Preparing to bond siblings

[Little Flamingo]

Hello everyone! I have a male and a female lionhead bunny from the same litter, who are now three and a half months old. My little boy, Parsnip, is due to be neutered on 2nd June, and Pomegranate is booked for her spay on 14th July. I’ve read a lot of varying advice on how long to wait after a spay to begin bonding, anything from 2 weeks to 6 months, so I’m wondering if there are any signs to look out for which will tell me when her hormones have drained enough to begin the bonding process?

Do you think it’s a good idea to start prebonding now, or is it a bit early still? They are currently living on separate levels of a two storey rabbit condo, and I’ve been swapping litterboxes and water bowls every few days. Their play area is attached to their cage, so they can see each other when either one is having playtime, but they’re not able to touch. I split them into their separate floors about 3 weeks ago, and switched them around yesterday, so I’m wondering if I should continue switching their homes at the moment, and how frequently would be effective without stressing them out from continually changing their environment.

I’m hoping to be able to bond them by the end of September, as I’m going away for a week then and it will be easier on both the bunnies and my sitter if they can live contentedly together, so I want to do as much as I can to facilitate that (of course, bunnies usually have other ideas, so I’ll make the best of it with my sitter if need be!). Any advice is greatly appreciated!

[Mikey]

Its a bit hard to tell when hormones are drained or not after spaying/neutering. Most people advise waiting one to two months, just in case. But it is true that females can take up to six months to fully drain their hormones. Im not sure how common it is, but my bunnys urine smelled HORRIBLE while hormonal. I can always tell when someone is having a hormone spike (common even in fixed rabbits, especially during spring) because their litter box will have an incredibly strong gross smell.

What youre doing right now with swapping items and playtime is prebonding No, its not too early to start. Itll help get them familiar with one another which will help bonding go smoother after they are fixed.

As for your trip, it sounds like itll be better for the bunnies if you wait until after you get back. Your girl is being spayed in July and two months after that is September, which is when your trip is. If you bond too fast, youll come home from your trip to a bloody mess after your trip. It is safer and smarter to start bonding after you get home. Your bunnysitter will have to live with it for the bunny’s safety

[vanessa]

I agree with everything Mikey wrote.
Ditto on the horrible hormonal pee smell…
Prebonding before the spay/neuter is a great idea. My first 2 pairs had prebonding before their surgeries, and after their surgeries, it took 2 weeks to bond them. Absolutely keep doing what you’re doing 🙂
And do wait until you get back from your trip to start bonding.

[Little Flamingo]

Thanks for the replies Yes, probably a bit of wishful thinking on my part to hope to have them bonded before I left!

I haven’t noticed anything worse than the usual pee smell from either litter box yet, maybe I have that to look forward to!

[Author]

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