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Mrizzy97

Mrizzy97

Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2020
Messages
13
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Location
Connecticut
Hello fellow bunny owners, I would really appreciate some help, recommendations, and guidance!

My story:
I currently have a 9 week old Rex male named Ash.
On April 30th, I am rescuing another baby bunny (female, holland lop), she will be 8 weeks old.
Ash's neutering appointment is not until May 7th. So they will be living together for about a week before he is neutered.

My questions:
1.) What is the best way to introduce them to one another?
2.) Ash has a large playpen that takes up the area of our whole dinning room where he plays during the day, and a double floor rabbit hutch in my bedroom where he sleeps at night. Should I put these two rabbits together in the playpen during the day and together in the hutch at night, or should I keep them separated?
3.) Will Ash be more or less likely to bond with the new bunny after becoming neutered? Will neutering effect any kind of relationship that the two already developed prior to the surgery?
4.) Please list ANY tips/recommendations when it comes to bonding bunnies and the signs to look for if the process is going uphill or downhill.

Sorry for all the questions!! I am very excited, but I also like to stay informed. I am happy that I will have two bunnies around the same age and at a young age so they can grow up together and spend all their time together. My friend can not keep this baby bunny, and I did not want her to give the holland lop to someone random or untrustworthy, because she was looking for random people through facebook. I know that this is the right decision, and I DEFINITELY have the time and dedication to train two bunnies. My only hope is that they get along, and I will do anything and everything I can to try and help this process move along effectively.

Thank you all very much an advance. Your support and feedback always help me immensely! :)
 
1.) They will need to have separate playpens 6" apart for their housing. They will be able to see and smell each other but not get to each other. They do not need to be housed together until they are spayed and neutered and properly bonded.
2.) See #1
3.) They will be more likely to bond after getting spayed and neutered. Make sure you wait 1 month after spay/neuter surgery to give the rabbits time to heal and to allow their hormones to settle. Any "bonding" (*it is not really bonding before getting them spayed and neutered) will be lost in the surgery.
4.) Bonding Bunnies
 
If I were you, I wouldn’t bond them until after both are fixed, and their hormones settle down. You don’t want to risk the relationship just to keep them together for a week or two. After your male and female gets fixed, you should wait 6-8 weeks until bonding. I know she is only 8 weeks old, but if you leave them together and he is bothering her by trying to mate with her they might fight.
 
TheSketchyBunnies said:
If I were you, I wouldn’t bond them until after both are fixed, and their hormones settle down. You don’t want to risk the relationship just to keep them together for a week or two. After your male and female gets fixed, you should wait 6-8 weeks until bonding. I know she is only 8 weeks old, but if you leave them together and he is bothering her by trying to mate with her they might fight.
Click to expand...
Thank you!! So I should keep them separated for the week correct? Then, after Ash's surgery on May 7th, I should wait 6-8 more weeks before really starting the process, right?
 
Mrizzy97 said:
Hello fellow bunny owners, I would really appreciate some help, recommendations, and guidance!

My story:
I currently have a 9 week old Rex male named Ash.
On April 30th, I am rescuing another baby bunny (female, holland lop), she will be 8 weeks old.
Ash's neutering appointment is not until May 7th. So they will be living together for about a week before he is neutered.

My questions:
1.) What is the best way to introduce them to one another?
2.) Ash has a large playpen that takes up the area of our whole dinning room where he plays during the day, and a double floor rabbit hutch in my bedroom where he sleeps at night. Should I put these two rabbits together in the playpen during the day and together in the hutch at night, or should I keep them separated?
3.) Will Ash be more or less likely to bond with the new bunny after becoming neutered? Will neutering effect any kind of relationship that the two already developed prior to the surgery?
4.) Please list ANY tips/recommendations when it comes to bonding bunnies and the signs to look for if the process is going uphill or downhill.

Sorry for all the questions!! I am very excited, but I also like to stay informed. I am happy that I will have two bunnies around the same age and at a young age so they can grow up together and spend all their time together. My friend can not keep this baby bunny, and I did not want her to give the holland lop to someone random or untrustworthy, because she was looking for random people through facebook. I know that this is the right decision, and I DEFINITELY have the time and dedication to train two bunnies. My only hope is that they get along, and I will do anything and everything I can to try and help this process move along effectively.

Thank you all very much an advance. Your support and feedback always help me immensely! :)
Click to expand...
Hi, I have a neutered mini lop he was 4 months old when I adopted him and intact little girl I think she's mini rex mix, she's just a couple weeks younger than him, I also adopted her from other people, but about the same time in December. Since he was neutered in November I waited 2 months after his surgery and introduced them. First session went well but after that he kept humping and chasing her like if he wasn't neutered at all. So I waited another month and then did a few bonding sessions, they did great and I housed them together in a large dog crate, placed on a coffee table right beside my work desk so I have them in sight all the time and can intervene any time if needed. I had to, a few times they had minor fights but I was there and stopped them, now it is nearly 3 months they are together and they are doing great. They are both about 8 months old and I little worry that she can get hormonal soon, she indeed started chasing and humping him last week, it was just a couple days, I think it's just springtime and she was literally attacking him. I was even thinking maybe I should separate them but then they so nice to each other, and even after she humps him and they kinda having a conversation she grooms him a lot, his head, his ears, he loves it and they are laying side by side again she's taking very good care of him like if he was her baby, I think he'd forgive her anything :))

So I am very happy with that pair they are perfect match I don't know if I am going to spay her it's expensive I know my other girls settled after they were 1 year old so if there's no major issues between them I am hoping they will be fine with her intact. If there's anything I would separate them but so they can see each other and will get her spayed. But really fingers crossed that they will be fine, they are so happy together and I am very happy for them.

So it depends on their personalities, but if you neuter Ash soon and you'd have to keep them separately about 2 months after that, maybe you can get her spayed during that time as well and introduce them after 2 months after neutering and one month after spaying?

I hope everything will go smoothly, generally male and female is good combination for bonding, there's no guarantee of course but there's always hope. I wish you best of luck and lots of patience with them :)
 
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