbeat argument, but even if it's just 1/3rd of that it's still not worth the gamble.

For a long time I had 2 pairs of intact does, now, after Fury died I'm working on getting the 3 does get along. Red got spayed at 7 (due to a stuck kit), but that didn't change her behaviour a bit. My other spayed doe, Dotty, which lives with my buck as free range house bunnys is the most territorial and aggressive (to any other rabbit than Pacino) doe I have, The second another rabbit gets into the front yard it's an instant Furnado.

Rabbits are social animals, and does are often able to get along, they are good in sorting out their hierachy, but getting used to each other can take time and may be hard to watch, read up about bonding. My impression is that many meddle too much, break up everything they think is aggression, and chosing wrong location and setup.
Imo hormones are more prone to make life, hm, "interesting" in the long term than messing up bonding directly, although they definitly don't help. Character mismatches are possible (that's why I had 2 pairs - 2 dominat alphas didn't get along), but I would guess that in the single digit percentage numbers, not 99%. Spaying is not "cutting them back to behave" and implanting social skills, character doesn't really change that much.

Did you already try to put them together? How, where?

My approach is that my pair and my now single doe had their own, fixed, unchanging territories, and then I started to connect them, first small openings, then removing more barriers and adding a connecting tunnel between the hutches. I did not let them use the same spaca alternatingly, that for sure would cause an instant territorial reaction. I also think it's important that they can get out of each others eyes when they feel like it, or if there is an disagreement.
I cheated though, so I can't tell if my experiendces are representative - Ruth had a litter 4 months ago and at first I made the openings just big enough for the kits, they got Red used to the idea that there are other rabbits around her, a whole herd made things easier because they don't focus so much on each other, I will keep one of the doelings. Also mine have lots of space, now 5 connected hutches for the night, and 200m² garden even when they are not out on the meadow.
 
No problem at all, I'm glad you're taking the advice on board. It'll be much better for your bunnies in the long run! Bonding can be a tricky business as it is!
Im sure it will. I am calling the vet tomorrow to see their prices but from what I read it's going to be over $250 for one. But I'm hoping they can get spayed! Also, I noticed your username is Mileybun. Is Miley your real name, if so It looks like we share a name my name is Miley as well!
I see things somewhat different in some points. Not about that spaying is a good idea though, for many reasons, especially for free roaming indoor rabbits. All this hormonal behaviour can make life difficult for all involved. Cancer is a serious risk, although that 80% number is a somewhat blown out of proportion deadbeat argument, but even if it's just 1/3rd of that it's still not worth the gamble.

For a long time I had 2 pairs of intact does, now, after Fury died I'm working on getting the 3 does get along. Red got spayed at 7 (due to a stuck kit), but that didn't change her behaviour a bit. My other spayed doe, Dotty, which lives with my buck as free range house bunnys is the most territorial and aggressive (to any other rabbit than Pacino) doe I have, The second another rabbit gets into the front yard it's an instant Furnado.

Rabbits are social animals, and does are often able to get along, they are good in sorting out their hierachy, but getting used to each other can take time and may be hard to watch, read up about bonding. My impression is that many meddle too much, break up everything they think is aggression, and chosing wrong location and setup.
Imo hormones are more prone to make life, hm, "interesting" in the long term than messing up bonding directly, although they definitly don't help. Character mismatches are possible (that's why I had 2 pairs - 2 dominat alphas didn't get along), but I would guess that in the single digit percentage numbers, not 99%. Spaying is not "cutting them back to behave" and implanting social skills, character doesn't really change that much.

Did you already try to put them together? How, where?

My approach is that my pair and my now single doe had their own, fixed, unchanging territories, and then I started to connect them, first small openings, then removing more barriers and adding a connecting tunnel between the hutches. I did not let them use the same spaca alternatingly, that for sure would cause an instant territorial reaction. I also think it's important that they can get out of each others eyes when they feel like it, or if there is an disagreement.
I cheated though, so I can't tell if my experiendces are representative - Ruth had a litter 4 months ago and at first I made the openings just big enough for the kits, they got Red used to the idea that there are other rabbits around her, a whole herd made things easier because they don't focus so much on each other, I will keep one of the doelings. Also mine have lots of space, now 5 connected hutches for the night, and 200m² garden even when they are not out on the meadow.
I have one caged but they are in the same room. I open up the cage and allow her to come out on her own terms and allow her to roam with the other but as soon as she aggressively lashes out at the other rabbit I put her back in her cage
 
Ok, thanks for informing me! I will look into spaying them but It may be a while before I can do that! I appreciate it!

So I have two female rabbits that aren't spayed and I'm needing them to bond. I have a dwarf Holland lop and a full-sized lion head! The full-sized lion head is very mean and aggressive to my dwarf Holland lop. I can't get them to get along. My lop runs and hides whenever the full-sized lion head is out. ( I free roam them, but for now, the lion head is caged.) I'm needing them to get along because there's no other place that the lion head can go, and I don't want to get rid of her because they get along perfectly when they have bars separating them. But I don't want the lion head caged all the time, so I'm needing suggestions and tips and things that I could try to get them to get along and not fight. We aren't planning on spaying any of them for the time being because of how expensive it is in our area. If anyone knows anything that I could try please message me on here. Thanks much appreciated!
There's a really low chance to bond them if their unspayed but here's some tips on how to slowly bond them: don't instantly let them together put them in separate places but in same room and so they can see each other and get used to each others scents and sometimes you can put them o the ground together and let them sniff a bit but hold both of them so they don't run away or maybe become aggressive towards the other bun If I find more tips I will update!
 
Actually my bunny's name is Miley, so you both share a name! 😁
We called her that because she "came in like a wrecking ball" 😂
 
I have one caged but they are in the same room. I open up the cage and allow her to come out on her own terms and allow her to roam with the other but as soon as she aggressively lashes out at the other rabbit I put her back in her cage
Since they are both intact and not getting along, you may need to re-think your current setup. Free roaming one while caging the other isn't ideal. Exercise pens can be great for such situations. Here's a more workable option:

Use 2 exercise pens to create 2 sizable areas-- one for each rabbit. I'm attaching a photo of how a single ex-pen can make a large area when an existing wall is used. That photo shows an area that is about 30 sq feet. That is double the size that a pen would make if it was just formed into a square (4' x 4'). So set up 2 large areas similar to shown in photo. (A corner of a room can also create a larger space.)

By creating two sizable areas, each rabbit is getting equal space and plenty of room to roam & exercise. Of course you can still occasionally (or regularly) let one out at a time to free roam the rest of the room if you like. If you do, they should each get roughly equal time outside their pens. [Right now, the one stuck in the cage is only learning to resent the one that is allowed out to roam. No wonder she's lashing out at her. She's also learning that her cage is a "bad place" since she's being placed in it as "punishment."]

By having them on equal footing, it allows them both to have space and room to roam. You could even regularly swap which rabbit is in each cage (pen area) so they get used to the other's scents. In time, this process could possibly lead to them actually bonding. I would not purposely allow them together at all at this point based on their reactions to each other so far. That could change later down the road. The longer they spend on equal footing and swapping areas, the better the possibility of them getting comfortable with each other's presence.

What are their current ages? If they are still under a year, they are less likely to get along, especially if hormones are in full swing.
 

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