Second Bun Dropped off..

[KieraKittie]

I aquired a second bunny lastnight from a person who just sorta handed him to me. He is apparently 9 months old, give or take. Not nutered, but he is pretty friendly. Him and Dandelion seem to get along really well, so much as after meeting I already seen her laying down against him and them grooming eachother. I noticed he tries to mount her inbetween there play. Dandelion is only around 12 weeks and is FAR to young for any of that. At the moment I have set up in a large sized dog/cat travel crate. I have separated them, he is out to play now and she is in her cage.

My questions are, will just getting him fixed be okay. I dont need a lecture but we where hoping to breed Dandelion when she is of age, but only with another male Holland Lop. A close friend who owns petstore in town who lost contact with an old breeder, and the nearest breeder for the Hollands is a few hours away. I love this breed and have been researching them for years before I decided I have the room and money. Before I get lectured I do not plan to breed her often or mass produce, a few small litters, 1 male with two females in separate cages in the bunny room.

ANYWAY my questions about the new male, besides getting him fixed, will he spray around the room? What should I do about there play times, he doesn't try to mount her all the time, they do play and really seem to love the company. I think its a good idea for her to have a friend to keep her company while I am at work. What other advise would you recomend?

The woman thinks he is a min rex mix.

 

[LakeCondo]

I would fix him, but he'll still surely want to mount her, so who knows how she'll react. Just make sure you keep them apart for at least a month after he's neutered, to make sure every bit of hormones are gone, so there won't be an unexpected litter.

 

[fuzz16]

He looks kinda lionheadish.
Not enough johnson county people on the forum, lol hey!

But like said hes fine to nueter as long as his jewels have dropped. If your worried about spraying, put a plastic table cloth under and around cage, on walls. Not on cage cause hrll probably chew on it.

Idk if jen studs, but her site is harris rabbitry. Shes in belton.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Cute--looks just like our boy Finn. Fur doesn't look rex, but he's definitely a mixture.

 

[KieraKittie]

Now that you mention it I was curious about the really long fur he has under his chin and around his cheeks, I bet there is some lionshead in him.

I know I was not set up for a male rabbit just yet. I was waiting to look into a male once Dandy was around 6 or 7 months of age, and, once we finished building the other two cages. I do know I don't want him breeding her. lol

Right now I am watching them closely, I let them play for a bit while I'm on the floor, when he tries to mount I pull him away. Thankfully I get paid tomorrow so I am going to see about buying more CC caging for a separate cage for him. Then decided what to do from there. He is cute, and very curious. Fiancee suggested we turn the guest room into his bunny room LOL. I had to draw the line to only ONE, bunny room. *laughs* Called the vet and its $71 to "snip" him, they said they have worked with buns before and its common for them. I know I wont have that for a few paychecks. *ponders*

Thank you for the reply's so far!

 

[fuzz16]

Whose the vet?

 

[KieraKittie]

Lifetime Animal Hospital in Warrensburg. One of the closest good ones. I take my pups too. the $71 is done without pain meds after.. If I wanted him to have pain medication as well it adds on $22 lol

 

[Nela]

Cute! He does look like he has some lionhead in him. I would keep them separate, let him heal (takes time for them to no longer be able to reproduce even after the neuter) and then bond them. Sounds like they will make a lovely couple. Congrats on your new lil guy.

 

[KieraKittie]

Okay so even after they "snip snip" iv heard it takes up to a month after and they can still knock up a fem bun?? If that's correct that's just crazy LOL but I will admit that is one thing I have never looked up or knew.

I just got done posting some wanted adds for NiC wire panes on craigslist and iland.net classifieds, Ill work something out. The longer he stays the more I think my fiancee is getting attached to him.

 

[Nela]

Yeah... I *believe* my vet had said 6-8 weeks but I don't quite remember 100% so you'll need to ask yours. They look so sweet together, I couldn't not keep him. Hehehe.

 

[ZRabbits]

No lectures here. Wishing you all the luck with your Holland breeding program. Don't have to mass produce to enjoy having a successful breeding program with a breed of rabbits you really like. And sounds like you have a good plan set with selling your kits. I'm attempting to do the same thing with Lion heads. Going to see how it goes. And your new boy definitely has Lion head in him. I'd say Rex/Lion Head. He's got the mane gene in him, but his ears are Rex. Pretty Boy.

I think watching them diligently as they play will help the bonding process. But just watch, he could spray her with urine. Intacted males do that to show dominance to males and females. Once he gets neutered (and males do hold sperm for a month AFTER neutering) Dandy could have a nice playmate. And there will be no spraying for dominance.

Wishing you luck. Let us know how it goes. Also would love to hear when you get your foundation buck for your breeding program.

K

 

[KieraKittie]

I love this forum.. LOL Always so helpful. Thank you so much for the info and advise. After sitting down for serious chatter on the new arrival and the future of if we kept him or found him a home. We decided to go ahead and keep him.

He will be neutered, but till then, we have play times divided. He is out to play for a few hours, then Dandy comes out and he goes in his temp cage and we take turns switching them through the day.

We are keeping the cages in the same room so even though one is out and one is in, they can still interact though the cage itself.

The more I look at him the more I def see the lionhead in him. Makes him manly! lol Fiancee named him Ozzy for his black eyeliner and its "Manly" as he says LOL Guess its time to change my profile.. hehe

 

[LakeCondo]

People who've gotten their males neutered might want to weigh in on whether on not the pain meds would be needed.

 

[KieraKittie]

Yea I was wondering about that, if I remember right my cat was fixed but I couldn't afford the pain meds way back when. I do know after memorial day I found a few spay and neuter type clinics not to far off I am going to call and get some pricing information on and so forth. Few people poked me to say that's a tad costly, so I am going to poke around a bit before I rush him in.

Its been a few days, so I can update that Ozzy is fitting in perfectly, besides the fact he thinks he is starving all the time *points to her food question post on other forums* He is a ham for attention, climbs up my legs to sit in my lap at the computer, and takes turns following me and my Fiancee around. Looking forward to when I can let him and Dandy play freely without me hovering over them both for short play visits.

 

[fuzz16]

Ill have to check them out, 100 is better than 180 even if its a bit of a drive!
And love the name ozzy, it suits him!!
And no vet has sent me woth psin meds gor males, and ive used hrs vet along with two others

 

[KieraKittie]

Im suddenly not worried about the drive even if I have to go into Kansas city area, I go there often enough. Ozzy is such a ham when my mother came over to see him, he gave her tons of kisses and she fell in love, she quickly said I can use her car to go farther to save money. There is no way I can get rid of him and I have to keep him just so she can come play. *chuckles* Her car gets like 30 something miles a gallon, where my truck might get 19ish LOL

Iv never wanted holidays to pass by so quickly before. Even if it means sacrificing my day off..