Bonding my rabbits

[Ashbun]

I have bought a new rabbit that is 10 weeks old (i haven't picked it up yet). I also have an older rabbit that is 7 months old. Neither of them are neutered, but they are both females. The younger one is going to be living in an indoor cage until they have been bonded, but i don't really know the best way to bond them.
Any ideas?

 

[Mac189]

Definitely wait til the little one is older... so you can know the personality and be certain it's a female. I had two unspayed bonded ladies who were sisters and friends for life, but I have no experience with two does as adults. When I bonded Willa to Foxwell I let them meet in a neutral area that was very busy and a little stressful, so they had other things to focus on than a strange rabbit. Cages next to each other on car trips are great for this, so is a bathroom with slick floors (also gives you more time to act if they start to exhibit aggressive behavior). I've heard a water pistol is also good to break focus and does little more than annoy them. It also makes them groom themselves in the other rabbit's presence, which lowers the tension.
I'm sure other folks on the site know way more about bonding two lady rabbits than I do, but this is what helped me with Willa and Foxwell!

 

[Eve84]

Hi,
Two girls often don’t get on with each other. It would have been better to get a neutered boy and a girl.

You can bond them immediately you should not wait. Best is to bond them on a neutral ground where they have not been yet. Best to place them both together at the same time, best time for it is lunch time, rabbits are less active at that time and just to keep an eye on them.

There will be fights and also hunting and maybe a bit of fur comes out, as long as they don’t bite each other and seriously hurt each other you have to let them go on. If you have to go between two fighting bunny’s never do it with bare hands!

But as long as they don’t hurt each other seriously you have to let them clarify their position who is first in the hierarchy/ rank. If you separate them in between it will fail.

Once they eat, sleep, lie next to each other or groom each other - bonding was successful.

Good luck

 

[Ashbun]

Thanks for the help!
I am picking it up tomorrow and will put the new one in its cage.
How long do you think i should wait to bond them. Should i let the younger one settle in first?

 

[zuppa]

Hi, how long you have your older rabbit? Can you post some pictures of where she lives?

 

[Ashbun]

We got her when she was 11 weeks, so we've probably had her for about 5 months

 

[Ashbun]

i can get more pictures on her whole cage tomorrow, but his is all i could get at the moment. The area outside its cage is temporary so it isnt that well done...

 

[zuppa]

Unspayed females can get very territorial so make sure they are introduced to each other in totally unfamiliar to both territory and all bonding process as well. The new one is still a baby and she will be sweet and friendly probably, but the older one can start acting very aggressive because there's a new rabbit in her home and she will try to protect it.
You can watch some videos on bonding rabbits to get some ideas, here's one for instance for bonding five rabbits, check out her other videos she has for bonding two and three rabbits. I am sure you will find your own way but it is handy to know how other people bonding there are some tricks you can use as well.

For baby bonding it was said many times already that babies get along easily and if someone has 'bonded' 4 months old and 2 months old rabbits it is just too early to celebrate because babies will grow and unfixed females will get hormonal someday so your bonding is still not done, they may or may not bond when they are adult.

Anyway, back to your rabbits. You have 7 months young adult female and 2,5 months baby female, both intact, you can try bonding them in neutral territory and maybe your adult female will accept the baby, but when your baby will hit puberty it can change dramatically, or they could stay bonded without any problem.
Actually no one can guarantee that they will bond so it's your decision if you want to try now or you want to wait a few months.

It is not impossible to bond two unfixed females, maybe you are lucky and it'll be easy for you.

 

[zuppa]

I have bought a new rabbit that is 10 weeks old (i haven't picked it up yet). I also have an older rabbit that is 7 months old. Neither of them are neutered, but they are both females. The younger one is going to be living in an indoor cage until they have been bonded, but i don't really know the best way to bond them.
Any ideas?

If this new girl still not with you maybe you want to rethink it and get a neutered male 6+ months old from your local rescue instead, they usually do bunny dates to see if the rabbits like each other so may bond easily. It would be much easier and usually female and neutered male have better chances to bond.

There are plenty of rabbits in the rescues and you can give one a new good home, instead of supporting breeders.

 

[Diane R]

It is much safer to wait until 8 weeks after the last one is neutered to attempt bonding.

 

[Ashbun]

i have already arranged to get the new one today so i can't say no now. But if i have to, i could keep her inside for as long as i need. I may get Cinamon neutered, and try to bond them a while after that, but otherwise i'll do what i can and see what happens.
If i get Cinamon neutered, will the new one have to be neutered too?

I'll say more when the new bunny arrives, but thanks for the help

 

[Diane R]

i have already arranged to get the new one today so i can't say no now. But if i have to, i could keep her inside for as long as i need. I may get Cinamon neutered, and try to bond them a while after that, but otherwise i'll do what i can and see what happens.
If i get Cinamon neutered, will the new one have to be neutered too?

I'll say more when the new bunny arrives, but thanks for the help

Yes, all bunnies have to be neutered, then wait 8 weeks to attempt bonding.

 

[Eve84]

Hi,
I would not wait to bond them! If they smell the other rabbit without getting to it they become upset about it because they want to clarify they hierarchy/ rank who’s becoming the boss and it will increase every day. So you might not be able to bond them later anymore.
I would give the new one a day of rest and get them together the next day.

The age difference is not a problem I recently bonded 3 - 6 month old and a 6 week old.

