I have a neutered male mini holland lop that is over a year old, I don't know his actual age, and he is very calm and sweet. He gets along really well with my female guinea pig (they are housed seperate) and is never mean to her. There is a rabbit at our local feed store that I want but im not sure if it would be safe to house a unspayed female with a neutered male. Any one have any experience with this?
Unspayed female with neutered male?
- Thread starter kmearsss
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Usually doesn't work. Intact females can be quite territorial and some can be grumpy with those hormones.
It is recommended to have both rabbits fixed before attempting to bond them.
It is recommended to have both rabbits fixed before attempting to bond them.
It's usually considered best to have both rabbits fixed before bonding, as hormones can tend to cause more issues with the bonding process, and even lead to serious fights. But with that said, I have had neutered males and unspayed females together. So it can work out in a few instances, but a lot depends on the individual buns personalities. Then there is also the higher cancer risk for unspayed does to consider as well.
It could work if the personalities of the rabbits involved permit, but it's always best to eliminate the hormone issue before trying it out. Even rabbits who seem bonded initially can have a setback if they're each determined to dominate the other. Personally, I couldn't acquire a female rabbit and not have her spayed because of what Jenny mentioned. The big C is too common in unspayed females, and there's also the potty training issue.
I know you didn't ask for an opinion on this, but I just thought I'd warn you about buying a rabbit from a feed store, because they tend not to care about the rabbits they sale. They're usually cheap enough so that snake owners will buy them as food, so they wouldn't care if the rabbit becomes ill. There are so many great rescues who offer spayed females for significantly less than what you would pay for that procedure. Good luck with whatever you decide.
I know you didn't ask for an opinion on this, but I just thought I'd warn you about buying a rabbit from a feed store, because they tend not to care about the rabbits they sale. They're usually cheap enough so that snake owners will buy them as food, so they wouldn't care if the rabbit becomes ill. There are so many great rescues who offer spayed females for significantly less than what you would pay for that procedure. Good luck with whatever you decide.
Cayzi
Well-Known Member
I did it and it was like love at first sight with them. My neutered male was about 4-5 months old and my female was about 3-4 months. Her hormones haven't really came in at all. But they were caged beside each other for at least a month previous to them meeting so they were very familiar with each other. They'd always peek in each others cages during their play time.
When they met we fed them a bowl of greens and they ignored each other until it was finished and then just sniffed one another and rubbed their faces on each other. There was absolutely no fights or mounting at all. I think I got lucky or the caging beside each other really worked. I wasn't going to 'bond' them because of all the scary stuff I heard and everyone saying I should wait until she's spayed but I'm glad I did it. (it was just supposed to be a meet and greet until she was spayed but it went too well) To decide who was dominant the only behavior they did was peeing in each others cages and constantly pushing their heads under each other in order to be groomed. Mimzy wasn't that into grooming so molly would just sit there under his head forever. Until she gave up and decided to groom him. Now he grooms her back a bit. But she's totally a licker, she licks everything.
They're very happy and bonded! Plus I'm happy because it's much less work, they play together instead of separately. It was also very good for my male I was feeling he was a bit sad since his neuter and he was very bored he'd just bite on his cage bars and it drove me nuts. Since the bond he hasn't bit his bars once.
Here's a picture of the happy couple
Molly is currently still unspayed. Her appointment is April 9th. They've been bonded a little over a month. I suggest get the female if you like her but cage her separately for awhile and let them get used to each others scent. (you can get a cheap cage off kijiji or craigslist thats what i did) Let them explore each other while they are in the cage. Then do a small meet and greet and see how it goes. If they do have trouble you may need to keep them separate until she is spayed.
It can work but maybe I was just lucky!
When they met we fed them a bowl of greens and they ignored each other until it was finished and then just sniffed one another and rubbed their faces on each other. There was absolutely no fights or mounting at all. I think I got lucky or the caging beside each other really worked. I wasn't going to 'bond' them because of all the scary stuff I heard and everyone saying I should wait until she's spayed but I'm glad I did it. (it was just supposed to be a meet and greet until she was spayed but it went too well) To decide who was dominant the only behavior they did was peeing in each others cages and constantly pushing their heads under each other in order to be groomed. Mimzy wasn't that into grooming so molly would just sit there under his head forever. Until she gave up and decided to groom him. Now he grooms her back a bit. But she's totally a licker, she licks everything.
They're very happy and bonded! Plus I'm happy because it's much less work, they play together instead of separately. It was also very good for my male I was feeling he was a bit sad since his neuter and he was very bored he'd just bite on his cage bars and it drove me nuts. Since the bond he hasn't bit his bars once.
Here's a picture of the happy couple
Molly is currently still unspayed. Her appointment is April 9th. They've been bonded a little over a month. I suggest get the female if you like her but cage her separately for awhile and let them get used to each others scent. (you can get a cheap cage off kijiji or craigslist thats what i did) Let them explore each other while they are in the cage. Then do a small meet and greet and see how it goes. If they do have trouble you may need to keep them separate until she is spayed.
It can work but maybe I was just lucky!
