Help with some bonding knowledge please.

[Bbdave]

Hi my wife and I bought Hetty a mini lop at the end of last year she was 4 months old and the last to leave the breeder who we think probably wasn't the best. Hetty has the run of the living room conservatory and part of the garden she has been spayed and doesn't like being picked up but loves a floor fuss.
Yesterday we picked up Ernie, an 8 week old mini lop from a good breeder he is well handled etc. he currently resides in a cage next to Hettys bedroom cage. Last night Hetty stayed well away we left her out. This morning Ernie's cage was surrounded by Hetty's poo (rare for her as she is litter trained) she has spent the day fascinated by Ernie and layed next to him for most of it and no more poo. My wife took Ernie out for a cuddle this afternoon Hetty came for a look and sniff then grunted and nipped at him after we put him back Hetty had a couple of nips at the bars when they both put their noses through. Ernie pays no attention and Hetty is back to lying along side.

Ok so where shall we go from here I am aware Hetty is full grown and Ernie is a little might so know she can do him damage. Any help greatly appreciated.

Dave

 

[Blue eyes]

Getting a companion for Hetty is a fine idea. I'm afraid, though, that it would have been better to have let Hetty choose her future bondmate from among other fixed rabbits. By going through a rabbit rescue, one can pre-screen for potential compatibility. Then, if one doesn't work out, they allow exchanges.

Babies don't truly bond and it isn't advised nor beneficial to have the baby and Hetty interact at all at this point. The boy is too young. Even if they began to get along wonderfully, it still wouldn't be advised to allow them together. Why? Because in the next month or two, those male hormones will kick in. When that happens, all heck can break loose. Don't be fooled. The cuddliest of pairs - when one becomes hormonal - can turn into bitter enemies. They can suddenly turn on each other and begin fighting. Such a fight can prevent future bonding. So there is only risk in allowing an adult and a baby to interact. There is no benefit... no such thing as "pre-bonding."

For now, they should be kept separate. Cages can be nearby, but never should they have physical contact, even if one of you is holding them.

Once the boy is old enough to neuter and has had 8 weeks post-surgery to allow hormones to fully dissipate, only then should bonding begin. So if your vet neuters at 16 weeks of age, then you're looking at another 4 months (from now) of keeping these two separate.

The real difficulty, however, will be if, after all of this waiting and surgery and separating, when the bonding time finally begins, it ends up that these two decide they don't like each other. This can happen. If it does happen, then you've invested all of the time and emotion into this new boy and now the two rabbits would have to be housed separately after all. This would be such a disappointment -- all of which can be avoided by going with an already fixed rabbit from a rescue.

This may seem tough, but I would actually recommend returning the 8 week old and going the other route. However, if that is not something you want to do (I could understand that) then just follow the steps above and hope for the best.

[I've assumed in all of this that Hetty is spayed.]

 

[stevesmum]

Get the new guy neutered and make sure his hormones have calmed down enough after before you try taking them on dates. Hopefully it works out between them. If not, have a plan for how you will house them separately and all that. Good luck! They sound sweet!

 

[Aki]

I wouldn't put the rabbits into contact at all for now. Like the others said, it's never a good idea to try to put together rabbits who are not both desexed. Also, I advise against putting a new bunny not coming from a foster family with the family rabbit. Personally, I quarantine first. I may be overly cautious, but a new animal can be ill without you knowing and some ailments are very contagious (just a few days ago, a member of this forum lost 4 bunnies in a row to a virus that came from a new cage and was transmitted by the bunny living in it to the others so... it can happen).
A neutered male and a spayed female is the best combination. It might not work out, like blue eyes said, but I would't be pessimistic about it just yet - I did it a few times and it always went well in the end ^^. It might take some efforts to bond them, though (if you haven't already, I suggest you read up about the bonding process), so you'll have to be patient... especially since you'll have to wait for about 4 months before attempting it. I hope they get on well!

 

[Bbdave]

Thanks will they still be ok in there own cages next to each other till they're ready to try bonding?

Dave

 

[Blue eyes]

Often having their cages nearby each other is fine - even advised. However you'll need to "read" them as time goes by. Sometimes this arrangement can stress one or both rabbits. If you notice one or the other showing signs of being stressed, it may be a good idea, at that point, to put one of the rabbits in another room altogether.

If they aren't acting stressed, then leave their cages as is.

On a side note, it isn't uncommon to see one (or both) rabbits in such a situation choose to lay down in their cage as close as possible to the other cage. This action is often misinterpreted as "oh, look, the bunnies want to be near each other. How sweet." When in actuality, it more likely means, "this is my territory, dude, so don't get any ideas!"

 

[Bbdave]

Ok an update on Hettie and Ernie we kept them in seperate bedroom crates allowing them both time out in Hettie's territory in which we started putting a divider up in to allow both time out and about we had a little fur pulling through the wire but not much. A couple of weeks after having Ernie neutered we put them in neutral ground for an hour in which they just sat together for about half an hour. Then we put them in the living room in a smallish enclosure we only had a couple of small tustles but nothing serious after a week of evenings in there we gave them the run of the house and they both went to bed in Hettie's crate now they live and play together as if they always have been. In conclusion the bonding was easy no dramas like we have read about I think like any animal the secret is to make sure they have time to see and smell each other before being introduced fully.

Dave

 

[Aki]

Glad it went well for you! Desexed female / male pairings generally work out quite easily. You can have clash of personalities, but it's pretty rare - most of the bonding disasters I've seen were pairings of the same sex (we say it again and again, but people keep on attempting them based on the false belief that 'brothers / sisters will get along' or that they won't have to spay / neuter if the rabbits are of the same sex... of course, some are the result of honest mistakes during the sexing ^^'). My worst attempt at a pairing is my current one because the male is a lazy pig who doesn't care one bit about hierarchy while the female is very sensitive about smells and protocol and even them ended working out after a few months. They're now on their 4th year together ^^.

 

[Blue eyes]

Glad it has worked out well for you! :wiggle

Generally speaking, opposite sex pairings can go more smoothly, however, I have had several opposite sex pairing attempts that absolutely would not work. :nono They were mortal enemies.

I've also had the pleasure of a few super easy bonds. One bonding literally took less than one day from the first time they ever met. Within that one day, they were best buddies. (That pair actually ended up on Animal Planet as part of a follow-up with the rabbit rescue that saved a bunch of rabbits from a hoarder/breeder.) That was male/female too.