Should they be near each other way before introductions?

[Luvmyzoocrew]

The place that i have Charger set up is near Belle's cage, when he is in the pen. If he starts running around his pen like a mad man she pushes at her pen to try to get to him, they have yet to meet. So what does everyone suggest before actually trying to do any bonding should i let them meet a few times here and there, should i leave them near each other for a few months before ever meeting.

My plan was to have him nuetered by 6 months old, and then try bonding after about 2-3 months after that, that would take us to about October. But i wasnt sure about meetings before hand since he might be completely hormonal driven? would like to know what you all think?

 

[Maureen Las]

I don't know about that; she is spayed and it might turn into nothing more than him continuously mounting her...which could make her annoyed.

it's too bad that you couldn't have him neutered sooner than 6 months. How old is he now and have his testicles dropped?

 

[12354somebunny]

Letting my rabbits live side by side worked for me.

I got Yohji (male) when he was 2mths old, and thought I'd try introducing him to Buttons (female) who was 3mths old at that time. They were still young, not able to reproduce yet, and since baby bunnies are supposed to be friendlier, I put them together. Didn't work. Buttons wanted to kill Yohji.

So I kept them separate. Buttons has free range of the living room, and Yohji was in a play pen in the living room. I put wire mesh around the play pen to prevent them nipping each other.

They lived that way until both were neutered and spayed. Initially Buttons was aggressive towards Yohji. But as the months passed, she mellowed down. She would even lie next to him, with the play pen fence between them. After they healed from their surgery, the actual bonding process took less than 2 weeks.

Personally, I feel that helped a lot that they were able to see & smell each other. I could slowly see Buttons learning to accept Yohji, and from there, learning to like having him around.

All the best with Charger and Belle

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

angieluv wrote:

I don't know about that; she is spayed and it might turn into nothing more than him continuously mounting her...which could make her annoyed.

it's too bad that you couldn't have him neutered sooner than 6 months. How old is he now and have his testicles dropped?

That is what i was thinking would probably happen,lol. The vet said 6 months, but i guess as soon as his testicles drop then it is ok, but i might just wait till 6 months because he seems so little to me still,lol.

Somebunny i am hoping that time near each other might help or at least make it a little easier.

 

[Maureen Las]

Living next to each other is OK if they cannot bite between the bars (mine are good at it)

The male bunny is really uncomfortable when they are hormonal without release so I would think that living next to a female is uncomfortable for him and the sooner he is able to be neutered the better. (but you cannot speed up the process )

I had an unneutered male (who had health issues that kept postponing the neuter) so I gave him a stuffed bunny bedroom slipper which he mounted constantly. It worked well because he never got a bite from it.

 

[hartleybun]

i did pretty much the same as you when i was bonding roxy with her new toybun. by the time he had been fully vaccinated and neutered nearly a month had passed. in the end it roxy who sprung her new man out of jail

didnt have any trouble bonding tho - i was lucky but i do think that them being in close proximity did help.

good luck

 

[crystal]

so what would be the right thing to do if you're not waiting for one of them to be neutered? do they have to be near each other for a few days or weeks before they will be able to live together?

I want to find a companion for my boy bunny, but I only have one hutch. I'm hoping to get a nice girl that is already desexed from a shelter (not a particular one at this stage), but how long will it take until they can be together in the cage unsupervised over night?

 

[Flashy]

crystal wrote:

so what would be the right thing to do if you're not waiting for one of them to be neutered? do they have to be near each other for a few days or weeks before they will be able to live together?

I want to find a companion for my boy bunny, but I only have one hutch. I'm hoping to get a nice girl that is already desexed from a shelter (not a particular one at this stage), but how long will it take until they can be together in the cage unsupervised over night?

It might be worth posting a new thread and asking that, you'll probably get more replies.

They need to be introduced on neutral territory and will need to live on neutral territory.

Over here in the UK what generally happens is that the bunnies are put together and then not separated. They need full supervision for the first 48 hours. During that time, the areas they are supposed to live in need to be fully neutralised (scrubbed with a water and white distilled vinegar solution).

Having said that, that does not work for all bunnies. Some bunnies need a very slow introduction and it can take months for them move in together (I had a bonding that took four months).

Ideally, if you are getting another bunny you need a separate cage for her. Whenever you have two bunnies you always need to have somewhere there anyway, just in case they need to be split. I would suggest getting a temporarily accommodation for her. Also, you will need to think about whether or not you will be willing to have two bunnies living separately in the bonding doesn't work out.

 

[hartleybun]

Flashy wrote:

They need to be introduced on neutral territory and will need to live on neutral territory.

Over here in the UK what generally happens is that the bunnies are put together and then not separated. They need full supervision for the first 48 hours. During that time, the areas they are supposed to live in need to be fully neutralised (scrubbed with a water and white distilled vinegar solution).

Having said that, that does not work for all bunnies. Some bunnies need a very slow introduction and it can take months for them move in together (I had a bonding that took four months).

Ideally, if you are getting another bunny you need a separate cage for her. Whenever you have two bunnies you always need to have somewhere there anyway, just in case they need to be split. I would suggest getting a temporarily accommodation for her. Also, you will need to think about whether or not you will be willing to have two bunnies living separately in the bonding doesn't work out.

:yeahthat:second that - by the time hartleybun had been vaccinated and neutered and recovered nearly a month had passed. the logistics and sticky notes involved in ensuring two bunnies had exercise time, garden time etc was unbelievable:biggrin2:the calendar was covered with bun -related info - when hartley was at the vet, when he could go into the garden run etc. im lucky in that the whole family was prepared to help with the supervising

 

[crystal]

Thanks for your responses. what I am thinking is that it would be a good idea to get a girl and introduce the boy and the girl to the new hutch at the same time. my boyfriend still has some building to do...

rather than letting my boy bunny get used to the new hutch and thinking of it as his own. not that I have any experience in bonding rabbits but I think he is a very placid bunny and won't be agressive.

and if I get a rescue rabbit she will already be desexed so I won't have to keep them separate after an operation.

(sorry if this post is random disjointed! I'm a bit sleepy and out of it...)

 

[Flashy]

Yes, it would be better for them to move in to it, as new, together.

There are links in the Bunny 101 forum about bonding, and also if you search this forum it should bring up a load of useful threads too