Neutered male with baby female

[bowser]

Hi everyone,

I have a bonding question (sorry there seems to be a lot of these questions at the mo). I've searched and I can't quite find an answer.

Here is my scenario:
We have Nugget who we rescued, Nugget is around 4 months old (we think) and was neutered 2 weeks ago.
Nugget has been pretty mello of late (when we first got him he was spraying and humping, and buzzing me all day), so we figured the neutering had worked.

Nugget has free range of the house when ever we are home or awake, I work from home so it's most of the day. He also has hutch and huge run outside, which he gets to play in. But he has been sad and it breaks my heart to see him all depressed looking. It's pretty obvious he is lonely.

So today we found 'Honey' who is a gorgeous baby Lop. She is very mello and cuddly. We have brought her home and moved Nuggets outside run to a new spot, sectioned it off with a metal divider and she is in there on one side with Nugget on the other.

Honey is not interested much in Nugget, she seems really happy (more Binkies than Nugget has ever done) and seems to enjoy the grass. However Nugget is obsessed with her. He has his nose pressed as far through the cage as he can and is buzzing like mad. He hasnt eaten a thing or relaxed all day. I think he is in love They are kissing through the gate, when Honey feels like it.

So after a couple of hours I let them meet. Nugget just want to hump her, I let it happen, thinking he would then back off, but he just wont leave her alone. I have put the gate back up and he is still pinned up against it.

My question is - is it O.K for a neutered male to be with a baby female? Do we need to wait until Nugget has settled? or maybe until Honey is sexually mature? or is this bonding and should we just let them at?

Thanks

 

[kkiddle]

I would be careful. I've heard that it takes 4-5 weeks after neutering for hormones to stabilize. It takes that long for existing hormones already in the body to be used up.

Just make sure to keep them separate for that long. I could be totally wrong as I've had a neutered boy since the beginning, but I think it's still possible for him to impregnate a female until the hormones have died down.

Again, I could be wrong, but I read it somewhere on here, I think.

We don't want any babies!

From my research for bonding Cheeto, I think you're off to a good start. As long as there aren't any vicious fights, the humping is actually a good sign. It lets the rabbits know what the pecking order is, and as long as they agree, you're golden to start the bonding process.

Good luck!

p.s: it doesn't matter the age of the rabbits. Check rabbit.org they have wonderful resources on bonding. Like I said, as long as the rabbits establish a pecking order and agree to it, (i.e one rabbit is the dominant one, I think in this case, Nugget, as he's doing the, um, dominating) they should bond quite well.

 

[bowser]

thanks kkiddle.

We got a letter from the Vet when nugget came home. It has said that he could still make babies for 2 - 3 weeks, I think I have read that it takes longer for the hormones to go?

How old does the female need to be before she can get preg? Shivers I'm a bit worried now, I just assumed she was too young. His aim wasnt too good, so we might be ok :shock:

Good to know about the age, that was my main concern.

It is really good to see Nugget happy, he is better with me too. He seems really thankful. I can't wait until they can be together, I think I will keep them seperate for a couple of weeks

 

[kkiddle]

I honestly have no idea. =) Sorry, I have no experience, I was just poking around this forum and read a few similar posts to yours a while back. Try re-posting the situation in the breeding section, they might have an idea.

There's a whole section on bonding here: http://rabbit.org/behavior/index.html

Hope that helps, I'm trying to find where I read the other stuff, I'll let you know =)

 

[kkiddle]

I just read the following in this website: http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/bond.shtml

"I do find it an advantage to bond about a month after a rabbit has been altered as they often have just enough hormones left to be interested in the other rabbit without going overboard. If they have been recently altered, you need to wait at least three weeks for them to properly heal from the surgery as any skirmishes could result in internal injuries."

I hope I helped, that's all I could find that I remember. Again, try posting in the The Rabbitry and Show Room section, they'll know more.

 

[funnybunnymummy]

You didn't say how old Honey was? Under about 4-5 months, she's unlikely to be sexually mature. Still, I wouldn't let him hump her a lot, since he's obviously still looking to make babies. She might get annoyed with him and try to bite things.

One thing to consider is, since Honey is still a baby, her personality may change once she hits maturity. I wouldn't consider them wholly bonded until she's been spayed and reintroduced to him. Be very careful not to let any aggression develop between them. If they start fighting, they may never bond.

Hope that helps!

Rue

 

[bowser]

Thanks for the links kkiddle, I'll have a read.

and funnybunnymummy - I'm guessing she is around 2 months? We saw her at the pet shop and she had just arived this week.
Yes I am worried about the biting of things :/ She's pretty good at running away, but the one time he got her she just lay there - poor thing. At the mo the grunting and buzzing stalker isn't bothering her too much, but I def think I will keep them apart for another couple of weeks.
It's been 12 hours now and he still hasn't moved from the gate lol. This is his first night outside, it will be interesting to see how they are in the morn.

We did some calculations and think Nugget may actually be closer to 7 months.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

I would definitely hold off introducing them until at least 4 weeks after the neuter. It can take that long and sometimes longer before they are fully sterile. Some females to mature faster than others and you don't want to risk her getting pregnant at 3 months old.

Intact females can be moody. It can be harder to bond them even to a neutered male. It would be better to wait until she is spayed and given a chance to heal. I did have Amelia bonded to Korr before she was spayed, but she was hormonal and did hump him a fair bit. Since she has been spayed there has been no humping other than a week or so after they were back together (so about 3 weeks after the spay).

You can still keep the cages close to each other, but the should be at least a couple inches apart as rabbits have been known to breed through the bars. This will let them get used to each other, see and smell each other and can make bonding a bit easier. They should have separate run times as well, but you should be able to share the area between them.

Take your time with it, there really isn't a rush with bonding and rushing can make it worse.