Bonding an adult male and a baby female

I'm thinking about getting a baby female for my adult male, simply because I can't find any grown up speyed females for adoption or for sale near by. I was wondering if it's difficult to get them to get along after the female has reach sexual maturity which will probably happen when she is about three months old, and she won't be speyed before she's six months. This means at least three months of wild hormones :roll: Any one been in this situation? Has it worked out for you?

:wave: I MIGHt be in that situation! I have Barney who is neutered and a baby wild bun that is about 7-8 weeks now and I don't know what sex he/she is yet!:shock:

As long as your male is neutered and has been so for about 6 weeks it is possible to pair your male with a young female.

I'm currently bonding Spudsey my wild bun who is 6 months old with Squirrel a neutered male who is just over a year old and alot bigger!

I have :wave:

I got Daisy when she was about 8 weeks and Gabriel was about 10 months. He took to her in seconds! He just looked very confused by the whole hormone thing which kicked in a fews weeks later, he was very patient while she plucked his bum to help make her nest :lol: :lol: :lol: at this point I knew she was ready for spey, he kept watch over her while she was recovering in her cage, once out together again they had a bit of a chase around but bonded again within about 10 mins. I've since done it again, adding another baby girl in July this year.

Good luck

These are really bad pics - but you get the idea !

Thanks a lot for your answers Is it different to bond adult rabbits and babies? Do you have to go through the same procedure as with grown ups? Or is it more common to skip a few steps? Can the adult rabbit usually be brought to the vet together with the one that is going to be speyed and stay in the cage with her? Is this common?

Ida said:

Thanks a lot for your answers Is it different to bond adult rabbits and babies? Do you have to go through the same procedure as with grown ups? Or is it more common to skip a few steps? Can the adult rabbit usually be brought to the vet together with the one that is going to be speyed and stay in the cage with her? Is this common?

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Hi - with mine it was fine. I think coz they are babies they accept them more readily. Dorset Wildlife rescue told me that in the wild baby buns pretty much get ignored by the adults hence why you can release a baby wild bun into a strange warren but not an adult. Barney is 1 and a half and has been hanging out with Nettle since Nettle was about 4 weeks old. At first very supervised just incase Barney got funny as he is so huge in comparison but it has all been 100% fine. Barney just did some scent marking on Nettle and that was the most dramatic thing! Nettle hasn't reached sexual maturity so not sure what will happen then though!:shock: Or why not get a female the same age as your bun from a rescue centre and get her speyed then you don't have the size or hormonal probs?

I bonded an adult male and a baby female together.
Took quite a while, but they are now the best of friends!

I would like to adopt another one, but am not sure if this will work out...:?

willowthewysp said:

I bonded an adult male and a baby female together.
Took quite a while, but they are now the best of friends!

I would like to adopt another one, but am not sure if this will work out...:?

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If you are unsure about the bonding process contact a rescue which will help with the bonding and get them to assist you. They will also provide support in the coming weeks if you have any delayed problems which could occur.

racheld69 said:

Or why not get a female the same age as your bun from a rescue centre and get her speyed then you don't have the size or hormonal probs?

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They don't have any rabbits at all in the to rescue centers we have in my city, only cats. Besides, I've heard that it's easier to bond a baby female (about 8 weeks) than an adult. If I were to bond an adult with my bunny I would like for him to pick his favourite among speyed females, but I don't have this opportunity.

Do I have to do the neutral ground thing when I'm introducing a baby bunny?


Good luck with your wild rabbit

Ida said:

Do I have to do the neutral ground thing when I'm introducing a baby bunny?


Good luck with your wild rabbit

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Thanks - he is next to me stuffing his face at the moment. I don't have 2 rabbits - I have 2 greedy pigs!:lol: :lol: I didn't introduce barney and nettle on neutral groud - nettle was just in a hutch in the sitting room so they sniffed through the wire for a few days and then i let him/her out with Barney for supervised visits. I guess it depends on the bunny though as Barney is very placid.