Tips for bonding a new bunny to an old?

[idreaminglasscolor]

Soooo Goliath got neutered yesterday and is recovering quite well! We've been considering for a while getting a new bun as a friend for him, and Luna came along. She's a 2 1/2 year old bun who is outside living in a wire hutch (the horror!)She's a lop eared cutey! I'm going to pick her up tomorrow. I was really torn about her, spaying a rabbit is sooo expensive and my vet just went on maternity leave for 8 weeks yesterday, but then the owner said we could have Luna for free AND give us 25 bucks to put towards her spaying, so i said yes! Duh.

I made her appointment for getting spayed on October 10th, after my doctor comes back, (i know Goliath still has "a loaded gun" for another three weeks) I won't bond them until he doesn't have viable sperm anymore, so they'll just be living next to eachother for nearly a month, which is not bad, it'll help them get used to eachother!

Do you guys have any tips about bonding two bunnies (or adorable pics)? Luna is pretty shy and Goliath is, well, manly and what not. I've read a bunch of guides, i just want to do this right! I can't WAIT for them to groom each other. Sooouuu cute, yeah?

Also, tips about what i should do when i get Luna spayed and afterwards? ray: thank you guys!

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

First of all, he can still have viable sperm for 4-6 weeks after being neutered. While it would be harder for him to get a doe pregnant for that long, but it is still better to be safe than sorry. I would wait at least 6 weeks after before you introduce them.
I would also wait to actually bond them until she is spayed. You have a date that is about 2 months from now. You can still work on bonding, but I would stop short of actually having them live together until she is done. This is because you would have to separate them for a bit while she is done (this can be as short and 24 hours, but longer if needed). The vet smells along with her healing and the hormone changes can cause some issues if they are bonded. Once she is healed, then you can work more to getting them to live together.

I would start with them in cages close to each other. It would be a good idea to wait on this for a little while as you need to make sure that Luna is in good health and doesn't have anything that Goliath could catch. A vet check up can be a good idea as well.
With the cages next to each other, they can see and smell each other as well as getting used to each other being there. You can also switch some bedding and other items so they can get used to the scent of the other in their space.
Let one of them out while the other is in the cage.

Once you think they are ready, you can try having them both out together. A pen on neutral territory is best for this. Make sure you are there in case something does happen so you can intervene. If that goes well, you can give them more space and move to the area they will be living.

It can take time to bond rabbits. Some have a more instant bond while others can take weeks or months before they are living together.

Until she is spayed and healed, I would stick to just letting them out together. Once she is ready, you can start to work on getting them in the same cage together.

 

[idreaminglasscolor]

That was really helpful, i agree on the waiting till she is spayed. Thank you!