Important is let them clarify the rank and don’t separate them at any time even if they fight and hunt and if they lose a little fur.

If they start biting and hurting each other seriously the bonding was not successful and you have to separate them but never go between them with bare hands!

If they start eating together, grooming each other etc the bonding was successful.

Two girls are normally not a good bond as i mentioned before, do you have a chance to house a third rabbit and get a neutered boy?
Good luck

 

[Blue eyes]

The age difference is not a problem I recently bonded 3 - 6 month old and a 6 week old.

That remains to be seen. It is quite common for "bonds" with babies to fall apart with the onset of hormones. I would not consider this a "bond" until all rabbits have reached a minimum of 9 months of age. Until then, it's wait and see.

For the OP, getting a third could greatly complicate things and adds that much more potential for a bond to not work out.

"Whilst most experienced and knowledgeable rabbit owners and professionals agree that the best social arrangement for rabbits is to keep them in bonded neutered pairs (usually male/female), there are some situations where a trio or group may be attempted, with varying degrees of success. In this article we will look at various options to give such an arrangement the best possible chance of working....
"Some owners set up a rabbit group with apparent ease, only to find later on that fighting breaks out with injuries and sometimes fatalities – things can go wrong even after a year or two, so do not be fooled by seemingly an easy bonding, you need to be prepared to cope should it all go wrong." BONDING Bunnies : CottonTails Rabbit & Guinea Pig Rescue

 

[zuppa]

Hi,
I would not wait to bond them! If they smell the other rabbit without getting to it they become upset about it because they want to clarify they hierarchy/ rank who’s becoming the boss and it will increase every day. So you might not be able to bond them later anymore.
I would give the new one a day of rest and get them together the next day.

The age difference is not a problem I recently bonded 3 - 6 month old and a 6 week old.

Important is let them clarify the rank and don’t separate them at any time even if they fight and hunt and if they lose a little fur.

If they start biting and hurting each other seriously the bonding was not successful and you have to separate them but never go between them with bare hands!

If they start eating together, grooming each other etc the bonding was successful.

Two girls are normally not a good bond as i mentioned before, do you have a chance to house a third rabbit and get a neutered boy?
Good luck

Hi. I just see you keep advising new people on bonding but as far as I can see from your previous threads you don't actually have experience with bonding, as said above you 'bonded' 4 months and 2 months babies, this is not real bond because they are still babies, they are your first rabbits and you simply don't have experience with sustainable bonding. Apologise I don't want to sound rude but I just feel I have to intervene since new people coming for advice and might believe what you suggest. I am glad you are happy with your new rabbits I know how exciting it is and hopefully they will stay bonded after their hormonal phase but this is your first experience and you are at the very beginning since your rabbits are still so very young. Didn't want to hurt if any, my apologies again.

 

[Diane R]

"Neutering is important for so many reasons, and absolutely necessary when pairing rabbits. " from the RWAF website here: Pairing up Rabbits
All experts agree that bunnies need to be neutered and you need to allow time (6-8 weeks) for hormones to settle before attempting to bond.

 

[Ashbun]

I think i will get them both neutered, and wait for a month before i bond them. But, that mean i will have to keep my new one in an indoor cage, which i don't know if that's the best option for it. I don't really know whos advice would be the best for me and my bunnies, but i think i'll just wait until they are both neutered and ready to be bonded, then try and bond them!

 

[Eve84]

Hi. I just see you keep advising new people on bonding but as far as I can see from your previous threads you don't actually have experience with bonding, as said above you 'bonded' 4 months and 2 months babies, this is not real bond because they are still babies, they are your first rabbits and you simply don't have experience with sustainable bonding. Apologise I don't want to sound rude but I just feel I have to intervene since new people coming for advice and might believe what you suggest. I am glad you are happy with your new rabbits I know how exciting it is and hopefully they will stay bonded after their hormonal phase but this is your first experience and you are at the very beginning since your rabbits are still so very young. Didn't want to hurt if any, my apologies again.

Hi,
Firstly I don’t believe in your theory that it aren’t true bonds between baby’s. And secondly my suggestion also counts for adult bonding.
I would absolutely suggest in keeping two rabbits separate from another and bond them later that absolutely makes no sense at all.
The rabbits learn to be just by themselves for several months which makes it much harder to bond them later.

It’s similar with humans if you move out from your family into your own flat, you were used to share bathroom etc with your family and if you continue just to live alone it will be harder the longer it continues to share a flat later on again with a boyfriend.

Most rabbits which grow up together get on fine later on, just with two girls it is always a gamble.

The longer a rabbit is by itself the harder it will be to bond it at a later time. That might be your problem why your rabbits don’t get along with a lot of other rabbits.

 

[Eve84]

I would absolutely suggest against keeping rabbits separate I wanted to write!!!

 

[Eve84]

"Neutering is important for so many reasons, and absolutely necessary when pairing rabbits. " from the RWAF website here: Pairing up Rabbits
All experts agree that bunnies need to be neutered and you need to allow time (6-8 weeks) for hormones to settle before attempting to bond.

You can neuter males early with 10-14 weeks) where the hormones did not kick in yet. It has several good reasons, firstly you won’t need to keep them separate at any time, apart from the operation time.
And secondly when the hormones never have kicked in the males won’t spray with Urin which some do even though they got neutered.