Bonding Two Male Rabbits – Thoughts?Help?Advice?

[Oliver's Roost]

Hello all! I have been a long time fan of the BinkyBunny forums and just decided to formally join and ask for help.

So here the saga begins…

I had a bonded pair of bunnies, Oliver and Charlotte, who are neutered and spayed. They were a match made in heaven and absolutely loved each other. Sadly, Charlotte passed away, leaving little Oliver all on his own without a bunny friend. After a few days of him sitting quietly in the back of his cage and not being his usual self, I decided to get him a new bun friend.

I know that male/female bonds are usually the best (and I have experienced this first hand). However, in my search to find the perfect bunny partner, I came across Gus, a young mis-colored dutch bunny. He was super personable and charming. Though I had been searching for a girl, I fell in love with Gus and thought I could make it work.

I’ve had Gus for close to 3 weeks now. Oliver and Gus have their own cages that are set up next to each other, close enough to sniff but not to bite. They seem to do ok, but Gus (being a young, teenage, raging hormoned bun) is definitely a little aggressive towards Oliver, making him be a little aggressive back (normally he is a very laid back bun). I got a little too excited and attempted to introduce them in the bathtub, just to see, and it did not go well. Quite a bit of fur pulling and chasing, with a bad bite exchanged (all in 5 minutes or so) before I broke them up. Though they don’t get along face-to-face, they lay next to each other through the cages every day and night and seem to somewhat enjoy each other’s company. Oliver has definitely become more active and is eating more regularly since bringing Gus home.

Which brings us to now. Gus has an appointment to be neutered on halloween (9 days from now). I am super excited however I am having some doubts about how this may end up. I continue to love Gus’ personality and would hate for the bond to not work and have to find a new home for him, not to mention all the money that would be wasted by the time it’s all said and done (as we all know, bunny surgeries are not cheap). I cannot have multiple bunny cages in my room long term. When I had both Oliver and Charlotte, they were free roam when I was home and have a luxurious double story cage that I built. I would hate to have to limit play time for both buns. So keeping them separate from here on out would not fit my lifestyle. If it came down to it, I would be sure to find a good home for him, however long that might take, but I like him a lot and it would make me sad to have to do us. So my questions for you all are…

I have seen time and time again that male/male bonds CAN work. But what are my odds here? Will neutering Gus make enough change for them to get along? Will it make him be more submissive or a least more open to Oliver’s presence?

Will the (neutered) male/male bond be possibly as strong as what it is for male/female bonds?

Moving forward, if they don’t seem to be too keen of each other, could getting a spayed female and making them a trio possibly help them settle their differences?

Thank you all and I look forward to your help.

Sidenotes: Oliver is a 4 year old netherland dwarf that I have had since a young bb bun, and Gus is around 6 months old dutch bun.

[Mikey]

Gus is aggressive because hes not neutered. Youre moving too fast for their bond to work, and skipping a few steps in the process. Youll need to go back a bit. Do not try to make a trio (yet). Trios are a lot harder, and being that youve skipped a lot, its unlikely to work too. I want to add one more thing, Ive had a trio of males and currently have a bonded pair of males who become depressed when the other is away. Sex of the bun doesnt matter, proper bonding and personalities matter

First step: Stop putting them together. The more they fight, the less likely they will bond in the future. Keep their cage set up like you have it, but do not allow them to interact aside from sniffing.

Step two: Neuter Gus. Hormones make rabbits aggressive. After he is neutered, he is going to need about two months to heal and drain his hormones.

Step three: Prebond, prebond, prebond! After Gus’s two month break for his neuter+healing, you can start prebonding. Prebonding is swapping their cages. Gus goes into Oliver’s cage and Oliver goes into Gus’s cage on even days, and on odd days they are back in their own cages. Youll let them mark one anothers things, which can be gross, but try to hold out cleaning as much as possible. Swapping them once a day like this allows them to get used to sharing territory and smelling “strangers” close to them. Youll want to do prebonding for atleast a month.

Step four: You can start bonding sessions in a neutral area once theyve stopped reacting to their cages being swapped. A neutral place to bond that many users use is their bath tub as most buns dont venture into them Youll start with quick sessions often and slowly progress to longer sessions less often (5 minute sessions every hour on day one; 10 minute sessions every hour on day two; ect). If they show signs of aggression, go back to a shorter time where they didnt show aggression.

Step five: Once they can go 5+ hours together in a neutral space without aggression, you can start bonding them in the area they will be sharing. Again, start with many quick sessions and slowly progress to longer sessions. If they constantly fight in this area, go back to step four and continue there for a few extra days.

