Bonding unspayed female with baby bun...

[sarah92lynn]

So I've been working on bonding my two rabbits even though Lilly isn't spayed yet. I've done a lot of reading up on rabbit bonding and almost every place I've looked it's stated that both rabbits MUST be spayed/neutered or they won't bond, buuut I wanted to at least attempt it since I rescued another poor little bun. Even though I knew it would make things more difficult I chose another girl bun because I didn't want to chance them mating if I couldn't get Lilly spayed in time. (at least I'm pretty sure CoCoa is a girl...I've looked down there quite a few times and she also just looks like a girl)
Right now I let them out of their cages at separate times because I don't want to give Lilly a chance to attack CoCoa. Lilly is always curious and they usually touch noses and check each other out through CoCoa's cage, but whenever CoCoa is out and wants to check out Lilly in her cage, Lilly gets defensive and sometimes tries boxing through the bars. I expected that of course but it seems like Lilly is getting better and maybe starting to trust CoCoa more when it comes to her cage. Her aggressive behavior towards baby bun seems to be getting less and less with time.

I pretty much just want your opinions on this. Should I keep them separate until Lilly is spayed & her hormones are down, or should I attempt introducing them in neutral territory if Lilly keeps making progress?

 

[Imbrium]

I would definitely wait for the spay. not sure how old CoCoa is... hormones usually kick in around 4 mos, but can happen as early as 3 mos so you might just wait for both to be spayed since it'll take 3-4 weeks after a spay for the hormones to be totally gone. even if they do bond before CoCoa is of age, things could change as soon as her hormones kick in.

 

[sarah92lynn]

I'm not sure how old CoCoa is, the person I got her from obviously knew nothing about rabbits or how to care for them so I didn't bother to call back and ask her age. I'm guessing around three months by comparison to pictures of 3 month old rabbits. I just want them to be friends so badly! But I would rather wait than take the chance of them never bonding because of a fight.

Forgot to say thank you for your input

 

[LakeCondo]

As you say, better to wait than to have them fight & learn to resent each other.

 

[agnesthelion]

I agree with Jennifer and wait til they are spayed.

I know you want them to be friends I get that feeling as I'm bonding my two right now as well.

But here is the thing, even IF you get two unspayed females to "get along" they can't really be considered bonded. Their hormones still drive everything they do. So even if it appears they are starting to become friends, a fight could break out at any time. Then you risk them never bonding.

It's best to wait til they are spayed. Good luck

 

[Nancy McClelland]

:yeahthat:

 

[sarah92lynn]

Thanks guys I'm gonna wait for sure now.

 

[agnesthelion]

Let us know how it goes after the spay

 

[fuzz16]

sebi is a 3 year old nuetered rabbit bonded to 5 month old murphy who is not spayed and their really good together...ive heard of colony rabbitry setups doing well with laaarge spaces but its rare that 2 unspayed rabbits do well together as they both hit puberty even in colony setups there are outbreaks