Bonding difficulties

[DM_Bunny]

Hi all, I feel I have read every forum and blog on bunny bonding over the last few weeks and I am still getting it wrong. I have a neutered male mini lop that is 3. He has been living free range with me for 2.5 years. 2 weeks ago I adopted an unneutered mini lop female. She is 2 and has been living alone free-range from birth. She is quite over weight so is on a diet before she can be considered for neutering. I read that a neutered male and unneutered female can.sucessfully be bonded. I’ve tried doing this on neutral ground for short (10-15 minute) periods. It didn’t go well for the first few days as she begame aggressive. Then we had two days of harmony followed by my male becoming aggressive. They now can’t spend any time together without fighting after 5 minutes. She had also become extra anxious around me and started to spray her urine whenever I approach her!

Is this bond likely to be unsuccessful or could neutering her help the situation?
Please tell me there is hope for them both.

I need to make it clear if it doesn’t work out I will be keeping them both but really would like them to be able to spend time together.

[Azerane]

She needs to be desexed, it is only very rare cases where a neutered male and intact female can have a successful bond. Sometimes the hormones of the female can still lead to mating behaviour from the male even though he’s neutered, but usually the female is territorial and defensive, and can be very bossy.

For now, keep them separated, there’s no point or help in letting them get more stressed out by having them spend more time together. Keep them in separate cages, have them out for separate play time, but continue with pre-bonding things such as swapping toys, blankets, litter trays and cages etc.

Once she is spayed, you will need to continue to keep her apart from him for at least 6 weeks, potentially even more depending on how her hormones are. Some females show no sign of being hormonal after 4 weeks, but I do know of one female who was extremely hormonal after her spay for another 6 months. The extra time spent apart will also help them to forget their differences. Trying to introduce two rabbits that have recently been fighting is only a recipe for disaster, and you need to let them rest for a while so that they get over it and can somewhat reset their introduction.

When you do reintroduce them, do so in a new neutral area, and keep the time really short. 10 minutes is much too long for first introductions, 1 minute is plenty of time and you can even restrict their movement by petting them the whole time and making the whole thing a positive experience. Over time as things progress you can slowly increase the time frame, but with a fighting history, I think it’s best to start really slow to ensure that you completely avoid any further fighting which will only set them back.

[DM_Bunny]

Thank you so much for your helpful advice. They did start off in separate rooms and are now living in the same bedroom but are separated using puppy pens. Is it best to put them in separate places? Or are they Ok staying in the same room?
Thanks

[LittlePuffyTail]

It would be okay to have their pens side by side as long as they can’t reach each other to bite through the bars. If they seem content living side by side, that is. This would maybe stress out some bunnies. Being neighbors may help the bonding process later.

[Author]

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