Step six: Once they can handle their shared territory for 8+ hours, you should consider doing a 48 hour marathon. During this time, youll be with them including sleeping next to their shared cage. For aggression, use a three strike rule. If they show aggression more than three times, go back to step five for a few more days. If they dont show aggression at all during this step, after the 48 hours are over, you should be able to consider them bonded!

Signs of aggression: Biting, fur putting, mounting lasting for more than 10 to 20 seconds, lunging, boxing, growling, chasing.

Acceptable: Nipping, thumping, mounting lasting under 10 to 20 seconds

[jerseygirl]

You could have brought home a female bun and still be face with same question: what if it doesn’t work?… Males can bond. It *may* take a bit more time but I actually think if that’s the case with Gus and Oliver, that would be due to Gus’s age. He might be over 1yr old before you see him be more calm. Being a dutch bun, he may be a bit more energetic also, but some are chilled, it does depend on the individual rabbit.

That his presence has provided Oliver companionship – even when not together – is good. That alone gives you a chance to just take things really slow. As Mikey mentioned, wait a while after Gus is desexed. He’s still providing Oliver with a buddy, just being next door.

As to your concerns about getting attached and getting him neutered but then looking at rehoming if they don’t bond – I personally would look at it this way: Giving him up would be really, really hard. But, because you had him neutered, he would be in much better position to go to a new home as another rabbits bond mate. Not to mention, you would have prevented him breeding and there being more unwanted rabbits out there. I would consider the cost of the neuter like a donation to rabbit welfare.
If you had to rehome him, you could over see it and know the new owners are getting a more predictable rabbit then an undesexed one that they might then pass on to someone else, due to unwanted behaviours.
If it came to giving Gus up (hopefully it won’t ) and you then look to get Oliver another friend, look at getting an already fixed rabbit so you wont have to go through the stress of having another one desexed.

[Oliver's Roost]

Oh my goodness, thank you all for the quick and positive responses.

I agree with you, Mikey. I have been taking it too quick. When I got Charlotte, she was spayed a couple months prior and it took maybe a week or so to get her and Oliver bonded. Part of me keeps reflecting on that experience and it gets me a little discouraged because Gus and Oliver are not such quick friends. I also have to realize that there are other factors in place (i.e. Gus is not desexed, Gus is a male and not a female, Gus is much younger than Oliver, Oliver is probably still grieving over the loss of Charlotte, etc). I think part of it as well is that I am very heartbroken over the loss of my precious Charlotte. But your step by step gives me a great game plan. Thank you for outlining that for me, it really helps.

And jerseygirl, I am happy that Gus’ presence has given Oliver some kind of comfort for sure as well. And I get what you’re saying about if Gus does end up going to a new home. I would certainly be picky and it would help me rest easy knowing that I set him up well for someone else. I agree, I will definitely look at spayed females going forward if that ends up being the better option. Adopting already spayed females from a shelter is also usually a lot cheaper than paying to have a female spayed as well so… Wouldn’t be a bad option.

Thank you all for your positive thoughts, it’s sincerely helping me so much. I just want to see my little Oliver have another best friend and live happily.

[Mikey]

They very well may be quick friends after hes neutered and healed. Hormones can really make a bunny crazy, so when hormones are removed, they mellow out I think they sound like a promising bond once youre able to get everything started! Feel free to update us here along the way as well. Users here can offer support and alternate bonding tactics along the way to help you out.

[Oliver's Roost]

Yes I will definitely keep you guys posted. I am anxious to get him neutered. I hope that it also fixes his crazy amount of spraying. I’m sure that he’s doing it because of Oliver being next to him. But it’s not fun to have to deal with.

[SuperBunnyto]

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So Mikey and jerseygirl covered a lot of information (good job, everybody! ). The only thing that I would add from my own experience with bunny bonding is that, after pre-bonding, when I started putting my buns together, I started with super small bonding sessions of about 20 to 30 seconds each and then started working my way up to 1 minute, 1 minute 30 seconds, 2 minutes, etc… (I should mention, though, that I did a lot less pre-bonding than you’ll ultimately be doing since you’ll have to wait until your new bun is spayed, during which time your buns will have more time to get used to one another, so you may be able to get away with longer sessions.) A woman who worked in the animal shelter also suggested making sure that I gave enough space during sessions so that each bunny had a place to retreat to if they needed a break. 

I also looked for information during my second bonding experience, because I was having some trouble getting my big guy to behave, and one of the things that were suggested was doing some of the bonding sessions during the night, when bunnies might be more active. Some of my bunny bonding sessions took place between 11pm and 1am.

Lastly, I would add that each bonding experience is different. I’ve gone through two bunny bondings, and each one has had very unique challenges. With my first bunny bonding I didn’t have to do any sessions during the night, but I had to do them during the second bunny bonding experience. 

Oh, and be patient, that’s really key! 

Good luck! 

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