want to add a second rabbit

[sammy]

We have a recently neutered-4 weeksago-male dutch rabbit. He is 7 months old.we have thoughtabout getting a friend for him. The vet said to wait 2 weeksand then we could get one. We did wait 2 weeks and I brought home a 8week old female dutch. I introduced them to one another-our malesniffed her and immediately tried to mate her. I called the vet and shesaid to gove him a few more weeks for his hormones to adjust postneutering. I returned the girl and need more realistic infoon how to introduce a second rabbit. At this point we want a female butthe vet said I coould get either since ours is a neutered male. Anyexperiences or advice would be greatly appreciated. Will our rabbitalways try to mount a female? Would he do better with an unalteredmale(I would neuter eventually)-or are there territorial issues evenwith neutered males?I have a 7 and 10 year old girl and I was hoping toavoid this pictorial

Thanks Sammy

 

[MyBabyBunnies]

It sounds like your vet isn't very experienced in rabbits.

The male was probably trying to assert his dominance over the female, not mate her.

As for getting a male, I say no. Both my males were together from onlya couple months of age (4 months) and both were neutered. However, 5months after being neutered, the boys started fighting to kill! Icannot put them together to this day.

Most male/male bondings don't work out, some do but are you prepared totake care of 2 rabbits individually? If not, then don't get anothermale.

The most successful bonding would be a female/male pair and it's the one I suggest.

For more information on bonding, search around the forum. There are lots of old posts with info in them.

P.S.- Mounting is going to happen one way or another with 2 rabbits.It's how one rabbit asserts dominance on another. So if you don't wantyour daughters seeing that, then don't get another bunny.

 

[Stephanie]

As MyBunnyBoy states, mounting is mostly adominance thing with rabbits and has nothing to do with mating.However, with little ones watching, I understand your situation.

It is possible to have a male/male bonded pair, but it takes a lot ofwork to get them to that point. It is very well possible that it couldtake some work for a male/female pair as well, which I have a lot ofexperience with. Currently, I have three rabbits, two bucks and a doe,all bonded and sharing one (very large) cage.

What you want to do when introducing, is not just put them in the samecage, or even out in the same area right away. It doesn't sound to methat your current male was aggressive persay, just establishing who wasgoing to be "top bun" of the group. Next time, try letting the new bunout in the shared area to mingle his/her scent with your first rabbit.Place their cages next to each other so they can see/smell one another.I highly recommend having two cages to start with. Think of it thisway, how would you feel if your rabbit brought some human home andthrew them into the mix? lol

When you do let them out in the same shared space, supervise closely.It helps to have a water bottle (the kind you use to mist plants) onhand in case they do fight. In mostcases, expect somefighting and fur to fly, although there are instances of love at firstsight. I was lucky when I introduced Abby (then 8 weeks old) toChompers (he was 3 and neutered). It was love at first sight with them,but when I brought my third rabbit (male), she was very aggressivetowards him. Chompers thankfully is a very mellow rabbit.

If they do end up fighting a lot, then you will need to take steps tobond them, which can be time consuming and you will need a lot ofpatience. It took me two full weeks to get my dominant rabbit Abby toaccept Valuran into the herd, but it was well worth it. Feel free to PMme with any questions you may have about bonding and introducingrabbits.

 

[dajeti2]

Here's a link that I think you will find helpful. It may help answer your questions.

http://www.mybunnies.com/bonding.htm

Good Luck.

Tina

 

[Pet_Bunny]

Welcometo the forum Sammy,

We have an 8 month old spayed Netherland Dwarf. We arethinking about getting a second bunny also. Several times webrought her to the local animal shelter for her to meet other bunniesin a closed room. This way you could see right away if thetwo will get along. The shelter even offered to take back thenew bunny if the bonding doesn't work out.

Rainbows!