Which ORDER to bond multiple bunnies?

[alienkitties]

Howdy again! 

I have multiple rescue bunnies. I would like to TRY to get them bonded together, and whoever bonds together, I will keep, vs. trying to find homes for. 

Here are the bunnies:

1. Faji Rokuku (Fuzzy Logic) – “Faji” is a male harlequin (?), appx. 2-3 years old. I just had him neutered about a month ago. He is MY boy, and regardless of who else comes, I am KEEPING this guy. 

2. Chico Hummer – “Hummie” is a male mini-lop, appx. 2-3 years old. I also just had him neutered when I had Faji done, about a month ago. Although Faji and Hummie are not currently caged next to each other (they were at one time) – they are currently separated by CeeCee prior to her having babies. He and Faji were next to each other in a divided hutch this summer, and except for some poop/flying pee, seemed to do pretty good. 

3. Princess Celestia Pearl – “CeeCee” will be 8 months next week. She and her sister are broken castor’s – are they those “velveteen” bunnies you hear about? They sure feel like it. She just had an unplanned for batch of babies (7 of them) on xmas. She is (obviously) not fixed yet. She seems to be very fond of Hummie. They sleep next to each other in the outside hutch separated by wire. They will lay next to each other by the wire.

4. Princess Jewel – “Juju” is CeeCee’s sister, and will be 8 months Jan. 3rd. She has had no babies. She and her sister were caged together up until they were 6 months old, when CeeCee started to tear fur, etc. So I separated them. The kids are mostly fond of Juju – as she has had the luck of the one inside hutch we own.

5. Baby bunnies???? So far, there are 7 of them, and I could simply raise them, and see who bonds best – and find homes for the others? 

It is an EXTREMELY hard choice – since I love my Hummie and Faji very much. CeeCee has not been overly friendly, so it is hard to want to keep her, but there is the possibility that she and Hummie will bond, and I will need to keep them together. 

I just bought those 14×14 panels to make inside condo(s) and need to know who to start bonding, so I can figure out who gets to be together, and who has to be separated. I cannot keep all of the bunnies… as I also do cat/kitten fostering… LOL TOO MANY! But I would love to keep some bonded ones. 

I know this is a LOT to process, but I am simply flabbergasted with where to start. Do I start with the boys? Do I try to bond Juju and Faji? Do I try to bond 3 at once??? Just CLUELESS. 

Again – I appreciate ANY and all advice. THANK you so very, very much.

[peppypoo]

I would start with those that already seem friendly with each other, or at least non-aggressive – of course, they do have to be fixed first. It seems like CeeCee and Hummie might do well, but CeeCee would need to be fixed (and healed up) first. This would possibly also improve her temperament, since unfixed bunnies can be more territorial and perceived as “unfriendly”.

[alienkitties]

CeeCee and Hummie did seem like the most obvious, but I didn’t know if I should try the 2 boys first since they were fixed, and she will need another month. I am trying to get them in from the cold outside, but again, I know bonding can take weeks/months too… I just thought I would try and see if any bonded quickly, then I could bring them in and put them in the new condo.

About how long to give CeeCee to heal after birth before being fixed? How long after being fixed to trying to bond?

[Beka27]

The babies need to be weaned (8 weeks old) before CeeCee is spayed. Be careful having her next to any males (even recently neutered ones) because they can still have viable sperm for a couple months after neutering and she can get pregnant immediately after giving birth.

[alienkitties]

Well, then I suppose I need to try to bond Juju and Faji, or maybe Faji and Hummer. Would it be more productive to try to bond the BOYS first? Faji and Juju first, or BOTH sets but at separate times?

Thanks again!

[Beka27]

What is your long-term goal? I’m unclear with so many bunnies listed, not-to-mention the babies. Multiple pairs, or bonding them all into a group? Are you planning on keeping all of the adults and rehoming the babies? The obvious bonds would be two separate pairs, each with one male and one female. If Juju is spayed already, you could put her with each of the males (separately), and just see who hits it off and finish that bond with whichever male she likes. Then when CeeCee is spayed and healed for a full month, start bonding her with the other male.  Groups are not easy to put together.  Once they are paired, you can consider bonding into a group, but that’s for much later down the road.

[alienkitties]

Ah – that makes sense – that is what I could not quite make sense of. Whether they ALL bond together, or it they were just pairs, together in a group. So I should hold off trying to bond the male bunnies.

My goal is to bond whatever bunnies are here, then adopt out all but 2-4 of them. I a new to all this, so wasn’t clear – apologies. I have a friend who will adopt 2 of the babies (hopefully they will all be healthy.) So that is 2 down out of the 12!!!

I did not fix Juju yet, I was waiting for advice. But, I would sure like to see her and Faji (crosses fingers…) stay together. CeeCee is calming down a great deal since she had her kits, so I look forward to her healthy, then trying to bond her and Hummie.

Another question – I am getting conflicting info on how long bunny sperm stays viable after fixing – is it 1 month, or 2? That makes a BIG difference.

Again – THANKS to all who are lending me their experience.

[Beka27]

The general rule with bunny sperm is one month after neutering, but some studies have shown it can take up to two months. The only way to truly prevent pregnancy with a newly neutered male is for the female to be spayed. Once those organs are gone, the risk is gone.

You cannot start bonding until after Juju is spayed and has been allowed to heal for a month. So you still have some time to go. What is your timeline for getting her fixed? After she’s fixed and has healed up a bit (about 2 weeks) you can start switching their habitats each day. This will get them accustomed to each other’s scent. You leave everything in the cage (toys, food dishes, litterbox, hidey house) and JUST switch the bunnies every 24 hours. They don’t meet yet, just visit each other’s space. You’re going to see an increase in territorial marking at this point. Yet another reason why both must be fixed before, you don’t want hormonal marking on top of this. But this should decrease once they are bonded.

If you have any other questions once you get to that point, please ask! Bunny bonding can be quite the adventure. Some get on well after a week or two, some can literally take months to bond.

I loved the HRN article when I was bonding my two… take a look! http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/bond.shtml

[Beka27]

Also, when adopting out pairs, please be clear that they must stay together under any circumstances. Rabbits who’ve been bonded but are then separated can get depressed and become ill. I’m sure you have some type of “return clause” that the bunnies can come back to you if something happens?

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