Bonding unaltered females..

[blondie34]

I’ve done a lot of research on the topic and it sounds like it cannot be done BUT after a lot of patience and careful bonding sessions I have had success bonding two unaltered females who were not litter mates. I have a sable point lionhead and a tort lop that I worked with for ~5 months and are now living together in the same pen/area and don’t go anywhere without each other.

I wanted to post this in hopes of helping out any other rabbit owners in similar situations looking for answers. I understand the health and behavioral benefits of spaying BUT where I live in (NW Ohio) there are not any rabbit savvy vets that will do a spay surgery for under $500. The majority of the vets out in my area do not even see rabbits. We live out in the country and sadly the most common reason people in my area even own rabbits is to raise them for meat. I often get confused looks when I tell people I have “pet” rabbits that live inside; it’s just not a common concept out in the country. 

The bonding process was pretty arduous, and to be honest, in the beginning I did not think it was going to work out. My lionhead is very opinionated and thinks she’s the boss, so they had to establish a sort of pecking order. Now my lionhead grooms my lop and they are inseparable. They eat together, sleep together, binky together, etc. 

I started with bonding dates in a neutral area, in my case in the bathtub. Socks, the lionhead, was initially just interested in displaying dominance and proceeded to chase and mount GR, my lop. I separated them as soon as I noticed it was starting to stress out GR too much (she yelped and ran away)

I did this in the bathtub for about a month . Then I moved their pens next to each other so they could sniff each other through the wires. During month two I started sitting them both on my lap during TV at night. I would continuously pet them while their bodies were up against each other and we watched TV. 

During month two I noticed them laying up against their pens next to each other with their bodies touching. During month three I started to let them have some supervised exploration time outside their pens in our basement. Our basement is ~2000 sq ft and runs underneath the entire length of our ranch style home. Having plenty of room to run and explore definitely helped. During this time I would see them follow each other around and all of the mounting had stopped. Now they were just curious with each other and liked to be nearby each other. 

Fast forward 5 months into bonding and they now share their own pen. It is about 5’x4′ ft with lots of toys, litter boxes, and a little tree house so they have access to a second level and something to climb on. Whether they are free-ranging throughout the house or in their pen, they are almost always right next to each other relaxing or playing. 

I may have just been lucky and maybe their personalities just seemed to mesh, but bonding an unaltered pair IS possible. 

[Vienna Blue in France]

YAY !! – Thanks for your story blondie – they’ve each got a buddy to be with, that’s all that matters ! Well done you.

[blondie34]

Thank you Vienna Blue

[Bam]

Thank you for sharing your story! We actually have one member who is bonding two girls right now – he’s in India and girl bunnies are not traditionally spayed there, so that’s not an option. I think he’ll be happy to read your encouraging story!

We always strongly recommend spaying girl buns of course, but sometimes it’s just not possible – f ex for lack of bunny savvy vets or for health reasons ( f ex there are some bunnies that can’t be put under general anesthesia).

[foreverfluffle]

It is so good to hear your bonding success story!
My sister has a half wild girl of 5 months (Annuska), and I have a mini lop girl of about 2 months (Aurora), and it hasn’t been possible for us to spay them either.
This is just the third day since bonding has begun, and so far it’s going really good, and way better than I expected.
Annuska is much bigger and stronger than my little mini lop; so my biggest concern is fighting. I’m so happy to say that so far there hasn’t been any fighting at all. Their bonding sessions have mostly been in the bathtub on a towel. Aurora is incredibly calm, while Annuska is often very excited. I stroke both of them constantly which they both enjoy, and it also helps keep Annuska still and relax her. One of them then initiates snuggles, sometimes I will squash them together more and keep stroking. One time my sister went to take Annuska up and she scrambled out of her arms back to Aurora and started snuggling again! Annuska sometimes licks Aurora, especially her cheek. No kisses from Aurora yet.
They seem to be friendliest to each other when they are in a smaller space. If Annuska is not being petted and if they are in an area they are free to run; Annuska will try to jump on Aurora sometimes. If she tries to do this in the bathtub; I hold her still with my hands until she stops, or spray her with water; which is working good!! She doesn’t try so often now.
I love seeing them snuggling and hearing that quiet teeth purring!!

[skysblue]

$500+ for spay? That’s crazy.

[dwiley]

Thanks for sharing! We are bringing home another female in a week and a half and while they will both be spayed, I’m still super nervous because of all the horror stories of how difficult it is to bond 2 females. Hoping it works out for us as well as it has for you!

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