Should I put my two unspayed bunnies togheter or not?

[Babygroot]

Hello!

So, I have two female bunnies, Mimmi and Valerya, who are not spayed but seem to be on very good terms. Mimmi lost their sister last year and I think she would be really happy if she could have a friend close to her again. I've let them be with eachother a couple of times and they seem to really enjoy eachothers company.

However, since none of them are spayed I'm not sure if I really should put them togheter. They don't hurt eachother but still. Mimmi is 8 years old and Valerya is about 3 years old. It's a bit risky to spay them since they are quite old already, especially Mimmi, so I don't know if I should try spaying them before I let them be with eachother 24/7 or if I should just let them be as they are...

I was thinking to maybe at least spay Valerya cause she's still quite young, but then I won't be able to put her togheter with Mimmi cause Valerya is just gonna get that "unspayed behaviour" back which is going to make it hard for me to give her a future buddy again once Mimmi passes away...

I really don't know what to do...

 

[Preitler]

If they get along, why not. I have 2 pairs of intact does, although they are mother-daughter pairs it depends solely on if their characters match if they get along long term. Well, actiually not 2 pairs anymore because I had to emergency spay my 7yo that lives with her 9yo mother rather recently, doesn't make any difference if spayed or not, your doe won't get "that unspayed behaviour", whatever you think it is, back. Hormones for false pregnancies and other behaviours will still be not there.

i would start out on neutral ground, and avoid putting one doe into the others enclosure for quite some time, weeks even.

 

[JBun]

It's usually recommended not to bond unfixed rabbits due to hormones creating aggression or territorial issues. However, there are some instances where it can work out fine with female rabbits. If the rabbits are both not reacting negatively to each other and showing all signs of getting along. And if they have enough space to live together well and get away from the other rabbit when they need a break. Like Preitler said, it depends on if they are a good character/personality match, on whether or not it can work out.

Though something to be aware of with unspayed female rabbits. In some rabbits and breeds, the older the rabbit gets, the higher likelihood they can develop uterine cancer. It won't happen with all rabbits, but just a possibility to consider.

 

[Cinder and ivy]

My 2 rabbits are both unspayed one is a year old and the other is 4 years they work well together but every once and a while I will separate them when they get chasing each other meanly. I will put ther pens beside each other and then they can still touch noses this has worked very well for me as I am to very worried about my bunnies going under in surgery. I have only needed to separate them 2-3 times since September(when I bonded them). It all depends on the rabbits though. I hope I helped!!

3 days after this picture where they were grooming each other I had to separate them. Like everyone else said it all depends on the personality

 

[Babygroot]

Hello again! I am sorry for responding so incredibly late! But I did put them together and they've bonded really well! They're very happy together They've only had one disagreement that I know of so far, but that quickly got resolved so there hasn't really been any problem between them. I have contacted a vet to check if it's possible to spay another one of my bunnies named Molly, and after that, I'll be checking up on Valerya. About the "unspayed behavior", I read somewhere that if one bunny who's spayed is with another bunny who's not spayed, their behavior would rub off on the other bunny who's spayed even tho they shouldn't feel the need to do it anymore ... It was a while ago since I read it so that's my bad, thanks for clearing that up for me!

 

[Blue eyes]

I think you may have been heard about behavior in a fixed rabbit changing when in the presence of an intact rabbit of the opposite gender. An intact female, for instance, could still affect a neutered male. He may sense her hormones.

I was just going to mention that even though they are getting along (which is great, by the way) that doesn't mean that the younger one should not be spayed. If you intend to get her a new bondmate once the older one passes, then you may want to consider getting the younger one spayed while she is still at a good age.

 

[Babygroot]

I think you may have been heard about behavior in a fixed rabbit changing when in the presence of an intact rabbit of the opposite gender. An intact female, for instance, could still affect a neutered male. He may sense her hormones.

I was just going to mention that even though they are getting along (which is great, by the way) that doesn't mean that the younger one should not be spayed. If you intend to get her a new bondmate once the older one passes, then you may want to consider getting the younger one spayed while she is still at a good age.

Oh yeah, that could have been the case and I just misinterpreted it, thank you! And yes, my thoughts exactly about Valerya, I think it's probably best to still have her spayed then if possible for the future!