Bonding pre/post spay

[Lauraeli]

Everybody meet Tulip. She is 4 1/2 months old. I picked up both her and her sister as a possible friend for my Mr Bun (who is neutered). Unlike with Bella (RIP), Mr Bun immediately liked Tulip (while rejecting her sister Marigold.)

Tulip's spay surgery is scheduled for 2 1/2 weeks from now. The vet has said that I can't bring both bunnies in for the spay.

I wasn't going to bond Tulip and Coco (Mr Bun) pre-spay, but they seem like easy friends, and I also need them bonded and sharing living space before August 6th as I will be out of town for a few weeks and the buns will be in the care of a friend. (Marigold will be in her new home before then)

Thoughts for either pre or post spay bonding? How long should I keep them separated for after the surgery? I don't think putting them in adjacent pens afterwards will break a bond but he nips to get attention so having them together immediately afterwards might not be a good idea.

 

[RavenousDragon]

I would wait post spay to try to bond. The female will smell entirely different and thus is a different bunny to your male. It takes about 60 days for ALL hormones to dissipate so to be super safe, I would wait until then if possible. For sure, wait 2 weeks until the spay wound is healed; if he manages to open her up, it will be catastrophic. Good luck and let us know how everything goes!

 

[Aki]

Just her getting surgery will break the bond (which isn't really there to begin with as you are dealing with an intact baby). If they aren't fighting, no harm in letting them play SUPERVIZED until the spay but know that it certainly won't facilitate the bonding post spay - you will need to do anything from the start anyway in about a month. They might get along immediately. Or they might not. Rabbits really don't care that you need them to be bonded by a certain date and if they don't get along 100% by August the 6th, you'll need to find a solution to house them separately. Anyway, after the spay, don't put them together for at least 2 weeks. Just a bit of rough playing can really empede the healing of the wound (for a doe, a spay is a pretty big operation - keep in mind that they are cutting her lower belly open and removing not so small organs from her! there are videos and photos of rabbit spays on the Internet, and I think if every owner watched them we wouldn't get so many people being surprised that their doe is acting 'weird' after the surgery). After the spay, she will be hurting and be stressed. It might take a few days for her to eat normally and she probably won't take kindly to anyone trying to go near her lower half while she is recovering anyway (my Aki wouldn't even wash her lower belly for about a month after the spay)

 

[ravenmoore36]

Patience. We have had to bring a new bun into our lives. On 1st december 16 our princess passed away at home in my arms and her partner next to me. He almost died.......twice from grief. His uncle and i took him to adoption centre to choose a new friend. We came home with a year and a half old lady bun whose care had been non existent. We have had her 6 months thursday. We are just beginning to put them together without the run. He has wanted more contact from the day we brought her home. She just wasnt ready. Patience and doing the bonding in their time is paying off.

 

[Lauraeli]

Coco's friendship with Bella was not an immediate one, and it only took a week to bond them after (she was healed from) her spay...I'm not worried about Tulip and Coco getting along at all. He let's her put her head under his chin when they snuggle in the car (which is big, he won't even let me put my hand under his chin) and I've seen them touch noses through the bars without any nipping from him or laying back his ears back (also big for him). One time she ran towards him and he put his ears back, then he realized it was just her and put his ears back up.

On her side, she hasn't shown any aggression. In fact she even licked his ears a couple of times. Super cute! I think he likes her because she's brave and outgoing, and it makes him feel safe.

I understand they may need to be 're-bonded' after the spay, but if they get along fine, is there a reason why housing them together would hurt the post-spay bonding process? Her kennel is in his pen right now without any aggression from either, so he's used to her being in his space already. I'm not in any rush because I'm not worried. But just curious.

On a side note, Coco didn't respond to Bella any differently after her spay. He didn't feel there was a new rabbit in his space. So while I can see why the smell of the vets office could alarm a rabbit (he avoids me when I smell like dogs, for instance), Im not convinced they forget who someone is simply because they have a new smell on them.

 

[JBun]

I've had an unspayed female with a neutered male together before her spay and immediately after. She was happier being with him after the surgery and would have been upset not to be, plus he was very gentle and calm with her. I did monitor things very closely though, to make sure they were ok with each other and that she was recovering ok from the surgery. You have to make sure the rabbits body temp stays warm and that they start eating again, and that they aren't being chased or bugged in any way.

How things work and what's best to do, has everything to do with the individual rabbits involved. Some rabbits I would not put together pre or post spay, some I would have no objections to doing it at all. If there are no signs of irritation or aggression from either rabbit and it is pretty much love at first sight, I think I would be inclined to keep them together pre spay, then after the spay carefully see how he is with her. If he is calm and lets her rest, I might leave them together(while closely monitoring) because being with the bonded partner can help in recovery for her. If he doesn't seem ok or isn't letting her rest, I would separate for several days to even a week or two, just depending on the reaction he has. She'll need 10-14 days of restricted movement and not running or hopping up on things(or being chased), so if that can be accomplished with keeping them together, that's probably what I would do. It might also help after bringing her home from the vet, to rub a blanket or something with both their scents, all over her(carefully and not her belly) to get her smelling more like home and less like a vet office.

A vet that won't let you bring in the bonded partner would make me have some concerns about how experienced the vet is with rabbits. So if you aren't sure, I would double check. And please make sure they send you home with pain medication, prescribed at the right dose(some inexperienced vets under dose meloxicam with rabbits), and at least 5 days worth.
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/opcare.html

 

[Lauraeli]

You know, Tulip and Marigold both look bloated. Worms? Gas? They're eating and active but their poops are not all a consistent size- some of them are quite small