Hey guys, so my partner and I are moving in together and would really like to bond our bunnies, a spayed female and an unspayed male, together. Obviously i am aware that it’s usually risky to put an unspayed rabbit with a spayed one but i wanted to post this here since we have kind of an unusual case and are unsure what to do. So the male is a TINY 5 years old dwarf and weighs not more than 600-700g, he had a stasis a few months ago which he luckily survived and now is fully back to normal. A month ago, we went to the vet to get him checked and see if it would be possible to get him spayed or if it was too risky. We explained the situation to the vet, we usually go to this clinique but we had to go somewhere else for the g.i stasis, and tell her that we wanted to bond the rabbits together. She asked about both bunnies usual behaviors, if they were territorial, if he displayed a lot of hormonal behaviors etc. After the check up, she told us that we could get him spayed but that we could also try to see if we can bond them together even if he is not fixed since he isn’t very hormonal and very docile. We were a bit shocked that she suggested that but wonder if anyone has experience with this? My bf is pretty traumatised by his experience with the g.i stasis so getting the bunny spayed scares him a lot. The two bunnies have already met through a cage for like 10 secondes but they were super curious, not aggresive. The male also lived near another female that wasn’t spayed for awhile and didn’t get aggresive, the most hormonal thing he has ever done is mount a plushie once and he’s never been terriotorial or agressive. Since he is very tiny and older we aren’t sure if we should get him fixed but I also don’t want to risk my female rabbit getting annoyed or stressed out if he tries to mount her. She is usually pretty sweet and not territorial for a female but she is double his size so i’m scared she could hurt him. Do you guys think we should try bonding them or is it too risky? Any advice or opinion?
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Well, that's the combination I share my home with. Actually, just the parts of it that are easily mopped up since he sprays her now and then with no regard where he is.
Second buck with this very patient, spayed doe, no problem aggression wise. They spend a lot of time cuddling and grooming, he has his stints when he tries to hump her but she just keeps hopping away then. All in all, they are a happy pair.
I don't think bonding them would be risky, depending on her attitude, but might bring some inconviniences. Also depending on how his drive is.
That's my thread about my first try with this combination:
https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threa...bond-with-intact-buck-what-to-consider.92855/
Second buck with this very patient, spayed doe, no problem aggression wise. They spend a lot of time cuddling and grooming, he has his stints when he tries to hump her but she just keeps hopping away then. All in all, they are a happy pair.
I don't think bonding them would be risky, depending on her attitude, but might bring some inconviniences. Also depending on how his drive is.
That's my thread about my first try with this combination:
https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threa...bond-with-intact-buck-what-to-consider.92855/
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dogwoodblossoms
Well-Known Member
I have never bonded a pair of rabbits, but I always tell families I sell pairs to, to watch hormone levels, that usually is the biggest problem (besides pregnancy lol) that you can have when trying to bond pairs. If both are really docile and calm rabbits, I think they will be fine. Your male from what I understand seems to be a calm rabbit, and I don't think you will have a problem. Obviously, if you start to bond them, and he attempts to mount her or either of them gets aggressive, separate them and try again the next day or a few days after. I really think they will be fine.
How cute are they!! Thank you for sharing, it’s making me less scared to try. Fortunately for us, the male doesn’t venture off his waterproof blankets much so we might not have to do a lot of moping haha!
Yes he is super super calm and I would be very suprised if he gets real hormonal, it’s my female who is a bit more energetic but she is still very sweet and might lick him 24/7 if we successfully bond them lol. I just always heard that it was a really bad idea to bond unfixed rabbits but seeing what people say here makes me less nervous. Thank you for ur input, i think we will try!!
It's usually not recommended, and there are risks in trying it. But that's not to say in the right situation it couldn't work. The risks are that he acts excessively hormonal, keeps pestering her to mate, and she gets fed up and attacks him, possibly seriously injuring him.
The only way I could see it possibly working, is if you had a HUGE area for them and she could run and hide and get away from him when she wanted to. Or if he doesn't display the usual hormonal male behavior. If he either doesn't try humping her at all, or if he tries maybe a few times and then stops, and that's the end of it. It's the excessively hormonal male trying to constantly hump another rabbit, that gets them into trouble. And this trouble can come in the form of serious bodily injury, or even can be fatal in some cases.
Its not my recommendation to try it due to the potential risks, but it's going to be up to you. The best thing would be to find a really good rabbit vet with lots of experience, that could neuter your bun. A really good rabbit vet will help minimize the risks of the surgery. But of course any surgery still carries some risk.
https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/
Before attemting bonding, whether he gets neutered or not, it's a really good idea to do some thorough research on the bonding process and rabbit body language as well. It's really important to understand the signs of escalating aggression, so you can stop things before an all out fight breaks out. Because once this occurs, there's very little chance bonding will be successful after this.
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/bonding-bunnies.html
http://cottontails-rescue.org.uk/information/bonding-bunnies/
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Bonding_rabbits_together
http://language.rabbitspeak.com/
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Understanding_your_rabbit
The only way I could see it possibly working, is if you had a HUGE area for them and she could run and hide and get away from him when she wanted to. Or if he doesn't display the usual hormonal male behavior. If he either doesn't try humping her at all, or if he tries maybe a few times and then stops, and that's the end of it. It's the excessively hormonal male trying to constantly hump another rabbit, that gets them into trouble. And this trouble can come in the form of serious bodily injury, or even can be fatal in some cases.
Its not my recommendation to try it due to the potential risks, but it's going to be up to you. The best thing would be to find a really good rabbit vet with lots of experience, that could neuter your bun. A really good rabbit vet will help minimize the risks of the surgery. But of course any surgery still carries some risk.
https://rabbit.org/vet-listings/
Before attemting bonding, whether he gets neutered or not, it's a really good idea to do some thorough research on the bonding process and rabbit body language as well. It's really important to understand the signs of escalating aggression, so you can stop things before an all out fight breaks out. Because once this occurs, there's very little chance bonding will be successful after this.
https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/bonding-bunnies.html
http://cottontails-rescue.org.uk/information/bonding-bunnies/
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Bonding_rabbits_together
http://language.rabbitspeak.com/
https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Understanding_your_rabbit
