Old fat bunny doesn't care about tiny newcomer

Rabbits Online Forum

Help Support Rabbits Online Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

SuMykl

Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2012
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Location
Kent, , United Kingdom
Hiii,

We have found my 5 year old male neutered rabbit a new little female companion (10 weeks old). But so far old Arfer doesn't seem to care much. He tends to eat her food and very occasionally appears to almost sit on her but other than that he hasn't shown any reaction. He is just sitting around and ignoring her.
They do not share floor space or cage yet but it is difficult to assess the situation. What does it mean if he ignores her ? - Does he not have a sexual instinct ? - Is it because she is still so young / small ? Any ideas on how to get them closer ? And, how will we know when to put them in the same cage ?

Would appreciate your help !

Cheers,
Sumykl
 
ignoring is actually a very good first reaction!

here are two good sites on bunny-bonding where you can read up on the process:
http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/bond.shtml
http://www.cottontails-rescue.org.uk/matchups.asp

be warned that when your female reaches sexual maturity, fights might break out - it may become necessary to house her separately until she's big enough to get spayed (and for as much as a month afterward while the hormones dissipate) and then re-bond them.
 
Adult bunnies almost always get along (don't fight) with baby bunnies. That's normal. The difficulty comes when your new girl's hormones kick in. This may trigger aggression on one or both of them. Then you'll have to separate them, then get her spayed.
When that is done, and she is healed, the bonding process will start all over again. They may get along, they may not.

It's usually easier to let an existing bun choose a neutered companion through bunny dates at a rescue.

I don't know if I'd trust them in the same cage as she approaches that hormonal stage. You may not be there if/when a fight breaks out. You may need to wait for that until after the spaying and the bonding is successful.
 
I agree that waiting until she is neutered is the best way.

And I don't think, at only 10 weeks old, being mounted would be a good idea in any case.
 
Thanks, guys ! Really appreciate the advice !!
Yes, she is still very small and fragile - in fact she jumped off something that was too high for her and injured herself. So big bunny trouble here :(
 

Latest posts

Back
Top