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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

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Forum BONDING 10 week old not neutered yet and spayed 2 year old

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    • Barb in MA
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        Hello fellow bunny enthusiasts,

        We have a wonderful quirky bunny girl Viola who is a little over two years old. We attempted to find a mate for her, but it never worked out (we never even got to the point of meeting bunnies). I hated having her alone so much and when we met a baby bunny we all fell in love with, we brought him home. He was supposed to be a Lysander (our pets get Shakespeare names) but he just behaved like a Jackson and so that is his name. I remembered all the things I read about bonding – or so I thought – and so we started the process. I did NOT remember that he should be neutered, because we had always looked to get a rescue bunny who would have been neutered already. So we started with 15 minutes a day in neutral territory and gradually increase the time. Then I placed their x-pens next to each other and opened them to each other for periods of time. They got to the point of displaying the typical behaviour of dominant (Viola mounting Jackson) and submissive (Jackson putting his head down in front of her and also putting his head under her (“Hey, mark me as yours “)). And then I reread some of the articles and oh my – discovered that we did it all wrong. But I don’t want to completely break what we already have and wait to start it again in 2 months or so when Jackson is neutered and healed.

        Who has some advice or ideas? The only thing I came up with is to have Viola in the playpen next to Jackson’s playpen for a few hours a day and reward her good behavior… or is this a bad idea?

         I am really lost, but it seems counter intuitive to have them in separate rooms for months.

        Please don’t give me flack for getting a baby bunny who was not a rescue or adopted, as that is not helping me in this situation at all. Everybody’s situation is different and without knowing everything, we should not judge, but try to show compassion.

         

        Best,  ~ Barb


      • JackRabbit
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          I definitely wouldn’t do any more bonding, but as long as they don’t seem stressed or get aggressive being in the same room it should be ok. If they get stressed or become aggitated by each other, I would put them in separate rooms until he is neutered and his hormones die down to ease bonding though. As Jackson’s hormones kick in, he may start trying to spray her if she’s nearby which could get a little messy for her!


        • Roberta
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            “Wrong” is a relative term. Anything can be “wrong” if it doesn’t work. Technically it wasn’t a failure ergo cannot be classified as “wrong”. Viola probably went for the mounting when Jackson requested grooming. It happens, my Pepper is a shocker when it comes to dominant humping and she’s already the Alpha bun. Keep them in the same room but get him in as soon as possible before he does something unforgivable. Allow a month then start play dates again.


          • Barb in MA
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              Thank you JackRabbit and Roberta. You confirmed what I thought :-). They seem to be alright with the xpens next to each other, but I only have Viola there for a few hours, because I don’t want her to miss her ‘home’ (my daughter’s room) too much, esp. her favorite spot behind the daybed. I think we still have about a month before Jackson ‘might’ be old enough for surgery and so we are definitely two months out – if not more – before commencing playtime. I guess I can use that time to construct a palace for them.

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          Forum BONDING 10 week old not neutered yet and spayed 2 year old