Bonding tips needed!

[MichelleandThumper]

Hello everyone! I recently bought a 2 month old (almost 3) mini rex/mini lop female bun named Willow. I also have a dwarf male that is neutered but was neutered only 3 weeks ago. And I would just like some bonding tips! Right now they're in separate cages that are side by side. I'm worried about what Thumper(my dwarf) will think of having a new bun around. So far I can't tell what he thinks. I am aware that his hormones arnt fully gone for at least 3-4 weeks so I'm not going to put them together where they can interact until about a month ish. Is there any warning signs I should look for and signs that indicate all is going well? I don't think he cares much about Willow cause he's just been normal ever since she got here. He hasn't really done anything out of the ordinary besides Thumping. He's always thumped when I let him out of his cage. He would jump out then go under my bed and thump and make a noise but he has always done that and I know he's not scared of me because he follows me everywhere and climbs all over me like I'm a playground. So it can't be fear. But only one thing caught my eye and that was that he peed on his blanket that's near willows cage. Is that a sign that he's saying it's his? Willow has been somewhat curious of Thumper but does her own thing when she can't see him. But ya advice would be perfect I plan on getting her spayed when she's of age!

 

[MichelleandThumper]

Oh and this is them! The blanket on the bottom is the one he peed on so could that be saying he's being territorial?

 

[Imbrium]

As a heads-up, it's actually 6-8 weeks max for a male's hormones to be totally gone (3-4 weeks for females)... by the time his hormones are definitely gone, she'll be old enough that hers are either kicking in or about to, so you won't want to actually try bonding them until after she's spayed and it's been a month.

Some territorial marking is par for the course when bringing a new bunny home - his peeing is most likely territorial, but isn't cause for concern and should die down after a while .

 

[zombiesue]

Like I said in your last thread, you can't really start until she's been spayed and her hormones have died down. So you're probably going to be waiting at least another 4 months before you can start bonding them.

At that time, the standard advise is to introduce them in neutral territory (somewhere that neither rabbit has ever been) and wear heavy gloves in case you need to break up some fighting. Any humping and a little bit of circling is normal, let them do their thing. Try to break up fights by making a loud noise or with a spray bottle, only use your hands when you need to to prevent injury.

Rabbits aren't humans, they don't really "think."